Shaw laments Singapore’s outpacing of Ja in economic growth
Published:Friday | January 21, 2022 | 12:06 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
TRANSPORT AND Mining Minister Audley Shaw says that Jamaica must play a significant amount of ‘catching-up’ to return to the potential for economic growth, which was at the nation’s fingertips up to 1971, less than a decade after it attained Independence.
Shaw, a former minister of finance, made the declaration while addressing Wednesday’s official opening of the ATL Automotive Group’s Body Works body shop in Bogue, Montego Bay.
The $500-million facility is projected to give employment to 20 trained personnel on the heels of 150 workers who were involved in its construction.
“We have a problem of underachievement, and we have a lot of catching up to do. Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore came to Jamaica in 1964, two years after we achieved Independence, because he was inspired at the rate of economic growth that was taking place ... and in 1971, in one single year, the Jamaican economy grew by 11 per cent,” said Shaw.
A LOT OF CATCHING UP TO DO
“We were pursuing excellence, and Singapore’s per-capita income was similar to ours in 1964. Today, their per-capita income is close to US$70,000, but ours is less than US$6,000, so we have a lot of catching up to do,” he added.
In November 2020, the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) projected that the country would see growth of three per cent by March 2022, with a growth potential of eight per cent if the tourism sector experiences a significant recovery.
However, BOJ Governor Richard Byles said at the time that Jamaica would not be likely to return to pre-COVID-19 economic levels before the 2022-2023 financial year.
Subsequent to those projections, the International Monetary Fund forecast in November 2021 that new waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Jamaica could create further disruption in tourism, trade, and capital flows.
Jamaica is currently in the middle of a fourth wave of the pandemic, with 116,084 total positive COVID-19 cases being recorded in-country up to Tuesday, January 18.
In the meantime, Shaw heaped praise on the ATL Group, including the family of the late business mogul Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, for their economic efforts and contributions towards Jamaica’s growth.
“If we are looking in Jamaica for a real source of inspiration, a source that can remind us that we can achieve excellence, it is the example of the wonderful Stewart family and the range of investments they have undertaken over the years,” he said.
“The ATL Group of Companies can be held up as a source of inspiration ... . Continue climbing to new heights and be a source of inspiration to all Jamaicans,” Shaw said.