Seaga unfazed by inflation, high interest rates

Speculation about the likely impact of inflation and high interest rates going into the new year has done very little to shake the confidence of president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Metry Seaga, in the local economy.

Declaring that he had a different view, Seaga told The Gleaner that he is very bullish on Jamaica and hopes his confidence is well placed because he is not seeing the impending doom that most people are talking about.

“The numbers came out of the US last week and they were quite good and were pointing in the right direction. So I am not seeing that doom, I think we have a lot of hope and a lot of future. I think the Bank of Jamaica has been doing some very important things and their independence is showing now, where we had the governor calling for the banks to reduce their interest rates, very independently from the Government. So I am not worried because I think we have a good, stable macroeconomic base from which to work.

“So even if there is trouble, the new IMF (International Monetary Fund) agreement that the minister has put in place is a good insurance policy for us, for any eventualities that may happen,” he emphasised.

TEDIOUS PROCUREMENT PROCESS

This was achieved despite the long-standing ongoing failure of successive administrations to patronage local manufacturers, which continues to be a cause of frustration for the businessman. Despite being the largest purchaser of goods and services, government has consistently justified its unwillingness to buy things like office furnishings, an area in which the private sector can compete. However, despite years of advocacy for a levelling of the playing field, the government’s procurement system remains skewed against local businesses.

“I understand and accept that government needs to go through its procurement processes, but the way our procurements are written needs to be much better suited to local manufacturers, and as president of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), I fought for about 12 years to get a benefit written in for local manufacturers of 15 per cent but have had no success,” he lamented.

This is because the procurement officer simply ignored the JMEA’s provision by leaving it off the procurement document.

“I have never seen a procurement document that has it in,” Seaga shared, adding that in a meeting on Wednesday he learnt that all the uniforms of policemen and policewomen are being imported and he has an issue with that. He pointed out that furnishing of government offices and supplying the national school-feeding programme are areas in which local manufacturers and supplies are being deprived.

“There is a host of things that are imported but which could be manufactured locally and it’s gonna take the will of each government agency and procurement officer to say that he or she is going to turn over every stone to support the local industry before choosing to import.”

Seaga vowed to use his office to continue to advocate for the inclusion of local businesses to be given a fair chance at the table when the government seeks to make such purchases in the future.

“The manufacturing sector is an important part of the economy and the private sector in general, contributing nearly 10 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) so it’s very important.”