Jamaica's finance minister’s appointment as deputy managing director of the IMF, a first for the region, brings plaudits and some local concerns

‘One of the most successful and experienced [policymakers] in Latin America and the Caribbean’

Originally published on Global Voices

On August 26, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva announced the appointment of Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Nigel Clarke, as the IMF's deputy managing director, effective October 31, 2024.

I am delighted to announce @NigelClarkeJa appointment as IMF Deputy Managing Director. Nigel, an exceptional public servant with proven leadership in institution building and crisis management, has stewarded Jamaica to a stronger economic position. Welcome to the IMF! pic.twitter.com/hSK4DMC6hK

— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgieva) August 26, 2024

Minister Clarke replied somewhat modestly on X (formerly Twitter):

I am deeply honoured by this appointment which is also Jamaica’s success.@KGeorgieva https://t.co/4l9kDoyjAK

— Nigel Clarke (@NigelClarkeJa) August 27, 2024

In support of his appointment, the IMF cited the work on an Extended Fund Facility and a precautionary Stand-By Arrangement that Clarke has been doing with the Fund since 2016. In June, the IMF also noted that a recent Precautionary Liquidity Line and Resilience and Sustainability Facility supported Jamaica's “significant progress … with their ambitious agenda to make the economy more resilient to climate change.”

The IMF's managing director also lauded Clarke's “unique perspective” and Jamaica's remarkable economic transformation, adding that the Minister has demonstrated “it is possible to build strong institutions, to have a remarkably resilient economy [and] to overcome challenges,” which would benefit “other countries with similar challenges”:

In an interview with our news centre, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, shares the significance of appointing Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke as Deputy Managing Director.

Tune in to #PrimeTimeNews at 7pm for more.#TVJNews pic.twitter.com/aDMWjFmzyg

— Television Jamaica/Radio Jamaica Newscentre (@TvjNewscentre) August 26, 2024

Meanwhile, Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness pointed out that Clarke is the first citizen of the Caribbean or Central America to be appointed to the role:

I wholeheartedly congratulate Dr. Nigel Clarke on today’s announcement of his pending appointment as Deputy Managing Director of the IMF.

This is a historic and important development in which I take immense pride.

No citizen of Jamaica, the Caribbean or Central America has… pic.twitter.com/SMExMqRwJr

— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) August 26, 2024

Peter Phillips, a former Jamaican opposition leader and finance minister, also sent his best wishes:

Congratulations to @NigelClarkeJa on your forthcoming appointment as Deputy Managing Director of the IMF. It is a testament to your own achievement and will provide Jamaica and the Caribbean with a welcome resource as we continue to strive for sustainable economic growth

— Peter David Phillips (@DrPeterPhillips) August 26, 2024

Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley and President of the Inter-American Development Bank Ilan Goldfajn were among the first to congratulate Clarke, with the latter calling him “one of the most successful and experienced [policymakers] in Latin America and the Caribbean, [who] will be a great asset to the IMF and its members!”

Jamaica-born economist Peter Blair Henry, who works at Stanford University, took the opportunity to share an academic paper on Jamaica's debt reduction that he and Clarke co-authored:

Reposting in honor of today’s @IMFNews announcement about the great @NigelClarkeJa . Congratulations again, Nigel! Jamaica owes you a debt of gratitude. https://t.co/kkh5qHiYCL

— Peter Henry (@PeterBlairHenry) August 26, 2024

Politics soon began to come into play, however, with Jamaica's opposition People's National Party (PNP) likening Clarke's move to “the abandonment of a sinking ship” — a perspective many viewed as churlish. Attorney Clyde Williams chastised the approach:

Dear @JamaicaPNP You would do well to take a cue from a former president. Your press release on the appointment of a Jamaican to a huge position in the IMF was more partisan & political than congratulatory. Whatever happened to decorum? Just big up Nigel in your release & stop. https://t.co/pZ7f1RS7h5

— Clyde Williams (@ClydeWilliams46) August 26, 2024

Clarke, 52, has been a well-respected minister with impeccable credentials, having served in positions of leadership at a number of public and private institutions. The son of Jamaican Supreme Court judge Neville Clarke and Jamaica's first children's advocate Mary Clarke, he attended the prestigious boys’ boarding school Munro College, where he obtained a scholarship to study mathematics and computer science at the University of the West Indies in Kingston. He graduated with First Class Honours and went on to study for his Master of Philosophy at Oxford's Linacre College on a Commonwealth Scholarship, later receiving the Rhodes Scholarship to pursue further studies at Oxford. In 1997, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Numerical Analysis. His career began at Goldman Sachs in London; he returned to Jamaica in 1999, where he worked in the private sector.

