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The local newscast this morning (February 27, 2003) carried a story by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), which has stated that Jamaica’s debt burden could force the Government to default on its debt payments this year. The Ministry of Finance and Planning wishes to state the following: Jamaica has never defaulted on its domestic or external debt payments; In 1983 when the Debt to GDP ratio peaked at 203.5%, the fiscal deficit was 15.8% of GDP and the NIR stood at negative US$863.5M at March 1984, Jamaica met all its domestic and external debt obligations. The Constitution stipulates that debt servicing is the first charge on the resources of the country. The current situation is much better than the economic indicators that existed in the mid-1980s, consequently, the Ministry of Finance and Planning wishes to assure investors that Jamaica will never default on its debt obligations.
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