Outgoing Minister for Finance and the Civil Service, Dr Nigel Clarke, took his final bow on Tuesday to cheers and applause from his parliamentary and ministerial colleagues before leaving the House of Representatives for the final time in the role.

Earlier, government and opposition lawmakers, including his friend of more than 20 years, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, paid heartfelt and moving tributes.

“My heart is full,” Dr. Clarke said at the end of the long greetings.

“Even though you have your constituents, your neighbors and your friends, it’s a completely different thing when it comes to your peers and, of course, your leader,” he said, expressing his sincere gratitude and thanks to the Prime Minister and his parliamentary colleagues for their tributes. .

Dr Clarke is expected to leave the island early this morning to take up the post of Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, DC, USA on Thursday.

The former St Andrew North Western MP said he was proud to have been part of an administration and to have led a ministry with a strong performance record.

“Leaving not only the field of play, but the stadium…I walked the tape. You know, some people, you see your particular finish line and you calm down… People thought that when they heard on August 26, when the announcement came, “Oh Nigel, take it easy or you you’re going to go on a three-week holiday,’ (but) that’s not how Andrew Holness’s government works. We believe in going through the tape and crossing the finish line. I tried to do… Going through the tape it was a privilege and an honor of my life,” he said.

In his tribute, Prime Minister Holness said Clarke was a special resource to Jamaica who served with “great dignity, great composure and great confidence”.

He said Dr Clarke had accomplished many feats which brought about practical changes in the financial landscape of the country.

“We have presented nine budgets and we have not increased taxes; our reserves are at their highest levels in decades. We have cut the national debt in half, from 144 percent of GDP to today 74 percent of GDP. These are real things that have transformed our economy under Minister Clarke as Minister of Finance,” he said.

He also noted that Clarke had presided over the passage of legislation to create an independent central bank, adding that it was this central bank independence that made Jamaica probably the only country in the region with a floating exchange rate.

“Dr Clarke devoted much of his time directly to the formulation of the Tax Commission. I think he would call it his baby, and the Tax Commission is an important institutional legacy that Dr Clarke will leave behind, because it is the Tax Commission that will ensure that, even as the policy space shrinks, the policies aimed at ensuring Jamaica’s fiscal sustainability will remain. It is this institution that will significantly take our tax affairs out of the political realm,” he said.

Holness said Dr Clarke also left a legacy by issuing the first international financial instrument denominated in Jamaican dollars.

“Nigel will be credited for something we should have done a long time ago. This man put the Jamaican dollar that some of us denigrated… into the international market so that people would buy this instrument in Jamaican dollars. This is a historic legacy,” he said, while highlighting other notable achievements such as the issuance of catastrophe bonds and more than $2 billion in public/private partnerships.

Holness said he was very happy to have been associated with Dr. Clarke and was very pleased to have had the opportunity to work with him and achieve all that they accomplished.

“But I always knew that Nigel’s skills and service wouldn’t always be locally focused. Other countries should benefit from Jamaica’s experience. And it is indeed a true honor that this skill resides among us, and we are now giving it to the world,” he said.

In his tribute, Leader of Government Affairs in the House Edmund Bartlett described Clarke as one of the most distinguished people to have walked the corridors of Parliament and to have followed a long line of outstanding finance ministers.

He said Clarke had made a remarkable journey over the past six years “as an outstanding member of this honorable House, an outstanding debater, an outstanding advocate for the people and an excellent Minister of Finance”.

“This minister has surpassed himself in many areas. His ascension to the position of Deputy Managing Director of the renowned global financial institution, the IMF, marks a crucial chapter in the history of not only Jamaica, but also the Caribbean, as never before has a native of the Caribbean held such a position. high-ranking position at the IMF. Jamaica and the Caribbean will benefit greatly from having one of our own occupying such an esteemed position globally. It is no wonder that your outstanding performance as Minister of Finance has attracted the attention of the IMF,” he said.

Bartlett said Holness played an important role in allowing “this young minister to excel as he did, giving him the freedom and latitude to express his creativity and show off his financial wizardry by allowing the taking very innovative measures. “.

Opposition Leader Phillip Paulwell, meanwhile, said Clarke had served with distinction and brought “high quality” and intellectual rigor to debates in the House.

“The member, despite one or two aberrations, has demonstrated extraordinary stability and cordiality with his colleagues opposite and we want to recognize that,” he declared.

Paulwell joked that the opposition has been kind to Clarke because “he comes from a distinguished and high-profile lineage of the PNP (People’s National Party) and one always hopes that after his stay, and when he will come back, he could very well come home.” .

“We wish you good luck. Have a good trip. We know you are going to represent us well and, of course, when you return, we will be at the airport to give you our membership application form,” he joked.

Government Ministers Marlene Malahoo Forte, Desmond McKenzie and Dr Horace Chang, as well as Opposition MP Julian Robinson also commended Dr Clarke for his tremendous contributions to Jamaica.