Nigel is a Special Resource for Jamaica – PM Holness

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has hailed outgoing Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, as a “special resource for Jamaica”.

Dr. Clarke, who officially demits office on Wednesday (October 30), is to be appointed Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) effective October 31.

Contributing to the outpouring of tributes in the house of Representatives on Tuesday (October 29), Dr. Holness said he and Dr. Clarke not only share a close friendship but, more importantly, “a passion for the vision of improving Jamaica”.

He noted that as Finance Minister, Dr. Clarke embraced the mandate to accelerate the implementation of not just the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme but Jamaica’s programme of economic reform.

He noted that Dr. Clarke’s “enduring legacy” included the reserves being at the highest levels in decades, the passing of nine budgets without an increase in taxes, slashing the national debt from 144 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to now 74 per cent, legislation to create an independent central bank, and the formulation of the Fiscal Commission.

Jamaica was also the first small country to successfully issue a catastrophe bond and, under Dr. Clarke, an international financial instrument was denominated in the Jamaican dollar for the first time.

Dr. Holness also pointed to the massive public-sector compensation review and the development of “a trainline of public-private partnership projects”, among other successes.

“Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that Nigel is a special resource for Jamaica. He has served with great dignity, poise and confidence. I am very pleased to have been associated with Nigel and very happy to have had the opportunity to work with [him] to get all of what we have accomplished done,” the Prime Minister said.

He added, “I’ve always known that Nigel’s skills and his service is not always going to be local… . There are other countries that need to benefit from the experience of Jamaica, and it is indeed a distinct honour that his skill resided with us and we now give that skill to the world.”