Political commentator Kevin O’Brien Chang has emphasised the urgency for Prime Minister Andrew Holness to announce Dr Nigel Clarke’s successor as Finance Minister, especially given Clarke’s upcoming departure for a role at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

O’Brien Chang noted that a clear announcement would help eliminate uncertainty, particularly in the business sector, which prefers stability and continuity.

“He has had a long time to think it through. Why would he leave a vacuum in the people’s minds? People don’t like vacuums; they like continuity. They don’t like the unknown, especially the business sector. The business people don’t like uncertainty; they like certainty and knowledge. I think he should do it. How long have we been waiting? We are going to wait forever. He had a good couple of months to think this through; he must have someone by now,” O’Brien Chang told Our Today.

Dr Clarke is set to occupy the role of deputy managing director at the IMF following an announcement by Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Monday, August 26. He will occupy the role effective October 31.

Despite Holness’s prior assurance of a smooth transition, the prime minister has not disclosed who will take over the Finance Ministry, leaving many speculating.

O’Brien Chang has pointed to Education Minister Fayval Williams as a strong candidate to replace the outgoing Clarke.

“To me, she is the most obvious choice; I can’t say she is going to be the choice, but she has the credentials, an MBA, and so on. She has the knowledge—maybe not a PHD from Oxford like Nigel Clarke, but still certainly better qualified academically than predecessors before Nigel Clarke, and she has worked in the Finance Ministry. She has worked in the Education Ministry. A lot of people feel she is a technocrat; she doesn’t have the warmth or people skills for the Education Ministry; nobody doubts her IQ [intelligence quotient] but her EQ [emotional intelligence]; people say maybe she doesn’t have it for the Education Ministry,” he said.

O’Brien Chang also suggested that Holness could assume the title of Finance Minister himself while appointing a knowledgeable senator to manage the ministry’s operations. Keith Duncan, CEO of JMMB Group, has been named as a potential candidate for such a position.

“Mr Holness could easily say I am going to be Finance Minister in title and then give the real job to somebody in the Senate; I am only naming Keith Duncan, but there have been other talked-about individuals, respected business people who understand numbers because they have successful companies. That is one option people are saying: Andrew will take the title and drop a respected businessman in the Senate and make that person do the real work in the Finance Ministry,” O’Brien Change said.

While recognising Dr Clarke’s significant contributions as Finance Minister, O’Brien Chang asserted that he is not irreplaceable, praising Clarke’s new role at the IMF as a commendable achievement for Jamaica. 

“Nigel is leaving the Finance Ministry for a job that I am sure very few people would have turned down as deputy managing director of the IMF, and possibly in the future he may become the managing director, and certainly anybody who is a patriot and who loves their country must be proud of Dr Clarke being invited to take up such a significant position. It can only be good for the country,” Chang said.

He noted that Clarke’s appointment underscores the capability of Jamaicans not only in sports and culture but also in academia.

READ: Education Minister remains tight-lipped on potential role as the next Finance Minister

READ: ‘Only an extremely bad-minded person would despise Nigel Clarke’s IMF appointment’