IMF approves US$520 million disbursement to Jamaica

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved Jamaica’s request for access to its Rapid Financing Instrument in the amount of approximately US$520 million.

This represents 100% of Jamaica’s quota and the maximum amount available under the facility.

“The resources approved by the IMF today will be extremely valuable in boosting Jamaica’s foreign exchange reserves, and in assisting Jamaica to meet COVID-19 related balance of payments challenges,” said Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr Nigel Clarke, in a statement this afternoon.

“Our fiscal and monetary reforms have provided Jamaica with options that many countries do not have. Public body reform, inclusive of divestment and reintegration of public bodies, as well as recent fiscal over-performance has provided substantial cash resources that will be deployed to assist in the financing of the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These tangible dividends of our reform effort further reinforce our continued commitment to Jamaica’s economic reform agenda,” Clarke added.

Clarke says the Government has taken strong and decisive action to slow the spread of the new coronavirus in Jamaica, to strengthen public health capacity, and to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic on vulnerable individuals and small businesses.

However, he says the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted tourism-related foreign exchange inflows as well as remittances and is forecasted to significantly dampen economic activity.

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