GOVERNMENT has agreed to a number of preconditions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of a requirement for an extended fund facility with the multinational.

Some of the preconditions were announced last night buy the finance minister, Dr Peter Phillips, during a joint national broadcast to the nation with Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

They include:

Tax waivers to go

Minister says concrete steps will be taken to reduce and virtually eliminate discretionary tax waivers. Parliament will be provided with details today.

Wage freeze

Minister says there must be a contract in place with public sector workers which will enable the achievement of a wage to GDP ratio of nine per cent by 2015/2016.

Public Debt Management Act

Minister says the required passage of a Public Debt Management Act has been completed.

Another debt exchange

Minister says the most urgent of the conditionalities arising from the negotiations with the IMF is the requirement of a debt reduction programme. As such, a National Debt Exchange Offer, similar to the Jamaica Debt Exchange under the previous Administration, will be launched today with the support of leading private sector financial institutions. "This offer, which we urge bondholders to accept, will make possible the reduction of our debt to GDP ratios by 8.5 per cent or around $17 billion per year between now and 2020," said Phillips.