EDITORIAL - What Colombia might teach Jamaica

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has not publicly said why he invited him or what he expects from the two-day visit to Jamaica by Colombia's new president, Juan Manuel Santos.

But President Santos' presence in Jamaica offers an opportunity for the symbolic and for things practical. In the first case, for those who despair for Jamaica, Prime Minister Golding might hold up Colombia as a symbol of what is possible.

This past week, the Colombian central bank issued its latest economic outlook for 2011. They projected growth of around 4.5 per cent, about the same as the expected out-turn for 2010. The country's inflation is under three per cent.

These numbers, on the face of it, are at odds with the residual, but deeply ingrained perception that most Jamaicans hold of Colombia: the country of Pablo Escobar, the notorious Cali drug cartel, cocaine smuggler, the FARC's left-wing insurgency, right-wing paramilitaries, political kidnappings, and so on.

Substantial changes

Or put another way, too little is known or understood of the substantial changes, if not transformation, that have taken place in Colombia over much of the last decade, in which President Santos was an influential player. Mr Santos was minister of defence in the administration of his predecessor, Mr Alvaro Uribe.

No one can claim that the FARC has been defeated or that it does not remain a tenacious adversary. But it is a fact that the guerrilla movement is severely weakened and that the Colombian government has regained control over substantial swathes of the national territory. Additionally, several thousand members of the right-wing squads have been demobilised.

Violence remains high in Colombia, but its reputation as the world's murder and kidnapping capital is receding. Indeed, from more than 3,700 kidnappings in 2002, there were fewer than 200 in 2009.

More than coincidentally, in our view, this positive shift in Colombia's security profile was paralleled by a robust advance in its economy. Gross domestic product advanced, on average, at more than five per cent between 2002 and 2007. The global recession turned the economy flat last year. It is roaring back.

These things don't just happen, however.

Robust effort

Tough economic reforms started by Andres Pastrana's administration in the late 1990s were continued by Mr Uribe's government in this decade and were underpinned by the robust effort to improve Colombia's security situation.

The parallels between Jamaica and Colombia are not precise, but there are sufficient similarities between the situations of the countries to provide lessons for ours. The issue is whether those in authority in Jamaica have the gumption to take the tough decisions and do the right thing.

Our second observation of Mr Santos' visit is the opportunity for Mr Golding to pursue Jamaica's energy agenda. Colombia has proven coal reserves of over seven billion tonnes and has a significant amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Jamaica is still debating its energy options, although the Government is in favour of LNG. There are many thoughtful and technically competent people who believe that a mix of the two would be the way to go, and that it would be wrong for the administration to rule out the use of coal.

Mr Golding could seek from Mr Santos options on both.

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