KINGSTON, Jamaica – An International Monetary Fund review mission team is expected to vist Kingston in May to conduct the 11th and 12th reviews under the Extended Fund Facility-supported programme.

The IMF said in a statement after meeting with Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his economic team, that the two reviews have been combined to enable the Jamaican authorities to focus on setting up a new administration following the general elections.

The IMF staff team was led by Nigel Chalk, deputy director of the Western Hemisphere Department, and Uma Ramakrishnan, mission chief for Jamaica.

In the meantime, the IMF congratulated Holness and the Jamaica Labour Party on their election results and said it is looking forward to continuing to support Jamaica under its new leadership.

“Today’s (Friday) meeting with Prime Minister Holness and his economic team provided a good opportunity to exchange views on the economic challenges and opportunities that Jamaica faces at this juncture, and on the policy proposals that have been put forward by the JLP in its election manifesto.

“We are appreciative of the JLP’s intention to continue to implement Jamaica’s economic reform programme supported by a four-year IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which was approved by the IMF Executive Board in May 2013. The reform programme has thus far been successful in restoring macroeconomic stability and reducing public debt.

“We have agreed to continue a close and open dialogue with the Jamaican authorities on designing the policies needed to remove obstacles to strong and sustained growth, focusing on job creation, tackling poverty, reducing the public debt, and advancing public sector efficiency. There was also agreement on the importance of achieving the fiscal targets in the current program. In that context, fiscal measures should be designed to be consistent with a primary surplus target of seven per cent of GDP in 2016/17 and tax policy reforms should continue to contribute to a fair, equitable, and efficient tax system,” the IMF statement read.

The IMF team also said they are “conscious that continued strong social support for the economic reform programme remains critical for achieving success”.

“We welcome the prime minister’s commitment to transparency and joint public-private oversight and monitoring of the economic programme,” the IMF said.