ASK DON Wehby about his time in the public sector and he will tell you that it was a mixed bag, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Wehby told The Gleaner that dealing with one crisis after another was the most stressful aspect of his job as minister without portfolio in the finance and planning ministry.

But he said that working on the country's behalf brought him great personal satisfaction.

"The oil crisis and then leading to the food crisis - that was a rough period because inflation was climbing. The dollar was under some amount of pressure, and the general stability was challenging. Trying to maintain economic stability was challenging," said Wehby.

Among the tasks he had while in Government was to ensure the divestment of Air Jamaica, the country's loss-making carrier that has been haemorrhaging US$150 million to US$170 million per year.

Over the past decade, Air Jamaica has accumulated a deficit of more than US$1 billion and is facing debts of more than US$500 million.

With technical assistance from the International Finance Corporation, Wehby reportedly identified a buyer, but was unable to deliver a signed sale deal.

Furnished the Cabinet

At the end of his two-year stint with the Government, Wehby has furnished Cabinet with the divestment proposal, but recounts that honing in on the best possible buyer for the national carrier was not easy.

"It is a very emotional company. Air Jamaica is an icon for Jamaicans. But my responsibility and my mandate from the prime minister, which was delivered, was to try and find a buyer by a certain period," said Wehby.

But challenges were not all that Wehby faced in Government. The former minister cited his discussions and interactions with heads of the multilaterals as personally satisfying. He remains convinced that his talks and the medium-term plan he presented to these organisations have been critical to Jamaica securing loan funds.

He said that if the framework presented to these multilaterals is followed, it could make a huge difference for the country.

Wehby, who led the team to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, DC, to explore the possibility of a standby facility for Jamaica, has said that critical to Jamaica's economic development is the growth of the economy.

He said, however, in the case of the return to the IMF, that borrowing to stay afloat was all Jamaica could do in this rough economic sea. "There was no other option," he declared.

Jamaica is seeking to borrow US$1.2 billion from the IMF, but is unlikely to get the funds unless the Government presents the IMF board with a credible medium-term programme.

The former minister is hoping that the Opposition, civil society and the business community will stand with the Government to help fashion Jamaica's economic recovery.

"You are going to need consensus in all areas. When you are in a crisis, you are like on top of a mountain," said Wehby. "The Opposition, the Government and all the people, we are tied together on a rope, and if one drops, everybody is going to drop. That is the message that we need to deliver."

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