Kingston.
The contingent talks between the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank are holding up the approval of an extended fund facility (EFF) for Jamaica and the island is being negatively impacted by the delay.
This was disclosedf by Minister of Finance Dr Peter Phillips, who told a press briefing at a Jamaica House the island would not meet its deadline to secure an IMF agreement by month because of issues related to the funding of the programme.
"We are not direct participants in those discussions. On the basis of the information that we are able to glean, it is about the relative commitments of each to the overall programme and the timing of the commitment by each within the programme," Phillips said.
Last month, the IMF announced that its mission reached a staff-level agreement with the Jamaican authorities on the key elements of an economic programme that could be supported by a 48-month arrangement under the EFF in the amount of US$750 million.
At the time, the IMF said it envisages that its executive board would consider the proposed arrangement under the EFF by the end of March subject to the timely completion of prior actions to be taken by the Jamaican Government and obtaining necessary financing assurances.
Yesterday, Phillips said that while Jamaica is not involved in the discussions, he hoped the issues would soon be settled.
"You will note that in the first programme, there were some institutions that put more than some. That is a matter of concern – how much will each put and what is the timing," the Minister said.
"They have been meeting for three days straight and I believe they have become increasingly seized of the urgency and we have communicated over these three days directly that this is a matter of utmost urgency to us. I believe that that message is getting through," he added.
