No cause for alarm, says Shaw

[Mosiah]

No cause for alarm, says Shaw

Monday, November 24, 2008

Audley Shaw last night defended the Government's decision to renew Jamaica's relationship with the multilateral lending agencies, saying that it has given the country access to funds that have proven to be vital in the current global crisis.
At the same time, Shaw, the finance minister, said the administration was set on fighting its way through the crisis, even as he sought to reassure that the country's financial institutions remain strong.


http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/..._SAYS_SHAW.asp

[Mosiah]

Lazie, what are your views on this? Is Shaw right? Do you think the govt. should do more?

Thanks!

[Lazie]

Lazie, what are your views on this? Is Shaw right? Do you think the govt. should do more?

Thanks!

I'm no financial expert, but as one who is of the belief that we need to do more producing I'm seeing where they're providing funds for dairy, fishing, agriculture and agro processing. I also see where they'll be doing something for the manufacturers and small businesses.

There is alway more that can be done, but people need to be realistic. Last week I heard that our debt cost per dollar has increased, so that will certainly impact on how much can be done.

What I do find amusing is how Ronnie Thwaites, Ann Shirley and Ralston Hyman on a weekly basis knocked the gov't for not going to the IMF, when weeks ago the Observer reported that the gov't had reached an agreement with the IDB. I guess there are those who will look for a reason to knock the gov't. People been b!tching that they want to hear a plan. This presentation from the CAPE Candidate just show that they've been doing.

What I'm curious about is the CDF that should be available to all the MPs. Months ago I read where the money was being distributed. If these MPs have any sense they should be spending this money on projects that provide some meaningful employment. No .. mi naah talk bolo work.

Now since they've been tackling this problem, its only Dr. Daway formerly of the World Bank knocked them for the 3 week CD offered last week. If I should hear of a strategy not presented by Shaw I will certainly post it.

The Observer gave a summary of the presentation, for those who want to read the entire speech ... http://www.jis.gov.jm/MinSpeeches/ht...C_SERVICE_.asp

[Karl]

I'm no financial expert, but as one who is of the belief that we need to do more producing I'm seeing where they're providing funds for dairy, fishing, agriculture and agro processing. I also see where they'll be doing something for the manufacturers and small businesses.

There is alway more that can be done, but people need to be realistic. Last week I heard that our debt cost per dollar has increased, so that will certainly impact on how much can be done.

I guess there are those who will look for a reason to knock the gov't.

I guess...Lazie with the last PNP government?

Gwaan, Lazie! ...yuh an yuh driva!

[Lazie]

I guess...Lazie with the last PNP government?

Gwaan, Lazie! ...yuh an yuh driva!

Whats the point of your post Karl?

[Mosiah]

There is a big point in there, Lazie. With every government, they could always do more. With every govt., people will always find the negatives among the positives.

We need to stop being tribal about it and think about Jamaica once in a while.

[Karl]

There is a big point in there, Lazie. With every government, they could always do more. With every govt., people will always find the negatives among the positives.

We need to stop being tribal about it and think about Jamaica once in a while.

Yuh nuh Lazie waan play 'see but nuh 'ear'?!
Yuh ave time fi waste wi im! im a partisan suh im hal-ways a tun imself innah fool/a gwaan fool-fool!

[Lazie]

There is a big point in there, Lazie. With every government, they could always do more. With every govt., people will always find the negatives among the positives.

We need to stop being tribal about it and think about Jamaica once in a while.

There is a difference with constructive criticism and being petty. When people spoke about the continuous borrowing from the international capital markets instead of agencies like the IMF, IDB WB etc thats constructive. How many times people like Maudib pointed out how many cents out of the dollar is being spent on servicing the debt? Isn't that constructive criticism? The only people who saw that as being tribal were those who were being petty.

Lets take Don1's critique of the energy plan by the gov't. He did make some points that were constuctive. Nothing tribal in that.

Those being petty are those who ask about jobs jobs jobs in the current economic climate we're in. Those being petty are those who continuously claim the gov't doesn't have a plan, when the various news media have been reporting steps being taken by the gov't.

When people stop being petty maybe more serious discussions can take place here.

[Lazie]

Yuh nuh Lazie waan play 'see but nuh 'ear'?!
Yuh ave time fi waste wi im! im a partisan suh im hal-ways a tun imself innah fool/a gwaan fool-fool!

Duh yuhself a favour. Guh back to the football forum. I was expecting this thread would serious.

[Karl]

There is a difference with constructive criticism and being petty. When people spoke about the continuous borrowing from the international capital markets instead of agencies like the IMF, IDB WB etc thats constructive. How many times people like Maudib pointed out how many cents out of the dollar is being spent on servicing the debt? Isn't that constructive criticism? The only people who saw that as being tribal were those who were being petty.

Lets take Don1's critique of the energy plan by the gov't. He did make some points that were constuctive. Nothing tribal in that.

Those being petty are those who ask about jobs jobs jobs in the current economic climate we're in. Those being petty are those who continuously claim the gov't doesn't have a plan, when the various news media have been reporting steps being taken by the gov't.

When people stop being petty maybe more serious discussions can take place here.

...and this is part of your consistent set of arguments?
Did you attack the PNP for just about borrowing from Tom, Dick and Harry?

Did you also attack the PNP for not creating the enviroment to stimulate growth and thus jobs, jobs, jobs?

'bout serious discussion?
You are a fraud! ...a blind partisan...a fraud!
You are not consistent and you never issue apologies...or admit being wrong on any issue! ...just a fraud!

