Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate, Peter Bunting, has slammed the government for not achieving meaningful growth in the country.
Senator Bunting pointed to World Bank projections that suggest Jamaica is falling behind the region in terms of growth.
Chevon Campbell tells us more.
Senator Bunting told comrades in Junction, St. Elizabeth over the weekend, that they must not be fooled by claims from the JLP administration that the economy is doing well.
Pointing to the latest World Bank Economic Report for June 2024, he notes that Jamaica is floundering even as other countries in the region are thriving.
Mr. Bunting’s assessment is partly accurate.
The World Bank projects that growth for the entire Caribbean in 2024 is projected at 7.1%.
However, that figure is inflated by projections for Guyana, which has experienced a phenomenal economic turnaround on the back of its oil discovery in 2015.
That country is anticipated to grow by over 30% in 2024.
With Guyana removed from the assessment, average growth in the region narrows to 3.9%.
Comparatively, Jamaica is projected to grow by 2%.
According to Bunting Jamaica’s outlook for growth is only better than crisis torn Haiti.
However, the 2% growth rate projected by Jamaica remains one of the highest over the last 20 years.
Between 2005 and 2014, Jamaica’s annual growth rate was 0.1%
It improved to 1.8% in 2016.
However, it again took a beating due to the COVID-19 pandemic contracting by nearly 10% in 2020.
The country also experienced a rapid recovery in 2021 and 2022, recording growth of 4.6 and 5.2%, respectively.
This fell to2.6% in 2023.
Mr. Bunting says despite attempts by the government to say otherwise, the average Jamaican is still suffering.
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