EDITORIAL: Government must move impediments to investment, jobs

Jamaica has three fundamental, and interrelated, problems: an insufficiency of productive investment; the failure, over more than three decades, to generate sustained economic growth; and the inability of the economy to create the jobs required to satisfy the demand of the labour market.

Or, perhaps more to the point, the failure of Jamaica - high levels of crime, stratospheric rates of unemployment and underemployment, urban decay, its social dysfunction, and so on - is the failure of its economy.

The most obvious and critical first step to solving Jamaica's problem must be to create an economic environment that encourages growth and job creation. This, unfortunately, is not easy under the necessarily tight adjustment policies to which the Golding administration is being forced to adhere under its credit agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Indeed, with the Government's deflationary programme and the on-going global recession, the Jamaican economy will decline by nearly three per cent in 2010, on top of its wobbly performance of the past two years.

Yet, we do not believe that stagnation is inevitable, even in these difficult circumstances, if the Government is prudent with its resources, policymakers are aggressive and focused in promoting a psychology of growth, and follow through with policies that encourage investment and job creation. It is in that context that this newspaper supports all logical, serious and prudent programmes of public investment by the administration, and insists on an urgent and sensible reform of the public bureaucracy to position it as a facilitator rather than a barrier to business, entrepreneurship and, ultimately, employment creation by the private sector.

As we do in this issue, we will, over the next several weeks, highlight policy impediments to business in Jamaica - most of which have been long and clearly articulated - point to solutions offered by business leaders and policy experts, call out the Government when it fails to act, and hail it when it does things to advance the economy. We will also draw attention to those who work hard, invest, and create jobs even in difficult circumstances.

Palisadoes Road project too secret

This newspaper recently agreed with Prime Minister Bruce Golding on the potential of the five-year, Chinese-financed $39-billion road-repair programme to help stimulate Jamaica's stagnant economy and to create jobs.

However, while we support such projects and hope for others, we believe the investment must be prudent, its economic and/or social justification clearly defined and transparent, and the return on the investment obvious and worthwhile.

It is on these bases we question the plan to spend perhaps US$60 million to lift by 10 feet and widen to four lanes the Palisadoes Road on the sea-level peninsular, from Harbour View in east Kingston, to the Norman Manley International Airport.

Insofar as we know, there is consensus on the sea-defence work on the eastern side of the peninsular, for which work was ongoing. The new development is shrouded in secrecy.

If there is an economic justification for the project, the country hasn't been told. Neither do we know whether it is being done at the best cost, and at what specification. Indeed, environmentalists have raised questions about the impact of fundamental changes to the Palisadoes strip on the Kingston Harbour. These have not been answered.

When things are not transparent, people have a right to be concerned.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.