(Trinidad Guardian) The Caribbean is leading by example, according to the International Monetary Fund IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva.
During the managing director’s press conference and Global Agenda briefing at the IMF annual meeting yesterday, Georgieva hailed the progress made by Jamaica and Barbados in particular despite a challenging economic landscape, when asked about the slow growth projected for the Latin America region.
“It (Latin America) faces a disappointing growth, but growth is moderating, and that means that Latin America needs to concentrate on how that growth trajectory can be lifted. We have been discussing the key reforms, growth-enhancing reforms that can be undertaken by countries. I also want to recognise that Latin America is not a unified place, because if you look at the Caribbean or Central America, they’re actually doing better than the global average,” she said.
The IMF boss said if the reason certain countries are doing better, the reason is because they have taken seriously the need to trim their debt.
“You take countries like Barbados or Jamaica. Reforms are bringing results, and because they have taken to heart the significance of governance and engaging the public to pursue a reform.”
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She encouraged larger economies in the region to follow the examples of those Caribbean countries.
“So when I think of the big economies in Latin America, it is time to do the same thing, and the ambition to reform in a pro growth direction. And what is encouraging is that I hear that countries recognise that.”
Georgieva also used Jamaica as an example for countries that have consistently struggled with debt and low growth as a possible model to move from a low or middle income country to an upper level.
“Learn from others, engage with others. And I think this is where countries need to go. We have learned a lot about growth, enhancing reforms. We actually know, we have studied how they succeed. I think the reforms can lift the growth trajectory significantly,” said Georgieva.
“I always like to give the example of Jamaica, because Jamaica was a country 10 to 12 years ago, was a country with very high debt, a lot of crime. People were kind of desperate for their future. Well, they brought that down by half, and they moved the country in a very positive growth trajectory by that holistic approach to development,” she continued.
She also pointed out that compared to the rest of the Latin American region, the Caribbean stood out although it had been boosted by the sizeable growth in Guyana.
“You look at the Caribbean region only, and you have growth at 7.5 per cent in 2023 and 11.9 per cent in 2024. These are very big numbers of growth performance. Guyana there is the exceptional source, but overall, they’re doing very well.
“When you look at the Latin American and Caribbean as a whole, much lower we have in 2023 2.6 per cent growth and in 2024 2.6 per cent growth. This is not enough to lift up the performance of the Latin American economies, and this is why this issue of pro-growth reforms is so important,” she said in her closing statement at the press briefing.
