Senator Reid's 10% Solution

[Don1]

Harnessing our potential in 2014
Published: Sunday | January 5, 2014 1 Comment
Ruel Reid, Guest Columnist


Tessanne Chin


My fellow Jamaicans, I hope you all had a good holiday and wish for all of us the prospect of 2014 yielding better results than 2013.

Last year had its challenges and we must endeavour to make 2014 much better for all Jamaicans. Most of us feel that Tessanne Chin, like our sports greats (such as Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, et al) have once again demonstrated that we Jamaicans can be world beaters.

For the new year, we must resolve to fix all the critical problems we face as a nation. This will require extraordinary political leadership and accountability of the public.

I am pleased that we have demonstrated in 2013 that we can pass critical legislation through Parliament if we have the political will, or even by the pressure from external forces such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Having passed a record 40 pieces of legislation in 2013, this is now a benchmark for the future.

LAWS ALONE WON'T WORK

As I said in the Senate recently, and was the general consensus, passing bills alone will not suffice, and the hard task of implementing the requisite policy measures is even more critical. The eradication of red tape, bureaucratic humbug, and the reform of the public sector - including the education sector - are imperative in this regard.

I also said that going forward, we must use scientific management principles. There must be measurable targets and outcomes. This is the same approach required by the IMF. I reminded the Senate and Jamaicans, "Whatever gets measured, gets managed, and whatever gets managed, gets accomplished."

We, therefore, must mobilise our people and the diaspora to invest more in developing human capital to grow Jamaica. Mega projects (including the logistics hub) alone will not do it. There is need for integration with the rest of the economy (tourism's lack of integration is a stark reminder of faulty policies).

More Jamaicans will have to participate, through small businesses, in the production of goods and services in the Jamaican economy. There must be bottom-up as well as trickle-down economic initiatives. We must focus on community renewal and development. We must effect comprehensive land reform to regularise landownership and eradicate squatting. The reform of Security Interest in Personal Property Act must be used as a catalyst to economic activities.

TARGET YOUTH

Young entrepreneurs must be targeted and incentivised because youth unemployment is close to 40 per cent; this is a crisis and impatient of debate. How do we inspire our youth to embrace education and training if they can't find the means to earn an income? We cannot pursue a jobless growth policy. We have to get our youth integrated into the economy even through mandatory apprenticeship programmes as done in Australia.

The Government must facilitate the development of a robust capital market to fund start-ups and business expansion. The recently passed pieces of legislation should go a far way in making this possible.

Just as mobilisation is done well for elections, let's get it done well for production and the empowerment of our people. The rallying of Jamaicans locally and the diaspora to support Tessanne Chin in 'The Voice' competition is a case in point that must be a model and a strategy to be replicated.

Among my top list of performance targets (The People's Test) for 2014 that I will hold the Government accountable for are:

1. Lower major crime rate by 10 per cent; get murder rate down by 10 per cent;

2. Improve Jamaica's ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index by 10 per cent;

3. Improve Ease of Doing Business Index ranking by 10 per cent;

4. A 10 per cent lower unemployment rate from 15.4 per cent;

5. A 10 per cent lower rate of youth unemployment from 38.3 per cent;

6. Increase in real GDP to above two per cent;

7. Increase exports by 10 per cent;

8. Improvement in trade deficit by 10 per cent;

9. Increase all factor productivity by 10 per cent;

11. Increase training and certification of workforce by 10 per cent;

12. Increase in start-up of new businesses by 10 per cent;

13. Improvement in per capita income by 10 per cent;

14. Reduce poverty rate by 10 per cent;

15. Improve tourism earnings retention by 10 per cent.

The list is very ambitious, but we have accepted mediocrity for too long. Now we need real transformational leadership. When governments put out manifestos (including the 'Progressive Agenda') and annual Budgets they must be held accountable by the people for outcomes.

I hope the youth and civil society, including the Church, will step up and hold us parliamentarians accountable to get the job done for the people of Jamaica, so we can effectively play our part in advancing peace, justice and prosperity in Jamaica and for the whole human race.

Ruel Reid is a senator and principal of Jamaica College. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com

[Assasin]

" More Jamaicans will have to participate, through small businesses, in the production of goods and services in the Jamaican economy. There must be bottom-up as well as trickle-down economic initiatives. We must focus on community renewal and development. We must effect comprehensive land reform to regularise landownership and eradicate squatting. The reform of Security Interest in Personal Property Act must be used as a catalyst to economic activities."

[Don1]

" More Jamaicans will have to participate, through small businesses, in the production of goods and services in the Jamaican economy. There must be bottom-up as well as trickle-down economic initiatives. We must focus on community renewal and development. We must effect comprehensive land reform to regularise landownership and eradicate squatting. The reform of Security Interest in Personal Property Act must be used as a catalyst to economic activities."

