An achievement of which all Jamaicans can be proud is the impeccable and measured economic management demonstrated by their leaders under different administrations over the last 11/12 years.

In May 2013, the People’s National Party (PNP) Government, led by Ms Portia Simpson Miller and with Dr Peter Phillips as finance minister, signed a four-year extended funding facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to rescue the Jamaican country. The economy is in complete disaster.

This agreement comes almost two years after the collapse of a stand-by agreement between the previous Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) Government and the IMF, the lender of last resort.

Just a year after its signing in 2013, the pleased head of the IMF, Ms Christine Lagarde, praised the Jamaican Government for tackling economic challenges frontally and making “tough choices”.

He advised the government and all stakeholders to “stay on track” and not waste the “remarkable achievements” of the previous four quarters.

To our leaders’ infinite credit, they took Ms. Lagarde’s advice and “stayed the course.”

Mr. Julian Robinson, the opposition finance spokesman, reminded us that in 2012, shortly after the Simpson Miller-led Administration took the reins of government, Jamaica’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 145 percent.

That figure dropped to 115 percent when the PNP lost the 2016 election after “a period of careful fiscal management,” Mr. Robinson recalls.

In August, former Minister of Finance Dr. It is no coincidence that the news that Nigel Clarke has accepted a senior post at the Washington-based IMF was met with considerable surprise, despite his rise to widespread acclaim.

Concerns stemmed from fears that the finance ministry’s successor would have difficulty filling his shoes adequately. It is on record that the JLP Administration, led by Andrew Holness, with Dr Clarke as finance minister, has “stayed the course” while displaying expert economic management.

Jamaica remains stable despite the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and other disruptions such as Hurricane Beryl in early July.

More importantly, under Dr Clarke’s leadership, Jamaica’s debt-to-GDP ratio fell to a staggering 72 per cent earlier this year. This rate is expected to drop to 67 percent by the end of March 2025 this fiscal year.

But economic management is never just about debt reduction. A weakness of Jamaica going back decades is anemic growth and resulting low productivity.

With the economy now steadily stabilizing, growth requires priority attention.

Closely related is the urgent need to improve people’s lives through long-term investments in a wide range of sectors, including education, health, transport, water distribution and roads.

With less than a year until the parliamentary elections, pressures and demands will increase even more in the short term.

These are among the harsh realities facing the new Minister of Finance and Minister of Public Service, Ms. Fayval Williams; but he is tasked with maintaining Jamaica’s newly established culture of fiscal responsibility and discipline.

A pleasant, easy-going person, Ms. Williams is described by Mr. Holness, business leaders and those who know her well as eminently qualified for her new role. His shadow, Mr Robinson, says he is the only logical choice to replace Dr Clarke.

For the sake of all of Jamaica, we wish Ms. Williams the best in this major balancing act.