The three-year Precautionary Stand-by Arrangement which commenced on November 11, 2016, is our Plan, it’s Jamaica’s Plan, it’s not the IMF’s plan – if we fail, the dire consequences impact us not the IMF.
The primary objective of this new Economic Programme is growth and job creation.
Embedded in this Macro Economic Framework Policy are three main planks:
- Growth imperatives, commitments, measures and targets
- Fiscal and Monetary targets
- Public Sector Transformation
These Economic Reforms are monitored through Performance Criteria which are time bound deliverables monitored as Structural Benchmarks and Quantitative Performance Criteria
Example of a Structural Benchmark:
- The submission of new rates and bands for Property taxes using 2013 valuations to the Cabinet in December of2016
- Primary Surplus target of 7 percent maintained through the programme
The objectives of EPOC are to hold the government accountable to core elements of our Economic Programme, primarily the fiscal and monetary policy commitments that we have made.
Fiscal meaning the Revenue and Expenditure targets and most importantly the debt targets.
Secondly, Monetary Policy which is primarily focused around inflationary and Net International Reserve targets.
