3-8% Growth ‘Very Realistic’ – Dr. Clarke

• Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says the prospects of Jamaica rebounding from the economic fallout of the coronavirus to record growth within the range of 3-8% for the 2021-22FY are “very realistic”.
• He believes this will be possible if we can roll out our vaccine program in April 2021, and our markets to the north continue with their vaccine roll-out.
• The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are among the institutions forecasting the turnaround from the 10-12% economic contraction projected for the fiscal year 2020-21.
• Clarke stressed that the nature of the decline in 2020, which was as much as 18% during the April to June quarter “is not a result of any structural deficiencies in Jamaica, or elsewhere that we have imported,” but rather COVID-19.

(Source: JIS News)