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Development in our lifetime
Franklin JOHNSTON
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Franklin JOHNSTON
Planning is triage. At field hospitals in war zones, doctors are gods. They have scarce resources and many wounded, and they decide who lives and who dies. If some are not allowed to die, all might die. Development plans pose similar choices. Good projects are killed so that better ones can be funded.
Just 200 years ago, the Americans routed their British colonial masters and became a superpower within three generations; based on agriculture - food, crops as raw material for industry and innovation. This is basic development strategy. Consumption fuels production; production creates jobs; jobs provide money; money buys goods and services; these create more jobs, the cycle goes on and development happens.
Our government should focus on the core items which it can control and finance. Growth of our human capital is key, to be anchored by core funds, not "iffy" external funds. Since 1962, we have really tried; belt-tightening, freezones, cutting-edge agriculture and IT, but we are still not developed. Here are some ideas to make it happen:
. Food, rebrand to achieve focus - The Ministry of Food: If hunger is not sated, nothing else can work. A Ministry of Agriculture is good if we have cotton, agave, rape, cane for fuel or processing. Our people need food. Hungry people cannot work, study, play or think clearly and they get disruptive. A Food Plan is the key. From 2009, government should publish an annual target for "food-in-circulation" and the last year's results via an independent Food Audit. No person should need to steal rice, sugar, flour or basics after 2010, and local fresh fish and animal protein should be a staple.
. The Multinational Mono-Crop Farm Investment Model JAMPRO should target new and old Jamaican multinationals - as Grace, to invest in land or farms in Belize, Brazil, Guyana, Costa Rica, Canada or the USA and farm crops for the Jamaican market. Government must be the default, the buyer of last resort on a for-profit basis. The diaspora might invest in these farms in their host countries which might also attract "refugee dollars" held overseas by loyal Jamaicans. By 2010, some 20,000 hectares of "big ticket" crops such as rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, rapeseed and soya should be in cultivation to be shipped to Jamaica for processing.
. Local spin-off industries: The NTA/HEART handles courses on how to operate and maintain complex farm machinery and irrigation systems; and the Ministry of Labour and Employment, new farm worker schemes. Investment in local wharves, grain terminals, mills and ships; storage silos, stills, oil pressing and services such as insurance and new financial products would create jobs, small businesses and feeder industries.
. Local food production: Government must aid fish, poultry, cattle and small stock and make local farmers the core providers of protein.
. A new marketing model: A formal Commodities Market for the Mono Crops - tweaked to handle brokerage of local farm produce, would emerge. Through this Commodities Exchange, local processors and converters would buy grain futures and the government would stockpile food for crisis situations.
. Formal education: This is the other "prime mover" in development, and the focus should be on values, skills, know-how, and attitudes.
The early years: Mastering English is the key to self-development. Teachers must speak English and pupils should master English before going to the next level.
Primary School: The core curriculum should be: English, science, art, math, history, social studies and Reasoning/Ethics/Logic. Others should be optional.
Basic and primary schools must mandate attendance; be fully government-funded and have impartial quality audits, reported yearly. New tactics would ensure compliance. For example, state benefits (for example, PACE), jobs and permits (for example, a taxi permit ) given to the mother or father of a school-age child must be linked to school attendance. The parents' duty is to keep the child in school. With food and education we can transform our world.
. Employment, health, housing and security: These are "second movers".
Well-fed and schooled people can handle these issues. They will find jobs or start ventures. But for epidemics, accidents and genetics, health depends on personal choices. Thus, if eating salt fish for 300 years inclines Jamaicans to high blood pressure, diabetes, etc, we can all choose: change to eating local fresh produce, improve our health and reduce the health budget. Everyone does not need to own a house and land, and with our 4,000 square miles it is impossible.
We need landlords/investors to invest in social housing and invest the funds on deposit at the bank. Government's duty is to promote and protect these investments. After 2009, government should not be a landlord. Organised crime likes growth, as their illegal earnings grow too.
But Jamaica's crime is disorganised, illiterate and mindlessly violent. With secure food and education, the calibre of criminals would improve, their hold on communities and violence would decline, and the state would be able to focus on its core business, national risk analysis, hardship mitigation and overall development. Job One of government is to provide food for body and mind!
Franklin Johnston is an international project manager with Teape-Johnston Ltd, currently on assignment in the UK.
