OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN on Finance, Dr Omar Davies, has expressed doubt that Jamaica would meet the September dateline it has set to make a formal request to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial aid.

"The September date for the presentation to the [IMF] Board is not feasible," Davies told journalists yesterday during a press conference held at the People's National Party's (PNP) Old Hope Road, St Andrew office.

The press conference was used by the Opposition as a platform for renewing the call for a resumption of Parliament.

According to Davies, the country is faced with not just a balance-of-payment problem, but also a fiscal problem. He said that unless a supplementary budget was brought to the House of Representatives for examination and debate soon, the country could be forced to wait longer for IMF assistance.

Borrowing from the IMF

Jamaica is seeking to borrow $1.2 billion from the IMF for balance-of-payment support. The Government has said that a letter of intent would be ready for submission to the IMF in September, the same timeline it set for the presentation of the Supplementary Estimates to Parliament.

However, Davies warned yesterday that the Opposition would not be yes men on the issue.

"The Opposition will not allow Parliament to be used to rubber-stamp Cabinet decisions on these matters simply because of any agreed deadline for submitting a loan application to the IMF," he said.

Davies said the PNP would not be a stumbling block in Government's way to go to the IMF, but warned that the Opposition would settle for nothing short of a full debate on the Supplementary Estimates before agreeing to further indebtedness for Jamaica.

"There is no financial secretary now, there is a new person coming on-board. He or she would have to have some input in that process," Davies said.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com