MONTEGO BAY, St James — The achievements and challenges of Jamaica’s development were showcased to parliamentarians from various countries who are part of a World Bank Group/International Monetary Fund (IMF) team visiting the island this week.

During the four-day visit, programmes and projects financed with the assistance of the two multi-national financial entities were on show.

Neema Lugangira, a Member of Parliament (MP) in Tanzania, who is visiting Jamaica for the first time, was impressed with what she saw.

“What I can tell you is, for a fact, it has been very inspiring,” Lugangira told journalists following a visit to Barnett Street Fire Station in St James on Wednesday.

She pointed to Jamaica’s transformational approach to managing the economy as it was noted that the island is regarded as a role model for other developing countries.

“Jamaica has been very transformational in the way in which it has managed its economy. A few years ago, it had a debt-to-GDP ratio which was extremely high. They were in the red zone, according to the IMF, and over the years, they have made very drastic changes, very tough decisions that have moved Jamaica from being in the red zone to now [being in] the green zone. And for the Government to be able to do that, they made a very tough decision,” stated Lugangira.

“The unique thing about how they did it is that they involved the people. They involved the citizens. They involved civil society [and] they involved academia. So, everybody knew the decision that they were making, why they were making [it], and everybody was willing to pay the price to turn it around. And here we are, a few years later… I mean, it’s inspiring,” added Lugangira.

She also spoke glowingly of former Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke, who was appointed a deputy managing director of the IMF on October 31, 2024. Lugangira is of the view that Clarke’s elevation to the IMF will be of benefit to several countries, including those in Africa.

“When it was announced that the IMF had appointed a new deputy managing director who was the finance minister of Jamaica, I was like, ‘Wow! Okay, this is really good’, but having been here, for a fact, I know he so deserves that position, and he’s going to do a great job in supporting a lot of countries to know how to turn around our own economic situations. So I think Jamaica is a really, really good role model for a lot of countries,” added Lugangira, who is a board member of the Global Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF.

She is also co-chair of the Climate Finance Chapter of the Parliamentary Network and spoke of her takeaways from Jamaica and the Caribbean as it relates to climate issues.

“So, in terms of climate, what I’ve learned is that in every project, every investment that Jamaica is doing, it’s taking into account how to mitigate from the challenges that can come up with climate. I think that’s a very good thing because the Government in Jamaica recognises that Jamaica is vulnerable towards climate shocks, so it is making efforts to do the adaptation and mitigation.

“But it’s also recognising that when it comes to tapping into [the] global climate finance that is available, it needs to be done such that it is suitable for Jamaica. So, I think that’s a very good thing and a good learning experience for myself to take back home,” said Lugangira.

Member of the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies Sven Clement spoke about the importance of financing adaptation and mitigation initiatives.

Luxembourg is a small European country, surrounded by Belgium, France and Germany.

“When you’re here, you see how vulnerable a lot of populations are to climate change, you see that climate change is not only a reality, but will hurt those populations for the years to come. So, it’s really important that we finance adaptation and mitigation at the same time. We need to raise roads. We need to make sure that the water supplies stay resilient, [and] that energy supply becomes resilient,” said Clement.

“One of the main takeaways from this trip is that power in Jamaica is so expensive, and if I compare that to developed nations you are being shackled by the cost of energy… If we can drive down the cost of energy, make you more resilient, make you more dependent on the sun, and less dependent on old dinosaur bones, well, that would be a huge challenge to take on, but it would also yield immediate results when it comes to climate change,” he said.

“So, yeah, I see you are vulnerable, but you’re also at the forefront. So there might be a huge opportunity in mitigating and adapting quite rapidly,” argued Clement.

During the week, the group had meetings with Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness; governor of the Bank of Jamaica Richard Byles; minister with responsibility for the environment, climate change, and the blue and green economies Matthew Samuda; and the Minister of Finance and Public Service Fayval Williams.

The group also visited the Houses of Parliament and went on a field trip to various projects that were implemented with support from the two multi-national entities.

Member of Parliament for St James West Central Marlene Malahoo Forte, who hosted the delegation in St James, said at the end of the trip, a report will be made to the World Bank and the IMF.

“The projects financed with the assistance of the international financial community, especially the World Bank Group, were on show — Montego Bay Fire Station, expansion at the [Sangster International] Airport done in conjunction with a private sector arm of the World Bank, that’s the IFC (International Finance Corporation). And we will go back and do a report to the World Bank Group and the IMF about the impact of the programmes and projects on the ground,” said Malahoo Forte, the minister of legal and constitutional affairs.

“We also look at the support being provided, not just for infrastructure, but to farmers, fisherfolk, and farmers. And we’re going to do a little run-through in Granville and Mount Salem where we have done community work with the support of the World Bank Group,” added Malahoo Forte.