Conditionality

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Jamaica: IMF halts school construction

30 September 2010

Newspaper Jamaica Gleaner reported in early September that the country’s IMF programme has slowed the building of new schools. Quoting Paul Matalon, the head of the National Education Trust which is responsible for capital investment in education, the paper reported that the IMF is holding up both upfront investment because of the budget implications, and the issuance of bonds to pay for new schools because of the debt limits in the Fund programme. In mid September, the Jamaican National Workers Union called for a renegotiation of the IMF conditions because of their incompatability with the government’s contractual agreements with public sector workers for wage increases.