Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke will assume the role of Deputy Managing Director for the International Monetary Fund on October 31. Lloyd B.
Smith ‹ › $('audio,video').mediaelementplayer(); Political commentator Lloyd B. Smith By Racquel Porter Political commentator Lloyd B.
Smith says Dr. Nigel Clarke's departure from government will cause what he terms a "seismic shift" in the ruling Jamaica Labour Party government. Dr.
Clarke is set to assume the role of Deputy Managing Director for the International Monetary Fund, come October 31. He will succeed Antoinette Sayeh, who steps down on September 12. Speaking with Radio Jamaica News, Mr.
Smith said Dr. Clarke's appointment to such a prestigious and influential position will present serious problems for the JLP. "Right now, the economy has begun to wobble a bit, what with inflation and other factors.
And I think the steady hand of Dr. Clarke would have continued to make a difference. Bearing in mind that the Constitution insists that the Minister of Finance has to come from the Lower House, I don't think the government has that much luxury in terms of choosing his successor," he contended.
Mr. Smith said all eyes are on Minister of Education Fayval Williams as the likely successor to Dr. Clarke.
Mrs. Williams served in the capacity of Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance during the period March 2016 to March 2018. But the political commentator suggested she would not have the same "fortitude" as Dr.
Clarke, which could leave the JLP administration challenged to continue the same level of fiscal management. "That is not to say that Dr. Clarke would not have left a suitable framework in which the government can continue to function.
But politics has a way of influencing economics. Dr. Clarke avoided too much of the politics since he has been in charge.
I don't know if a future finance minister will have that strength of character to fulfill that role in the way that he did," Mr. Smith reasoned. He said Dr.
Clarke appeared to be more of a technocrat, adding that he suspects the finance minister may have become "increasingly uncomfortable in the role of being a politician". "He's not cut out for the tribalistic type politics that we practice in Jamaica. He comes across as a scholar and a gentleman.
And I think deep down his decision would have been influenced, not just in terms of getting a major promotion on the international stage, but the comfort level that he will now enjoy, I'm sure, will be to his own benefit as an individual." Amid suggestions that Jamaica stands to benefit from Dr. Clarke's influential position in the International Monetary Fund, Mr.
Smith said he is uncomfortable with those assertions, since Dr. Clarke, as a deputy managing director, will be there to serve all 190 IMF member countries. googletag.
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