Thomas Says Government ‘Would Be Foolish’ to Adopt IMF Policies

By Val Matthias. Updated 8:34 p.m., Sunday, May 3, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4). 

Lawyer, commentator and Journalist Jomo Thomas is warning the government against adopting policy recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), arguing that such measures would worsen economic hardship in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Speaking on his Plain Talk programme on Boom 106.9 FM, Thomas described the IMF’s recommendations following its 2026 Article IV Mission as inappropriate for the country’s current economic conditions.

“But the prescriptions that the IMF is calling for are clearly out of order,” Thomas said. “The governing party would be foolish if they were to adopt those policies.”

Thomas took issue with several aspects of the IMF’s advice, including suggestions related to the use of a Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme and reliance on development banking, which he said has a poor track record in the region.

“Imagine they’re saying… don’t use it for capital projects, use it to pay a debt,” he said, adding that development banks across the region “are a dismal failure.”

He also warned against austerity measures, which he described as a “notorious prescription” of the IMF, arguing that such policies would place additional strain on an already vulnerable population.

“We know that we have high unemployment we have high poverty,” Thomas said. “Any such austerity measures… would put a greater squeeze on the people.”

Thomas further argued that the IMF’s assessment reflects long-standing economic conditions rather than recent developments under the current administration.

“One thing is certain the conditions are not of the making in the last five months,” he said, noting that it “cannot be that there has been such catastrophic deterioration” in that short period.

He also rejected the idea of maintaining the current 16 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT), describing it as disproportionately affecting lower-income earners.

“The VAT is fundamentally a tax on the poor,” Thomas said. “Each time someone goes to a checkout counter 16 per cent is added and the poor are really slammed.”

He suggested that reducing VAT by even three percentage points would provide relief to those with the least disposable income.

“If we reduce the VAT by three per cent, it means those persons… would get some kind of reprieve,” he said.

Thomas also questioned the feasibility of IMF recommendations on targeted cash transfers, arguing that the country lacks the financial resources to support such programmes.

“This cash transfer… is really a prescription out of the air because we don’t have that source of funds,” he said.

While acknowledging the IMF’s role in assessing economies, Thomas maintained that the government should not adopt its recommendations wholesale.

“There’s no reason for us to adopt wholesale what the IMF says. In fact, we should reject much of it,” he said.

He also criticised efforts to use the IMF report for political mobilisation, saying such actions misrepresent the realities facing the country.

“The IMF is responding to the objective conditions on the ground to use it to rally supporters is to attempt to make fools of people,” Thomas said.

The IMF is calling for tighter fiscal discipline, stronger tax systems, and no VAT cuts due to rising debt risks.  However Prime Minister Dr Godwin Friday, while acknowledging the challenges, says his administration will pursue a “homegrown” approach, balancing economic reform with social protection rather than fully adopting IMF prescriptions.

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