Business View Caribbean - October 2016 51
and capital, the Ministry of Finance sits at the intersec-
tion of development and growth in Jamaica. We have
to take care of our debt obligation but, at the same
time, find ways to facilitate economic growth that hap-
pens through other ministries such as the Ministry of
Housing, the Ministry of Water, the Ministry of Mining
and Transportation, the Ministry of Economic Growth
and Job Creation - all of those. So, it’s a pivotal role
and one where we have to balance all these impera-
tives to ensure that we get growth but to also ensure
that we have a balanced budget.”
BVM: According to the Ministry’s website, one of
its priorities is “enabling growth and national de-
velopment through a sound and predictable mac-
ro-economic policy framework that maintains low
inflation, stable exchange rates, and competitive
interest rates.” How will you achieve that?
Williams:
“We have a role to play in maintaining a sta-
ble macroeconomic policy, but then there is another
institution, the Bank of Jamaica, whose function is to
ensure that we are in a low interest rate environment
and that interest rates remain competitive for busi-
nesses and individuals. So, we have a central bank
whose main focus is on the monetary side of the equa-
tion, whereas, we are primarily focused on the fiscal
side. But both of them work together, hand-in-hand,
to the extent that we maintain fiscal discipline that en-
genders confidence.”
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service
WHAT:
A ministry of the government of Jamaica
WHERE:
Kingston, Jamaica
WEBSITE
:
