Former Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips is one of the most accomplished legislators this country has ever produced. Indeed, ever since he entered the Parliament as a Government senator after the 1989 General Election, Dr Phillips has provided exemplary management of every portfolio placed before him.

Easily, though, his most impressive performance was his stewardship of the Jamaican economy as minister of finance between 2012 and 2016. No one can successfully challenge the argument that the fiscal policies implemented by the Government of that period started the very slow recovery of the Jamaican economy which was drowning in debt.

Of course, those policies were outlined by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but Dr Phillips, we know, had decided that the country needed to pull itself out of the financial quagmire into which it was plunged by years of mismanagement — a great deal of which came at the hands of his own political party.

Thankfully, when the Government changed hands in 2016, the new finance minister, Mr Audley Shaw, maintained those policies and his successor, Dr Nigel Clarke, doubled down on the measures even during the challenging period of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Today the country is starting to realise some of the benefits, even as there are some public officials who would want a return to the days of “run wid it” economics.

On Tuesday this week, the IMF, in delivering its latest World Economic Outlook, highlighted Jamaica as one of three countries that are successfully reducing debt through strict primary balance policies, inflation adjustments, and fiscal consolidation.

That acknowledgement is a feather in Jamaica’s cap, even as the fund slightly lowered its outlook for the global economy.

Dr Clarke has creditably managed the country’s finances with a steady hand and, like Dr Phillips, a steely resolve to significantly reduce the debt. Both men know that by doing so the country will be in a better position to fund programmes and services that will improve people’s lives.

On Tuesday, Dr Phillips, in an interview with veteran journalist Cliff Hughes on Nationwide 90FM, offered very sound advice, saying that, while it is “very important to sustain the downward trajectory”, we must remember that “in the general scheme of things we still have a very high debt” even though the country is “not in as dismal a situation as we were in 2013/2014”.

He said that over the years he had “become acutely aware of the many, many risks which small countries face in the global economy”.

Dr Phillips didn’t get into details about those risks, but his reference, we are sure, included concerns over high inflation and rising geopolitical tensions, particularly Russia’s war in Ukraine which is continuing to dampen growth and drive up consumer prices in many countries.

We agree with his argument that, while controlling the debt and getting more employment and investment is very good, a concerted effort must be made to improve the formal education system in order for us to compete with a more productive labour force, particularly in industries “which have a higher rate of return and which allow for greater profitability and therefore greater wages and income”.

That there is consensus on this matter across political administrations is indeed encouraging. We strongly believe that if the politicos consistently think nation over party, Jamaica will be much better off.