The newspaper of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Annual Meeting, Global Markets, has named Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor Brian Wynter as Central Bank Governor of the Year for the Caribbean.

The award was presented on Saturday, October 8, at the IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting in the Willard InterContinental Hotel, Washington, DC.

The newspaper’s editorial committee cites Governor Wynter’s admirable stewardship during difficult times in the international financial markets, acknowledging him as a “well-respected figure who has been stable and solid amid change of government” and part of “…an important new story being written for Jamaica…”

The release also cites his co-chairing of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC), which it notes “…oversees the IMF programme that has been so crucial to rebuilding Jamaica’s standing in markets”.

In accepting the award, Governor Wynter noted that it was really an award for Jamaica and for the BOJ. He added that while the work on the economy is not over and the country still has a long way to go, encouragement sweetens labour.

According to Governor Wynter, “…Indeed, without tremendous effort and granite discipline from Jamaica’s fiscal authorities, and without the wide and sustained consensus of Jamaican society at large, I would not be receiving this award today and so this award is theirs too.”

He added that these collective efforts created the space for the central bank to “carefully and resolutely” use monetary policy to support Jamaica’s economic reform agenda.

Wynter explained that he “…must also, therefore, especially dedicate this award to the capable and hard-working staff at Bank of Jamaica who put in exemplary work in the last few years”.

The glossy newspaper dubs him the “quietly spoken inflation killer”, and the Governor emphasised that battling inflation, and the success BOJ has achieved on that front, is the part of his job he is proudest about.

This is the first time that the award has been made specific to the Caribbean, and any previous nominees would have been grouped along with Latin America.

Jamaica in fact walked away as a double winner on the night, as the country was awarded the prize for the Best Government Infrastructure Strategy in the Caribbean, referring to Jamaica’s ongoing efforts to diversify our energy sources.

Fayval Williams, minister of state in the Ministry of Finance and Public Service, who was also in Washington for the IMF/World Bank meeting, accepted this award for the Government of Jamaica.