THE EDITOR, Sir:

Your edition of Thursday, February 1, carried a very constructive Letter to the Editor by a Christopher Gayle in which he commented on my review of the performance of the Jamaican economy in 2006.

Although he did not indicate specifically the presentation on which he was commenting, I am of the view that it was the one I made at the Mayberry Investment Forum. Mr. Gayle asserted that I failed to discuss the negative effects of natural disasters on the Jamaican economy.

The fact is that in both my oral and the powerpoint presentations, specific reference was made to this issue in that I spoke of the out-turn for 2006 against the backdrop of the difficult years of 2004 and 2005.

Mr. Gayle is correct about the need for us to include in any analysis the effects of natural disasters on the economy.

However, in this particular instance, the real culprit was the media coverage of what I said.

I am, etc.,

OMAR DAVIES, MP

Minister of Finance