[Mosiah]

Well, since the buzzword for the day is "petty", perhaps you can tell me whether the closure of a large hotel in Jamaica would be considered petty. No, it has not happened, yet, but the industry appears to be reeling from what has happened at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas where 800 persons were laid off recently.

[Assasin]

Mo Jamaica is doing well to many other caribbean islands. To Jamaica credit others especially the small islands are reeling with empty resorts.

I know it is a race against time but we just have to be hopeful.

[Mosiah]

Den wi really God-blessed fi true! Wid all di murders coupled wid di financial crisis, Air Jamaica reporting solid bookings!

[Assasin]

judge fi yourself

Crisis in paradise: Meltdown leaves ghost resorts in the Caribbean

The Associated Press
Friday, November 21st 2008, 4:00 AM
Kena Betancur/AP Stalled construction of the Punta Palmera Condominium at the Cap Cana Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic — The ocean glows a milky turquoise. Tiny waves lap at the powder-beige sand, in no rush to reach the line of postcard-perfect palm trees.
Hundreds of luxury villas are positioned to take in the view, but there are no guests. There are no roofs either; neatly tied bundles of red tiles are stacked outside. The wind slams doors and rustles the yellowed newspaper taped to the windows.
The paralyzed work scene at the Cap Cana resort, a development including four luxury hotels, three golf courses and a mega-yacht marina, is a victim of the global financial crisis that has hit the Caribbean's tourism industry especially hard.
Cap Cana fired 500 workers last month after Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy and a $250 million loan fell through. Talks to re-negotiate a $100 million short-term loan collapsed last week, and more layoffs are expected.
"Our project has been affected by the economic tsunami that has paralyzed the global financial markets," said Cap Cana President Ricardo Hazoury.
Construction is also paralyzed at the Ritz-Carlton Molasses Reef resort in secluded West Caicos, where 60 Chinese workers revolted last month to demand back wages.
About 160 workers have been sent home to China, and it's unclear when construction will resume at the hotel, marina and condominium project, which is three-quarters complete.
This month, the sprawling Atlantis resort in the Bahamas laid off about 800 workers, citing low occupancy rates.
Baha Mar Resorts Ltd. laid off about 40 employees at its Sheraton Resort in the Bahamas and 40 more at the Wyndham Nassau Resort.
The Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union has called a demonstration Thursday to demand government aid.
"I've been in the business 38 years. I have seen the impact of the Gulf War. I have seen the recession of the '80s. Certainly Sept. 11," said Robert Sands, senior vice president of external affairs at Baha Mar.
"But nothing has been of a global nature, which makes the current financial situation we're in much more worrisome."
In Puerto Rico, the Caribe Hilton laid off more than 50 people this month because of rising costs and sluggish occupancy rates. The last time the hotel had to lay off workers was after the Sept. 11 attacks, General Manager Jose Campo said.
"What worries me is that this will last longer," he said. "We are mounting an aggressive campaign, but the situation is what it is."
Even the normally busy holiday season is expected to be relatively quiet.
"There is space available for the holiday season and beyond," said Alec Sanguinetti, CEO of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association. "This is often a time when hotels are sold out and vacationers are looking for any place that has availability."

Workers are spending their days off looking for jobs outside the tourism industry. Others have already been sent home.
Victor Felipe Feliz, 24, has been feeding his two children on store credit since he lost his construction job at Cap Cana last month.
"I need to work so I can buy Pampers, so I can buy food," he said. "It has been a couple of months since I bought clothes. I can't afford anything."
Cap Cana plans to fire another 1,000 workers in the coming months, according to a company official who spoke only on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.
But Cap Cana President Ricardo Hazoury said he expects the project to go forward as the company outsources certain services.
The 50-square-mile (130-square-kilometer) development is nestled in the Dominican Republic's easternmost point amid lush jungle. Its developers include Deutsche Bank, the Trump Organization and the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company.
Cap Cana runs more like a city than a private development. It generates its own power and water and has hundreds of villas and condominiums — even a school. Some of the villas and hotels are inhabited, but most remain under construction..
"We used to have a lot of workers — brick layers, plumbers, electricians," said Wilkin Cuevamato, who was laid off but later found work at another Cap Cana property. "The majority have left and gone home."
Tourists willing to make last-minute travel arrangements will find some real bargains as hotels react to the soft period, according to Scott Berman, a tourism adviser for Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Miami.
"If you're flexible and have time on your hands, you're going to find some favorable deals this winter," he said.
But cheaper rooms are often offset by expensive airfare, according to Renaldo Inesta, division manager for AAA in Puerto Rico.
American Airlines, the main carrier to the island, has cut back flights by 44 percent, though other airlines are stepping in to reduce the overall drop to 14 percent.
Beyond the holiday season, the picture is bleak. Getting money to finance new projects will be difficult amid the credit squeeze. A new U.N. report predicts access to external financing for the region will be limited, and what is available will come with high interest rates.
But some remain optimistic. In September, even as the financial crisis was gathering steam, Hilton Hotels Corp. announced plans to build 17 hotels in the Caribbean, adding to the 13 it already has.
"We have analyzed the region," said Gregory Rockett, who is overseeing the expansion. "We are very confident that in the next five years we can do these numbers."
And Sanguinetti points out that for North Americans, the Caribbean remains a quick and attractive getaway.
"We provide a relaxing escape from the tensions that people are facing at work during this economic crisis," he said. "We expect that pent-up demand will be released."

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[Mosiah]

Early days yet, Sass. I wouldn't start celebrating how well Jamaica is doing when compared to other Caribbean islands.