Financial Secretary Welcomes Collaborations
By: , March 13, 2015The Key Point:
Photo: Mark Bell
Financial Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Planning, Devon Rowe (left), greets St. Andrew Rotary Club President, Robert Gibbs, just before the start of the organisation’s weekly luncheon on March 10, at the Four Seasons Hotel in St. Andrew, where Mr. Rowe was the guest speaker.The Facts
- Notable among these collaborations, he says, are the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC), ; the Energy Sector Enterprise Team (ESET) and the Incentives Working Group (IWG).
- The Financial Secretary was speaking at the Rotary Club of St. Andrew weekly luncheon, held at Hotel Four Seasons, in Kingston, on March 10.
The Full Story
Financial Secretary, Devon Rowe, says he welcomes the new and emerging style of governance, characterised by increased collaborations involving public and private sector stakeholders who support key Government programmes, such as implementation of the Economic Reform Programme (ERP).
Notable among these collaborations, he says, are the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC), which monitors and advises on the ERP’s implementation; the Energy Sector Enterprise Team (ESET), created to assist in guiding expansion and modernisation of Jamaica’s electricity generation capacity; and the Incentives Working Group (IWG), which consulted with the Administration on tax reform.
The Financial Secretary was speaking at the Rotary Club of St. Andrew weekly luncheon, held at Hotel Four Seasons, in Kingston, on March 10.
Mr. Rowe said in reviewing the work of the three groups, “I have formed (the) view that it points to a growing trend in collaboration that is producing meaningful results.”
“It is recognition that in order for reforms to work, it requires greater collaborations (and) a greater and wider set of insights from what we currently use in the Government. It is also saying that we need to extract talents from wherever they are in Jamaica, to ensure that those (inputs which) Jamaica requires for growth and development can be achieved,” he added.
Mr. Rowe said collaborative efforts have also been evident at the level of the citizens, such as support for the Administration’s implementation of several ERP pre-conditions and measures, which were deemed necessary by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to secure the four-year US$932 million Extended Fund Facility (EFF). He cited as an example, the National Debt Exchange (NDX) programme.
“If you were to think back, we would not have recorded the achievements attained thus far under the ERP, had we not (undertaken) a second debt exchange (programme)…that recorded a 99 per cent success rate. That debt exchange (was indicative of) Jamaicans coming together (to ensure) that Jamaica’s fiscal arrangements could remain sustainable,” he said.