- franklinjohnston@hotmail.com
Franklin JOHNSTON
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Franklin JOHNSTON
Planning is triage. At field hospitals in war zones, doctors are gods. They have scarce resources and many wounded, and they decide who lives and who dies. If some are not allowed to die, all might die. Development plans pose similar choices. Good projects are killed so that better ones can be funded.
Just 200 years ago, the Americans routed their British colonial masters and became a superpower within three generations; based on agriculture - food, crops as raw material for industry and innovation. This is basic development strategy. Consumption fuels production; production creates jobs; jobs provide money; money buys goods and services; these create more jobs, the cycle goes on and development happens.
Our government should focus on the core items which it can control and finance. Growth of our human capital is key, to be anchored by core funds, not "iffy" external funds. Since 1962, we have really tried; belt-tightening, freezones, cutting-edge agriculture and IT, but we are still not developed. Here are some ideas to make it happen:
. Food, rebrand to achieve focus - The Ministry of Food: If hunger is not sated, nothing else can work. A Ministry of Agriculture is good if we have cotton, agave, rape, cane for fuel or processing. Our people need food. Hungry people cannot work, study, play or think clearly and they get disruptive. A Food Plan is the key. From 2009, government should publish an annual target for "food-in-circulation" and the last year's results via an independent Food Audit. No person should need to steal rice, sugar, flour or basics after 2010, and local fresh fish and animal protein should be a staple.
. The Multinational Mono-Crop Farm Investment Model JAMPRO should target new and old Jamaican multinationals - as Grace, to invest in land or farms in Belize, Brazil, Guyana, Costa Rica, Canada or the USA and farm crops for the Jamaican market. Government must be the default, the buyer of last resort on a for-profit basis. The diaspora might invest in these farms in their host countries which might also attract "refugee dollars" held overseas by loyal Jamaicans. By 2010, some 20,000 hectares of "big ticket" crops such as rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, rapeseed and soya should be in cultivation to be shipped to Jamaica for processing.
. Local spin-off industries: The NTA/HEART handles courses on how to operate and maintain complex farm machinery and irrigation systems; and the Ministry of Labour and Employment, new farm worker schemes. Investment in local wharves, grain terminals, mills and ships; storage silos, stills, oil pressing and services such as insurance and new financial products would create jobs, small businesses and feeder industries.
. Local food production: Government must aid fish, poultry, cattle and small stock and make local farmers the core providers of protein.
. A new marketing model: A formal Commodities Market for the Mono Crops - tweaked to handle brokerage of local farm produce, would emerge. Through this Commodities Exchange, local processors and converters would buy grain futures and the government would stockpile food for crisis situations.
. Formal education: This is the other "prime mover" in development, and the focus should be on values, skills, know-how, and attitudes.
The early years: Mastering English is the key to self-development. Teachers must speak English and pupils should master English before going to the next level.
Primary School: The core curriculum should be: English, science, art, math, history, social studies and Reasoning/Ethics/Logic. Others should be optional.
Basic and primary schools must mandate attendance; be fully government-funded and have impartial quality audits, reported yearly. New tactics would ensure compliance. For example, state benefits (for example, PACE), jobs and permits (for example, a taxi permit ) given to the mother or father of a school-age child must be linked to school attendance. The parents' duty is to keep the child in school. With food and education we can transform our world.
. Employment, health, housing and security: These are "second movers".
Well-fed and schooled people can handle these issues. They will find jobs or start ventures. But for epidemics, accidents and genetics, health depends on personal choices. Thus, if eating salt fish for 300 years inclines Jamaicans to high blood pressure, diabetes, etc, we can all choose: change to eating local fresh produce, improve our health and reduce the health budget. Everyone does not need to own a house and land, and with our 4,000 square miles it is impossible.
We need landlords/investors to invest in social housing and invest the funds on deposit at the bank. Government's duty is to promote and protect these investments. After 2009, government should not be a landlord. Organised crime likes growth, as their illegal earnings grow too.
But Jamaica's crime is disorganised, illiterate and mindlessly violent. With secure food and education, the calibre of criminals would improve, their hold on communities and violence would decline, and the state would be able to focus on its core business, national risk analysis, hardship mitigation and overall development. Job One of government is to provide food for body and mind!
Franklin Johnston is an international project manager with Teape-Johnston Ltd, currently on assignment in the UK.
- franklinjohnston@hotmail.com
or crying 
?
or blaaaaaaaaaaaaaal?! 
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