Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Fayval Williams, says she is committed to ensuring that Jamaica fulfils the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) targets for the January to March quarter and, by extension, the 2015/16 fiscal year.

This, by utilising her knowledge and experience in business, gained locally and internationally, to guide her engagements at the ministry.

Speaking with JIS News following a meeting with staff at the Ministry’s National Heroes Circle offices in Kingston on Friday, March 11, Williams said that Financial Secretary Devon Rowe has indicated that measures are in place to fulfil the obligations under the IMF agreement, which include the $120 primary surplus target for the January to March quarter.

During his monthly media briefing in February, Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) Co-Chairman Richard Byles indicated that the January to March quarter is expected to be “tough for the fiscal targets”.

This, mainly consequent on the doubling of the primary surplus target over the approximately $60 billion achieved for the October to December 2015 quarter.

However, Williams was optimistic about the possibility of achieving this target.

“There are goals and targets that we have to meet, and the plan is to meet all targets,” she said, in her address to the ministry’s staff.

Meanwhile, Williams underscored the importance of establishing a robust growth agenda, in order to achieve significant economic growth and generate more jobs.

“We have to move to robust growth of five or six or seven per cent. Those numbers may sound way over the top, but we believe they are achievable; we need to clear the roadblocks, and make good decisions. But they need to happen faster so that projects can get underway,…(and) persons can be employed,” she said.

Williams was sworn in as State Minister by Governor General, Sir Patrick Allen, during a ceremony at King’s House on Monday, March 7.

She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) by profession, and holds a Master of Business Administration, majoring in Finance, from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States.

Prior to being elected Member of Parliament for St Andrew Eastern in the February 25 General Elections, Williams was executive director of Kingston Properties Ltd, and held several other executive positions in the private and public sectors.

Williams said she welcomed the opportunity to lend her skills and talents in service to Jamaica, through the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.

She is one of two state ministers appointed to work alongside portfolio minister, Audley Shaw, the other being, Rudyard Spencer.