KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition spokesman on finance Julian Robinson has challenged claims by Prime Minister Andrew Holness about Jamaica’s debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio when the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) administration came into office in 2016.

“Yesterday in Parliament, Prime Minister Andrew Holness made a false statement by claiming that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 145 per cent when he took office. I must correct this. In fact, the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 115 per cent when the People’s National Party (PNP) left office in 2016, after a period of careful fiscal management,” said Robinson in a media release.

“In 2012, the PNP inherited a challenging economic situation with the debt-to-GDP ratio at 145 per cent. By 2016, through determined efforts, we had reduced this to 115 per cent, achieving a substantial improvement that averaged an annual reduction of 7.5 per cent.

“It is fallacious for the prime minister to suggest that his Administration alone achieved the current debt levels by implying they began their tenure at 145 per cent. In reality, the debt-to-GDP ratio in 2007, when the Jamaica Labour Party [JLP] took office, was 107 per cent, and during their administration, it rose to 145 per cent. The PNP then undertook a significant recovery, bringing it down by 30 percentage points in four years to 115 per cent in 2016,” added Robinson.

In his tribute to the then outgoing Minister of Finance Dr Nigel Clarke in Parliament on Tuesday the prime minister applauded him for cutting the debt-to-GDP ratio by approximately 50 per cent to 74 per cent at this time.

But while pointing to what he said are the correct numbers Robinson said: “Jamaicans deserve transparency, particularly in areas that impact their economic future. It is essential and important to present the truth to Jamaicans and fact check the prime minister. As we await the appointment of a new finance minister, I urge the prime minister to provide truthful representations on national finance to foster informed public discourse.”