DAVIES and SHAWTHE OPPOSITION Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is demanding that the Government make public, the contents of a report issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following a review it did in February of this year.
The JLP, in a release issued yesterday, called on Dr. Omar Davies, Minister of Finance and Planning, to immediately release to the public the report of the last IMF Article IV review which was carried out in February and was considered by the IMF Board on June 9.
According to Audley Shaw, the opposition spokesman on Finance, 'the statement in Parliament yesterday (Tuesday) by the Finance Minister (regarding the visit of the IMF team) raises more questions than answers.'
Dr. Davies told the House of Representatives Tuesday that the Govern-ment was not about to renew the borrowing relationship it ended with the IMF in 1998. Speculation that the country was heading in that direction surfaced after it was revealed that the team from the international lending agency was on the island.
"Within the context of the conditionalities of the standard IMF programmes, we do not intend to enter into a borrowing arrangement with the IMF," Dr. Davies stressed on Tuesday. He pointed out that "there have been assertions emanating from various spokespersons for the Opposition" as to the meaning of the IMF team as well as "the future relationship between the Government and that institution."
In explaining the reason behind the team's presence, Dr. Davies said it was a standard requirement for the Government to meet with the IMF at least once per year for consultations under an Article IV arrangement. Under the arrangement, the IMF conducts bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information and then discusses with officials the country's economic developments and policies before preparing a report.
But Mr. Shaw said there are questions still left to be answered. Among the questions he is asking are: "...Why did the Director of Public Relations in the Ministry of Finance and Planning last week deny that the IMF team was here for an Article IV visit and instead was here to do an update and review of the economy? And why has the Minister failed to address these conflicting statements?"
Also he is questioning "Why has the Minister of Finance refused to release the February 2003 Article IV report which was considered by the Board of the IMF on June 9 of this year... why is the report being kept a secret and when will it be released?"
In light of what Mr. Shaw termed 'conflicting statements and obvious concealment of information', he said Dr. Davies must outline the specifics of the 'mechanisms being discussed with the IMF to replace the Staff Monitored Programme which was discontinued in March of this year.'
Failure to put the record straight would only lead to more speculations and declining confidence in the administration of the country, he said.
