EDITORIAL - We support the MOU, but ...

WERE THE company heads American, Zhou Jichang would probably be a household name, well known by many Jamaicans, and his visit to this country last week would definitely have generated a greater buzz.

So, too, would have been the memorandum of understanding (MOU) he signed with Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

But as understated as it may have been, the MOU is a big deal for Jamaica. It could bring the country significant economic benefits. It is also, potentially, a source of suspicion and controversy if the administration fails in its promise to be open and transparent about any deals that may emerge from the agreement.

Mr Zhou is chairman and chief executive officer of China Communications and Construction Company (CCCC), one of the world's largest construction firms. A largely state-owned firm, it is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Potential growth boost

But more to the point, CCCC is the parent company of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). It is completing a number of road and bridge projects for the Jamaican Government and is committed to a US$600-million investment to develop the north-south link of Highway 2000, between Caymanas, St Catherine, on the island's south coast, and Ocho Rios, St Ann, in the north. CHEC also wants to develop a new trans-shipment terminal in the Kingston Harbour to take advantage of the expansion of the Panama Canal to accommodate mega-sized cargo vessels.

In the context of Jamaica's inability to borrow for such projects, the recent weak performance of foreign direct investment, and with no one in the domestic economy able or willing to take on such big ventures, CHEC's commitment to the island is an important potential driver of growth.

But it seems that its parent, CCCC, has even grander ideas. That MOU with the Government commits the company, over the next two years, to explore for infrastructure projects which, according to Prime Minister Simpson Miller, "must bring mutual economic benefit, deliver value for money and improve the social well-being and the living standard of our people".

Equity investments

These are goals with which anyone can easily identify, especially if, as the Government has said will be the case, any project so identified and developed will not be a cost to the Jamaican taxpayer, or add to their burden of debt. In other words, these are to be equity investments by the Chinese.

But the devil, as they say, is in the detail - the specifics of which, in relation to the MOU, are not yet known to the Jamaican people.

Concerns in this regard will not necessarily be about the financial propriety of the arrangements. A perceptive administration, for instance, will have anticipated questions about Jamaica's role in China's geopolitical agenda for this region, and whether it may be ceding the country to CCCC and Chinese capital. Our Government need only peruse the commentaries on China's economic activity in Africa and, more recently, in the Caribbean.

These may appear xenophobic and petty, especially against this country's need for investment and economic growth. In any event, the Chinese can't remove the roads, bridges or ports once they are built.

But the response of government ministers cannot be hubris and chest-thumping self-affirmation. Rather, they must lay out the facts and be transparent about the process. The Government should start by publishing the MOU.

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.