Clarke's career in politics began as a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) senator in 2013. In 2016, he was appointed Jamaica's Ambassador-at-Large for Economic Affairs at the Office of the Prime Minister. He won his parliamentary seat in a by-election in 2018, and was appointed finance minister soon afterwards.

In a television interview, Minister Clarke stressed the need for macro-economic stability and economic buffers, as well as carefully targeted interventions that will benefit “the people who need it most”:

We had some things we had to ask Dr. Nigel Clarke before he leaves us to take up his new role.

2/2 pic.twitter.com/4TQ9mlff9W

— CVM Television (@CVMTV) August 27, 2024

The governing JLP quickly announced the successor for Clarke's parliamentary seat — and while a new finance minister has reportedly been identified, the person's name has not yet been disclosed, giving rise to public speculation. Among the candidates being touted in the media are Jamaica's current Minister of Education Fayval Williams, who has a background in finance; Senator and current Minister of Information Dana Morris Dixon, a Fulbright Scholar with an economics background; and even the prime minister himself. Holness’ mentor, the late Edward Seaga, served as both prime minister and finance minister during his tenure.

One Jamaican financial analyst, pointing to a slowing of economic growth, suggested that with Minister Clarke's departure, “there is nobody who we can identify inside that Parliament who could run the Ministry of Finance. So we have a national crisis which could lead to the calling of an early general election.”

Noting that “we don't depend on one man alone,” Prime Minister Holness insisted that his Cabinet had depth and he was not concerned about who should succeed Clarke. He also observed that “every political organisation must be able to attract new talent,” perhaps suggesting that a suitable candidate would be found outside.

Potential replacements aside, most Jamaican social media users felt proud of Clarke's achievement and the historic nature of his appointment, stressing that it boosts Jamaica's global profile in a positive way:

Huge congratulations to @NigelClarkeJa on his appointment as Deputy Managing Director of the @IMFNews. Having a seat at the table at this level should be celebrated. Certainly we are showing the world that this region is capable of leading at various levels and sectors. #FORWARD

— Tyrone Wilson (@CallTyrone_W) August 27, 2024

Some saw the move as a plus for Clarke, but a negative for Jamaica:

I always felt that Dr Clarke was not a “politician” he was a finance man. I think this is a big loss for Jamaica but a massive professional move for him. I wish him well

— Karen Madden (@karendmadden) August 26, 2024

In the context of Jamaica's perceived “brain drain,” one social media user had a different perspective:

The decision of recruited Jamaican teachers and nurses to migrate is often met with scorn and derision while the recruitment of its Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke, by the IMF is seen as a great accomplishment. [Clarke] is only left to be conferred with ‘National Hero’ status for not only abandoning his Ministerial post but also the abandonment of his constituents whom he swore to serve; and for no less the same reason that teachers and nurses leave – [more] money and status.

Make no mistake, but at the heart of any successful recruitment, it is personal gain, not altruism, that anchors the process. At the same time, that recruitment robs the recruited country of one more of its educated and trained personnel. The exercise adds to the pile of human resource loss and cements Jamaica as being the second most affected country in the world in losing its human capital.

What then is the difference between Minister Clarke's recruitment and that of our teachers and nurses?

Our hypocrisy knows no bounds.

In the past, Jamaica has had a somewhat volatile and, at times, very cool relationship with the IMF. Minister Clarke has been credited with almost single-handedly turning the Jamaican economy around and reducing its debt.

So, what of Jamaica's economic future? Only time will tell.

Written by Emma Lewis