Newly appointed Minister of Finance, Fayval Williams, says claims made by her Opposition counterpart Julian Robinson regarding the country’s debt in 2016 are incorrect.
She issued a statement on Thursday responding to Mr. Robinson.
Robian Williams Williams.
During Tuesday sitting of Parliament, Prime Minister Andrew Holness stated that Jamaica’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 145% when the JLP administration took office in February 2016.
The following day, Mr. Robinson, in a statement, labelled the prime minister’s comments as erroneous.
According to Mr. Robinson, Jamaica’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 115% when the PNP left office in 2016.
But in a statement today, Minister Williams says Mr. Robinson’s assertion that the debt-to-GDP ratio was 115% at the time the PNP left office in 2016 was inaccurate.
Debt-to-GDP, Minister Williams explained, measures a country’s debt as a percentage of its Gross Domestic Product and serves as a key indicator of economic stability.
She says It’s regrettable that the fundamental point conveyed by the Prime Minister regarding the Debt-to-GDP ratio being reduced across political administrations was overlooked by the Opposition Spokesperson on Finance.
Williams outlined the chronology of the debt figures, noting the PNP administration’s role in reducing the Debt-to-GDP does not match the current administration’s achievements.
She also pointed to other significant gains by the current administration, such as no net new taxes, cuts to income tax, General Consumption Tax, GCT, property transfer taxes, and tax relief for pensioners and small businesses.
