What Dr Rowley could learn from Jamaicas Prime Minister
Link Text
here comes problemguy...
Delivering the keynote address at the opening of the conference, Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness said, We have established a strong record of macroeconomic stability and prudent fiscal management and have managed to maintain this even during the pandemic. Our debt-to-GDP ratio before the pandemic was 94 per cent and is now 96 per cent; only two percentage points higher. By contrast, several of our peers have seen increases of 20, 30, 40 and even 50 percentage points.He added, We are seeing a strong rebound in our economy after the pandemic, with an estimated six per cent growth recorded in the quarter ended March 2022. We are one of few countries in the region with no foreign exchange controls and a freely floating currency. We have a robust and well-established regulatory and fiscal regime for Special Economic Zones.
We have a track record of large-scale public-private partnerships, as I mentioned earlier, for our air and sea ports and highways. We want to ensure that Jamaica is a nation full of opportunities for international investors as well as for local entrepreneurs. Trade and business are part of our Jamaican culture just as Reggae, jerk chicken and our amazing Blue Mountain coffee.His words are not empty. Wherever you drive you can see significant construction taking place in the hotel sector. It has emerged as a major centre for Business Process Outsourcing and a global leader in improving the ease of doing business.
What was clear from the Prime Minister and the various ministers I interviewed, is that Jamaica is firm in its belief that the private sector must drive its economic revival and that it is not in competition with the sector.This does not mean that Jamaica is perfect. It still has unmanageable crime, its economy is substantially smaller than T&T, which is only half its physical size and has less than half its population and there are concerns about the inequality of the recovery and the quality of some of the BPO jobs. But what is clear is that the country embraces a free open market economy and as a result, has seen tangible improvements in its welfare.
Compare it to T&T, which seems to be limping along, hoping for long-term high energy prices, when we know for a fact that those prices are cyclical and will soon come to an end.
We have a track record of large-scale public-private partnerships, as I mentioned earlier, for our air and sea ports and highways. We want to ensure that Jamaica is a nation full of opportunities for international investors as well as for local entrepreneurs. Trade and business are part of our Jamaican culture just as Reggae, jerk chicken and our amazing Blue Mountain coffee.His words are not empty. Wherever you drive you can see significant construction taking place in the hotel sector. It has emerged as a major centre for Business Process Outsourcing and a global leader in improving the ease of doing business.
What was clear from the Prime Minister and the various ministers I interviewed, is that Jamaica is firm in its belief that the private sector must drive its economic revival and that it is not in competition with the sector.This does not mean that Jamaica is perfect. It still has unmanageable crime, its economy is substantially smaller than T&T, which is only half its physical size and has less than half its population and there are concerns about the inequality of the recovery and the quality of some of the BPO jobs. But what is clear is that the country embraces a free open market economy and as a result, has seen tangible improvements in its welfare.
Compare it to T&T, which seems to be limping along, hoping for long-term high energy prices, when we know for a fact that those prices are cyclical and will soon come to an end.
Link Text
here comes problemguy...
