JAMAICA needs to be in an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme for the next decade, one Kingston businessman reckons.

Government entered into a four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the IMF last year, with key elements of the programme including prudent fiscal management and actions to promote growth by improving competitiveness and the business climate.

Graeme Tulloch, principal of HDR Link International, a Red Hills Road-based distributor and retailer of building accessories, supports the reform measures that he believes Government lack the political will to implement on its own.

“I think we need to be in a voluntary IMF programme for the next 10 years because I lack the full confidence in the Government managing its fiscal affairs,” said Tulloch.

“Historically in Jamaica, politics has interfered with good fiscal management and we want to remove that. When is the last time you heard of a scandal?” added Tulloch, who believes the country is today paying the price for decades of mismanagement by politicians that have resulted in an economy characterised by high debt — one of the worst in the world — and slow growth.

Tulloch made the remarks in an interview with the Business Observer last week.

However, while he expressed support for the reform measures that have been implemented, he said more needs to be done to address the immediate stability of the economy along with the concerns of businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“I think for business people like myself and other SMEs, it is very important that we have a stable economy moving forward, otherwise you are going to end up back in this same problem (low growth, high debt) eventually,” Tulloch said.

According to the businessman, SMEs are being severely squeezed by the tightening economy. The sliding value of the Jamaican dollar, which has declined some 11 per cent the last 12 months, and the dip in aggregate demand are among the factors that have the sector in a dire state, he said.

“We have seen our margins diminish incredibly and if it wasn’t for some evasive action that I took in the middle of last year, the company would have operated at a severe loss,” Tulloch said, noting that revenues at HDR Link are currently down 35 per cent year-on-year.

“I have many friends in business and across the board the complaints are the same, 35 to 40 per cent decline in sales,” he added.

Tulloch argued that the type of monies demanded up front by Government when businesses like his import, have been causing severe damage to cash flows.

“They are hurting us,” he said, as he suggested that Jamaica could realise significant growth if Government lures illegitimate businesspersons into the tax net, while taking the burden off legitimate businesses and allowing them the space to grow.

“I would like the Government, instead of consistently targeting companies like mine that bring in revenues, I would like to see them expand the tax net in some way; simplify the tax code where the collection of taxes is easier,” he said.