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Coordinator's Note - Jamaica's telling absence from Invest Caribbean Now
There was a time when Jamaicans led the Caribbean, not only in sports, music and entertainment, but in the boardrooms.
I am not sure what has happened to us, but we have taken a backseat. Indeed, we have been kicked to the curb as it relates to our dominance in Caribbean tourism.
This low-keyed, laid-back attitude was evident last week, while the definitive Caribbean Investment Forum, Invest Caribbean Now (ICN) 2013, was abuzz with top private-sector investors, a United States State Department official, a Chinese delegation and governments from across the region.
Guess which country was absent? You guessed right - Jamaica.
Some 200 delegates attended the forum and reception on June 4 at the Yale Club and June 5 at the Radisson Martinique Hotel, respectively, including premier of the Turks & Caicos Islands, Dr Rufus Ewing and his minister of finance, C. Washington Misick; minister of tourism and international transport, international trade, industry, commerce and consumer affairs, St Kitts, Ricky Skerritt; minister for tourism, heritage and creative industries, St Lucia, Lorne Theophilus; minister of tourism, Nevis, Mark Brantley; minister of tourism, Antigua & Barbuda, John Maginley; minister of tourism, sports and culture, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Cecil McKie; Assemblyman Tracy Davidson-Celestine, deputy chief secretary and secretary, Division of Tourism and Transportation, Tobago; minister of tourism, The Bahamas, Obie Wilchcombe; and chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation and commissioner of the United States Virgin Islands, Beverly Nicholson-Doty.
FLAGRANT DISINTEREST
Imagine my surprise to discover that Jamaica was completely MIA from this event! How disappointing - not a single Jamaican government representative, investment agency or business representative was at ICN.
Which begs the question - how serious is Jamaica about promoting itself as an investment destination and where were the powers that be?
When asked about Jamaica's lack of participation, ICN founder, Felicia Persaud, said Jamaica was invited like every other nation, but chose not to show up. In fact, Persaud said early on in the programme, the general manager of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Marlene Street Forrest, had committed to being a speaker at ICN, but suddenly dropped out, stating she was already participating in the diaspora forum.
Additionally, the ICN founder and chief marketing officer of Hard Beat Communications said not a single Jamaican company responded to repeated invitations to sponsor and be part of the heavily promoted event. At the last minute, I was also told that Jamaica's minister of state in the Ministry of Tourism & Entertainment, Damion Crawford, had asked to be accommodated as a guest, but one day before the forum, cancelled again due to some other issues at home.
With so many private-sector investors at this event, one has to wonder whether Jamaica is serious about attracting international investments, or is all talk among ourselves? I hope the ministries of tourism, finance and investment, along with JAMPRO and the private sector, ensure they are at ICN 2014! It is THE place to be for promoting this country and attracting investments from a diverse level and not simply a talk shop like we are accustomed to in this region.
Oh, lest we forget, the Chinese are urging the region's governments to capitalise on a business development and investment promotions trip to China this fall. Possibly, the response from Jamaica will be: "We already have our representatives in China." You never know. Having mastered the art of doing great, we really don't need the rest of the region, do we?
There was a time when Jamaicans led the Caribbean, not only in sports, music and entertainment, but in the boardrooms.
I am not sure what has happened to us, but we have taken a backseat. Indeed, we have been kicked to the curb as it relates to our dominance in Caribbean tourism.
This low-keyed, laid-back attitude was evident last week, while the definitive Caribbean Investment Forum, Invest Caribbean Now (ICN) 2013, was abuzz with top private-sector investors, a United States State Department official, a Chinese delegation and governments from across the region.
Guess which country was absent? You guessed right - Jamaica.
Some 200 delegates attended the forum and reception on June 4 at the Yale Club and June 5 at the Radisson Martinique Hotel, respectively, including premier of the Turks & Caicos Islands, Dr Rufus Ewing and his minister of finance, C. Washington Misick; minister of tourism and international transport, international trade, industry, commerce and consumer affairs, St Kitts, Ricky Skerritt; minister for tourism, heritage and creative industries, St Lucia, Lorne Theophilus; minister of tourism, Nevis, Mark Brantley; minister of tourism, Antigua & Barbuda, John Maginley; minister of tourism, sports and culture, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Cecil McKie; Assemblyman Tracy Davidson-Celestine, deputy chief secretary and secretary, Division of Tourism and Transportation, Tobago; minister of tourism, The Bahamas, Obie Wilchcombe; and chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation and commissioner of the United States Virgin Islands, Beverly Nicholson-Doty.
FLAGRANT DISINTEREST
Imagine my surprise to discover that Jamaica was completely MIA from this event! How disappointing - not a single Jamaican government representative, investment agency or business representative was at ICN.
Which begs the question - how serious is Jamaica about promoting itself as an investment destination and where were the powers that be?
When asked about Jamaica's lack of participation, ICN founder, Felicia Persaud, said Jamaica was invited like every other nation, but chose not to show up. In fact, Persaud said early on in the programme, the general manager of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Marlene Street Forrest, had committed to being a speaker at ICN, but suddenly dropped out, stating she was already participating in the diaspora forum.
Additionally, the ICN founder and chief marketing officer of Hard Beat Communications said not a single Jamaican company responded to repeated invitations to sponsor and be part of the heavily promoted event. At the last minute, I was also told that Jamaica's minister of state in the Ministry of Tourism & Entertainment, Damion Crawford, had asked to be accommodated as a guest, but one day before the forum, cancelled again due to some other issues at home.
With so many private-sector investors at this event, one has to wonder whether Jamaica is serious about attracting international investments, or is all talk among ourselves? I hope the ministries of tourism, finance and investment, along with JAMPRO and the private sector, ensure they are at ICN 2014! It is THE place to be for promoting this country and attracting investments from a diverse level and not simply a talk shop like we are accustomed to in this region.
Oh, lest we forget, the Chinese are urging the region's governments to capitalise on a business development and investment promotions trip to China this fall. Possibly, the response from Jamaica will be: "We already have our representatives in China." You never know. Having mastered the art of doing great, we really don't need the rest of the region, do we?