TRAPPED! IMF rep says without key policy changes, Jamaica will remain in economic rut

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) outgoing senior resident representative in Jamaica, Dr Gene Leon, has warned that whether the country can claw its way from under the mountain of debt it now faces will depend on the policies that are put in place. Leon, who was speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum at the newspaper's central Kingston offices yesterday, said "wishing away" the debt stock was not an option, as that would still not solve the problem. "Supposing tomorrow God would give us a wish and that one wish was to get rid of the entire Jamaica debt, [so] you wake up tomorrow morning and you have zero debt," he said, as he sought to illustrate his point. "What guarantee would you have that in five years' time, in 10 years' time, the debt is not exactly back where it was? Ultimately, it is the policies that you are going to put in place," he asserted.