Even with the focus on big projects it is the SMEs that are the most powerful engine of growth

[Assasin]

you finally realize what I am saying. Big projects, may or may or may not come. We need to make the environment where small business can grow and don't have to worry about stability.

[Don1]

you finally realize what I am saying. Big projects, may or may or may not come. We need to make the environment where small business can grow and don't have to worry about stability.

ok boss

[Stonigut]

How in the world are we going to even start to address these points if there is no accountability for actions taken and results, lack of accountability means measurement of anything is compromised, if measurement is compromised then we cannot set meaningful goals or measure where we stand relative to those goals, much less set improvement targets as shown here.

First step is building a joint party/ major stakeholder roadmap for next fifty years, with a few clear bottom line objectives like increase in exports, increase in local content of exports, building value add to exports, maximizing the use of local content for local spend, cut import bill, use of foreign exchange for strictly capital projects aimed at increase in exports or reduction of imports.

Doubling exports in the next 10-20 years especially in developing value added products with a more inelastic type demand and getting out of price competitive elastic demand products which we have been trapped in out of tradition rather than seeking new developments out of old competencies such as switching over to organic sugar production where the price per ton sells at multiples of the traditional product is one big example of fundamental change using existing knowledge base, what about adding some brand variation to that, what about what used to be the best quality and tasting sugar in Jamaica, Albion sugar done organic that could catch some serious fancy prices, with all the variations in color and texture. "Jamaican Albion Organic" sound like a differentiated high quality product to me!

That is some differentiation there. Does Albion even exist anymore as a sugar cane growing area?

Reducing imports by 50 percent over that same period, no use of fx for any food items that are imported that are not price competitive, read no luxury goods.
use of fx only on enterprises that show an ability to increase exports and increase employment and retain profits in the island.

I could go on but if we could just do two things once we decide on a joint vision for fifty years across parties and major stakeholders that is increase exports and cut imports of all but capital goods and price competitive foodstuff like rice and flour we would be well on our way to turning this thing around, but it takes serious leadership to commit to something as simple and straightforward as that.
So how about it two things can lead the way and change the direction totally, all else can follow, training in trades, reduction in crime, technology driven education, etc etc, etc

So, Double exports, with a focus on developing differentiated products with high inelastic demand and cutting import bill by half on non capital imports, with capital imports using fx strictly for those that show results in increasing exports, increasing local context of exports or producing quality import substitution products with local content or using price competitive low cost content. If we can measure that and attain those two things in ten to twenty then viola!

[Don1]

You're definitely on to something Stoni

Here's your key revelation:

First step is building a joint party/ major stakeholder roadmap for next fifty years, with a few clear bottom line objectives like increase in exports, increase in local content of exports, building value add to exports, maximizing the use of local content for local spend, cut import bill, use of foreign exchange for strictly capital projects aimed at increase in exports or reduction of imports.

You describe a Social Contract... which is the best course to try to achieve prosperity. Jamaica desperately needs to free itself from the corrupt & inept JLPNP Matrix...and formally bring civil society front and center into the decision-making and accountability process.... Parliament is a joke...i.e. JLPNP toy

The element I would add to your thesis would be to address social problems as a priority along with the economic... they are inextricably intertwined. Jamaica CANNOT make big strides without fixing the social dysfunctions.... merely setting economic goals with technical reforms won't cut it

Fortunately some of us have long recognized that reality and proposed an action plan to implement it... http://www.reggaeboyzsc.com/forum1/s...referrerid=298

http://www.reggaeboyzsc.com/forum1/s...referrerid=298

[Stonigut]

My issue with trying to attack social, is it is unsustainable without the core, core first all other things will come later. We have so many examples where the cart is out before the horse and the whole thing flop. We have been living in social dysfunction for 500 years another 20 to really set the economic base is a small price, "money must mek first before we spend"

Nice links!

[Don1]

My issue with trying to attack social, is it is unsustainable without the core, core first all other things will come later. We have so many examples where the cart is out before the horse and the whole thing flop. We have been living in social dysfunction for 500 years another 20 to really set the economic base is a small price, "money must mek first before we spend"

Nice links!

Thanks for the considered response Stoni

I believe that the social dysfunctions are embedded in the economic failures in a causal relationship..... not mere correlation. So trying to fix one without addressing the other.. will not work.

The JLPNP have conspired to corrupt Jamaica at a spiritual level and that spiritual corruption cannot be turned around by technical economic fixes as your model presupposes

The PNP generally fails at economics but is better at social improvement... and the JLP is poor at social changes but better at economic management

Additionally..... With their preference for conflict over cooperation the two tribes combine in a toxic soup of corruption and ineptitude