Fiscal Commissioner Courtney Williams (Photo:: Joseph Welllington)
The role of the fiscal commissioner
SO the fiscal commissioner has said his piece, but who exactly is Courtney Williams, the man whose office works somewhat like a financial referee, ensuring the Government follows proper procedures and maintains transparency in how it handles public funds.
As head of Jamaica’s Independent Fiscal Commission, Williams serves as what former Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke described as “the guardian and interpreter of Jamaica’s fiscal rules,” tasked with monitoring adherence to these rules and providing independent assessment of budgetary outcomes. The commission, established in law as an independent parliamentary body, represents a significant evolution in Jamaica’s fiscal governance structure.
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Williams explained the genesis of Jamaica’s fiscal responsibility framework, which dates back to 2008 when the administration sought to institute greater fiscal discipline, responsibility, and accountability. Initially, the auditor general temporarily oversaw fiscal rule compliance until a permanent independent body could be established.
The fiscal commissioner emphasised the commission’s independence, noting, “I’m the first commissioner. I was sworn in by the governor general for a period of seven years. I was appointed in 2023 until 2030. And importantly, it’s a commission of Parliament. So I report to Parliament.” This independence allows Williams to provide unvarnished assessments of government fiscal policy without political influence.
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To the public, he pointed out, the commission is of high integrity: “And that is why I say, my intent would not be going out there to be expressing gut feelings,” he said pointing out that all his office analyses is the information provided to it.
“This is data. We will go through it. We’ll analyse it and assess them and based on that, express our opinion, our suggestion. So it will be hinged and dependent on what the information is. So it won’t be a gut feeling. It would be important as well outside of the Government, I would say, institutions like yours, the media, to also weigh in on these matters to say, well, these are worthwhile suggestions and it would be to the benefit of not just the Government, but to the benefit of the public, if government were to give due consideration. And that is where I think the media can make a significant difference in that situation.”
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So far, his office has five staff, but should increase to 35 overtime, including 10 economists to do analysis.
So, what qualifies Williams to the country’s chief fiscal watchdog? Well, that’s easy.
Williams has been working in the public sector for the past 30 years — since February 20, 1995, he told BusinessWeek, arguing that he is well grounded in fiscal policy.
“I started as a senior fiscal economist in the Ministry of Finance. Then I became senior director of the fiscal policy management unit. I also had acting stints as deputy financial secretary for the economic management division. During that time I was responsible at one point for forecasting the revenue for the Government and then overseeing.”
“I had the responsibility for forecasting each of the revenue items, all the tax types — GCT, SCT, room tax, non-tax revenue, all of them to make sure the Government knows where they are getting money from,” he continued.
He said his training in fiscal policy took him to the International Monetary Fund and also to Harvard University where he spent one summer participating specifically in tax forecasting and revenue analysis.
