Norris R. McDonald | ‘Dead money’ or prosperity? - Put Jamaica’s wealth to work

In 1995, Prime Minister P. J. Patterson ended Jamaica’s long relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), setting the country on a more independent economic path.It was a historic achievement that symbolised the hope that Jamaica could eventually finance its own development. Fourteen years later, Finance Minister Audley Shaw declared that Jamaica had “no other choice” but to return to the IMF.In the words of a Pocomania revival chorus:“It has been a long hard road to travel;And we still have a mighty long way to go.”But what have we achieved since then?