Kingston, Jamaica:
Howard Mitchell, President of The Private Sector Organisation Of Jamaica (PSOJ) is reiterating his call for action to reduce the extreme volatility of the exchange rate.
In 2018, the PSOJ endorsed the government’s strategy for management of a flexible exchange rate regime, however, in the last five months, the unpredictability of the movement of the exchange rate has severely impacted the ability of both large and small commercial interests
to do proper planning and forecasting resulting in considerable financial loss
Mr. Mitchell said that while there have been mixed reactions to his earlier call for pegging of the dollar or the introduction of dollarization, it is important to move the discourse further to arrive at a viable solution. “There has been much commentary and criticism in the wake of my suggestions to consider alternative systems which do not require the current level of complex management, but we still have not addressed the manifest issues of high price volatility and supply dislocations in the FX market which negatively affect the efforts of the productive sector to achieve real growth. An 8% decline in the value of the Jamaican dollar in less than a month wreaks havoc on businesses, particularly small businesses that are the lifeblood of the economy and their pain should not be dismissed by arrogant one-liners that can stimulate fatigue and regressive responses. I am therefore renewing the call for constructive and mature dialogue and urgent practical solutions to address the continuing uncertainties in the foreign exchange market.”
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Contact: Ms. Chloleen Daley-Muschett
Email: chloleenm@psoj.org
Tel: 927-6238, Fax 978-2709