World Bank President Praises Jamaica’s Economic Health  

• World Bank President, Ajay Banga, has high praises for Jamaica’s current economic health, noting that the country has managed its macro situation very well. He noted that this is contrary to many developing countries, which took on a great deal of debt when interest rates were low.
• He highlighted that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as part of the G-20 Common Framework, are trying to work through how to restructure some of those debts in a way that makes it more palatable and easier for these countries to work their way through.
• Banga, who arrived on the island on Tuesday (June 13), was speaking to journalists during a tour of the Content Greenhouse Cluster in Williamsfield, Manchester this morning (June 14). The project involves the revitalization of former bauxite lands for agricultural production. Farmers are engaged in cultivating crops such as cucumber, sweet potato, cabbage, lettuce, and hot pepper in greenhouses, supplying hotels, supermarkets and other markets.
• It is being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment (JSIF) through its Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) and financed by the World Bank. It involves collaboration with the Windalco Kirkvine/Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) Joint Communities Council, which he hails.

(Source: JIS News)