Logistics hub can generate high levels of growth for Jamaica
(Jamaica Gleaner): British High Commissioner to Jamaica Asif Ahmad said Jamaica can generate significantly high levels of economic growth from the Government’s implementation of the Global Logistics Hub Initiative (GLHI), which incorporates special economic zones (SEZ).
Speaking at Wednesday’s official opening of the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA) in Kingston, Ahmad noted that cities and countries establishing logistics hubs and SEZs “have prospered”.
Citing Singapore; Shenzhen and Shanghai, China; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as examples, he said that international business conducted through these hubs “whether it’s in services, design, or actual physical trade in goods ... have prospered”. The high commissioner argued that Jamaica has key advantages that would make it an ideal location to establish a logistics hub to facilitate the seamless provision of goods and services to the nearly one billion-consumer market spanning North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Among these, Ahmad said, is the country’s image, noting that Brand Jamaica is “positive when it comes to the international perspective”. He further pointed to the geopolitical framework, noting that while other countries “might be thinking of building walls and embracing protectionism ... you are actually open to the world ... and you need to remain open in mind, physicality, as well as in business outlook”.
“You have the right fiscal and macroeconomic position to do so. Through successive administrations, you have finally wrestled with the beast of getting your finances and fiscal position on the right path. Growth is there ... year on year ... but it can and will, I’m sure, improve if you embrace what these SEZs will deliver,” the high commissioner said.
Against this background, Ahmad wished the administration well in its endeavour to develop the Logistics Hub Initiative, and pledged the high commission’s and, by extension, the UK government’s support in this undertaking. PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) - Haitian Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigned on Saturday as he faced a non-confidence vote after a move to lower fuel subsidies prompted days of violent protests in the impoverished Caribbean nation.
In a speech to the Lower Chamber that was broadcast live on television, Lafontant defended his tenure but said that Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise had accepted his resignation. “As I told you, I am at service to the Republic,” Lafontant said. Earlier this month, the Haitian government announced a reduction of fuel subsidies as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The move translated to a 38 percent rise in gasoline prices and 47 percent hike for diesel, triggering protests during which demonstrators barricaded roads, looted stores and set cars ablaze in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The unrest caused embassies to close and airlines to suspend flights to Haiti for days.
Lafontant announced a temporary reversal of the policy in a bid to quell the demonstrations, but the protests continued. A no-confidence vote in his leadership had been scheduled for Saturday, according to the Miami Herald. The IMF said on Thursday that it expects Haiti to create a revised reform plan that will include a gradual lowering of fuel subsidies.