Jamaica should encourage more US investments
JAMAICA NEEDS a strong economy i n order to maintain and sustain full i ndependence and be recognised in the international community. In recent years, the Government has applied to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic development loans. The loan is usually supervised by IMF officials, with a fixed date to achieve the desired outcome. To what extent does the Jamaican economy benefit from these loans? It is sometimes hard to tell. For in the end, the Jamaican economy is left with a growing debt. In order to grow and sustain the Jamaican economy, all sectors of the economy must be involved.
The Government can look to the private sector and engage all sectors of the economy, and all Jamaicans at home and throughout the diaspora to invest in its economic development. I am appealing to my compatriots in Jamaica and in the diaspora to invest in Jamaica. Investing in the economy is a patriotic duty of every Jamaican, predicated on not what you can get out of Jamaica, but what you can do for Jamaica that will serve present and future generations.
Investment can be in different forms, such as contributing to areas of education, healthcare, banking, communications, transport, tourism, business institutions, vocational and community outreach programmes, agricultural development, charities and foundations, and volunteering your time and expertise; and the list goes on.
There is a moral complement to every monetary or material investment that is made into the economy. The moral complement is that the investor must have confidence in the government that there will be regulated norms that will encourage, protect, and strengthen the investment, as well as the investor.
Jamaica cannot build a strong economy by looking the other way whenever there are allegations of corruption. It was with much embarrassment that I recently saw a television documentary in a foreign news channel that highlighted the alleged scamming and criminal activities in Montego Bay.
Tourism is the strongest and most important investment in Jamaica’s economy. The Government must take a more active role in rigidly enforcing laws. It is difficult to encourage investment in Jamaica when such evidence of crime and corruption are displayed on international television.
While we are encouraging investment, we must have norms that will protect the interest of Jamaica as well as the investor. We should know something about their democratic and political ideologies, and whether or not they will comply.
The Caribbean is faced with two competing powers, namely the United States and China. For it is no secret that China has a growing interest in the Caribbean, and in Jamaica in particular.
Jamaica has a long-standing and good relationship with the United States (US). The US should be credited for the continued growth of tourism in Jamaica due to the fact that most of the visitors that come to Jamaica are from the US. There should be greater effort to encourage American investment in other areas of the economy.
DONALD MORGAN Washington, DC donrubi@verizon.net