A range of responses have greeted news of Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke’s appointment as a deputy managing director of International Monetary Fund (IMF). The majority have been congratulatory — mature and cerebral in tone, pointing to the achievement and its significance for Jamaica and the Caribbean. The others, few in numbers, have been juvenile, politically partisan, lack decorum, and display ignorance of how business operates at the highest global level.

The latter comprise people who appear to have difficulty wrapping their heads around what seems like the shocking speed of this historic development. They are accustomed to the slow pace of things. They hem and haw, delay, and “buckshuffle”. They are often indecisive and don’t respect time.

At the top of the world economy, where time is literally money, things move a bit more speedily. Case in point, Ms Christine Lagarde was France’s minister of finance from June 2007. On May 18, 2011 the vacancy of IMF managing director became available on the resignation of Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Despite her demanding job and existing policy commitments, within seven days of that vacancy Ms Lagarde announced her candidacy for the IMF job. She was elected on June 28, 2011 and started July 5, 2011, a mere six weeks after the vacancy arose.

The French adjusted, and life went on.

We don’t expect that the departure of Dr Clarke will, as some would want the country to believe, result in devastation of Jamaica’s economy. For what we have observed since Dr Clarke became the steward of the country’s finances in March 2018 is that he set his sights on building institutions and, with his strong team at the ministry, maintained disciplined fiscal management of the economy that has made it stronger and more sustainable.

That resolve to reject the “run wid it” economics of the past is a testament to Dr Clarke’s strength which, we have no doubt, was bolstered by support from the prime minister.

Not surprisingly, Dr Clarke’s efforts won him and the country many accolades, among them a glowing analysis in the Financial Times in January this year, which described Jamaica’s economic performance over the past 10 years as “arguably one of the most remarkable and radical but underappreciated turnaround stories in economic history”.

The article quoted the report of the IMF mission to Jamaica at that time which said, “Over the last years, Jamaica has successfully reduced public debt, anchored inflation, and strengthened its external position. It has built a strong track record of investing in institutions and prioritising macroeconomic stability. This allowed Jamaica’s response to recent global shocks to be prudent, agile, and supportive of growth.”

We share the sentiments expressed by former prime ministers Messrs PJ Patterson and Bruce Golding, former Opposition leader and People’s National Party President Dr Peter Phillips, Professor Orlando Patterson, former chancellor of The University of the West Indies Sir George Alleyne, and former Governor General Sir Kenneth Hall that Dr Clarke’s appointment will afford the IMF a better understanding of the circumstances and challenges facing developing countries like Jamaica.

Like these Caribbean luminaries we are proud of Dr Clarke’s achievement and wish him well. We have no doubt that he will serve the IMF and its member countries with distinction.