An achievement for which all Jamaicans can be proud is the seamlessly sound, sober economic management shown by their leaders across administrations over the last 11/12 years.

In May 2013 a People’s National Party (PNP) Government, led by Mrs Portia Simpson Miller, with Dr Peter Phillips as finance minister, signed a four-year extended fund facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a bid to save the Jamaican economy from total disaster.

That agreement came close to two years after the collapse of a stand-by arrangement between the previous Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Government and the IMF — lender of last resort.

Just over a year after that 2013 signing a pleased head of the IMF, Mrs Christine Lagarde, praised the Jamaican Government for frontally tackling economic challenges and making “hard choices”.

She advised Government and all stakeholders to “stay the course” and avoid wasting “outstanding achievements” over the previous four quarters.

To the eternal credit of our leaders they took to heart Mrs Lagarde’s advice and “stayed the course”.

We are reminded by Opposition spokesman on finance Mr Julian Robinson that in 2012, shortly after the Simpson Miller-led Administration took the reins of Government, Jamaica’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 145 per cent.

Mr Robinson recalls that figure was reduced to 115 per cent by the time the PNP lost the 2016 election, following “a period of careful fiscal management”.

It’s not by accident that in August news that former Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke had accepted a senior post with the Washington-based IMF was met with considerable consternation, even as he gained plaudits far and wide for his elevation.

Concern flowed from a fear that his replacement at the helm of the finance ministry would struggle to adequately fill his boots. It’s a matter of record that the Andrew Holness-led JLP Administration, with Dr Clarke as finance minister, has “stayed the course” while demonstrating expert economic management.

Jamaica has remained on an even keel despite the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and other setbacks such as Hurricane Beryl in early July.

Crucially, under Dr Clarke’s leadership, Jamaica’s debt-to-GDP ratio dropped to an astonishing 72 per cent by earlier this year. It is projected to fall to 67 per cent by the end of this fiscal year, March 2025.

And yet, economic management is never only about reducing debt. A weakness for Jamaica going back decades is anaemic growth and related low productivity.

Now, with the economy consistently stable, growth requires priority attention.

Closely related is urgent need for upliftment of people’s lives through long-term investment in wide-ranging sectors, including education, health, transportation, water distribution, and roads.

With a parliamentary election less than a year away, pressures and demands will only multiply in the short term.

Those are among the harsh realities facing new Minister of Finance and the Public Service Mrs Fayval Williams, though she is duty-bound to maintain Jamaica’s newly-established culture of fiscal responsibility and discipline.

A pleasant, mild-mannered individual, Mrs Williams is described by Mr Holness, business leaders, and those who know her well as eminently qualified for her new role. Her shadow, Mr Robinson, says she was the only logical choice to replace Dr Clarke.

For the greater good of all Jamaica, we wish Mrs Williams the very best as she steps forward for this huge balancing act.