Employment creation priority of the next Gov't

Sunday, December 04, 2011

The political party that forms the next Government of Jamaica will have to simultaneously tackle the problems of crime, poverty, debt, rationalisation of the public sector, health, education, tax reform and the IMF negotiations.

But the impecunious state of the public purse means that the Government will not have the necessary resources to adequately address all of these issues. The political directorate must, therefore, decide on a few priorities.

The dilemma is that all the issues listed are important and urgently need attention. The Government, ideally in consultation with civil society, will therefore need to develop some rational criteria for selecting the few priorities and then subject them to a pragmatic analysis to decide what is feasible.

The few priorities must meet the test of having a beneficial impact on other problems. As such, in applying this approach, we suggest that the priority for the next Government must be the creation of employment because it can have a beneficial effect on all the other problems and goals.

Job creation, we hold, can contribute to a reduction in crime, generate more tax revenue, reduce the pressure on Government for poverty alleviation, and slash demand for free education and public health. It will also rescue the youth who are wasting their most productive years in idleness and give them a sense of purpose.

Employment is essential for the self-actualisation of a human being, as it gives them the self-worth and self-respect that bring out the best. It is the basis for good citizenship, responsible parenting, the capacity for compassion for the less fortunate and encourages the wholesomeness of the spirit which can temper the human frailties of greed, malice and other base impulses.

There are three ways in which any government can set about the creation of employment. First is by expanding the number of people employed in the public sector. This, however, is not an option for Jamaica at this time of fiscal austerity. Indeed, the very opposite will have to be the case.

Hopefully, this will be a "right-sizing" which will enhance productivity and efficiency without compromising service quality.

Second, a government can generate employment by expenditure on projects and programmes such as road construction and infrastructure maintenance. But again, in the context of fiscal constrains, the Government cannot pursue this method of generating jobs. There will, naturally, always be the positive employment impact of government expenditure, but it will not be sufficient to transform the entrenched unemployed.

In any case, government expenditure, in many instances, creates employment which is temporary, and those programmes, such as "bushing", are often bedevilled by corruption and low productivity.

Third, is for the Government to implement economic policy that will create an environment which produces economic growth and which, in turn, will result in employment. This, we accept, will be difficult in the current global economic crisis, but it is not impossible.

What is critical is that when selecting the package of economic policy measures the Government must keep constantly in mind the capacity and/or impact of each policy on employment, and the domino-effect on other areas of the economy.

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COMMENTS (8)

St. Ann
12/5/2011

The definition of creating jobs might be different for various people; governments have been creating jobs since before the Romans started building roads over 2,000 years ago. The notion that "government can't create jobs" comes from the Reagan era and is now accepted as an indisputable "Truth" by conservatives. At the time it was a bit of political rhetoric, not intended to be taken literally. The point of that political slogan was that you have to focus on creating private sector jobs because those are the ones that produce the goods and services society needs.

0o k
12/5/2011

@ Patrick Beersingh
I agree!

Patrick Beersingh
12/4/2011

Government should stick to ensuring that the garbage is collected, the laws are enforced, education is facilitated and other areas of the economy is free to develop and compete fairly, etc. Notice that I did not say collect the garbage, enforce the law, provide education, etc. They cannot do even these things and should merely provide the legal framework to allow private competition to do it efficiently and ethically. Try this, and you will see a Jamaica that cannot be stopped.

Patrick Beersingh
12/4/2011

I have to take issue with your conclusions. In the best of circumstances, the first two options will only create jobs at the expense of economic heath. Govt exist at the expense of the real economy. Under no circumstances should a govt be creating jobs. They should do their job and that only, which does not include creating jobs but merely basic services, including refereeing the business environment in some cases. Our economy suffers for the job creating attempts of various govts.

christopher Isaacs
12/4/2011

We have spoken about jobs and employment as priority for years, yet, what do we have at the end of the day? joblessness and unemployment, even though the same situation now dogs the great USA but for different reasons. Gridlock between Congress and the Executive has caused their problem. We keep trying the same tactics. Education and manufacturing is our way out. Our manufacturing sector must be given all the protection right now and encourage our Scholars to look to MIT instead o Harvard.

ghost rider
12/4/2011

I see in the other paper where a team of "prominent thinkers" put the responsibility of good governance squarely y on the shouldrs of the people. I beg to disagree. To me the MEDIA is the only solution for good governance.
If politicians knew that regardless of which party they represent, they would be outed for their "sins", then things would change overnight. Right now they know that they can get away dependent on who they are
In any case we don't even know unless we are told by them.

Paul Gentles
12/4/2011

With due respect Dear Editor: What the country is crying out for is GOOD GOVERNANCE!
What this means? Fiscal responsibility, accountability, removal of questionable and proven inept persons from representation of the people,stamp out corruption, eliminate the nexus with crime and change the constitution to support accountability in governance.
When these changes are implemented sustainable jobs will be created. Don't dally Editor, govt. is corrupt.

wanda woeman
12/4/2011

If I were the Observer, I too would not have opened MH’s article open to posting. It is not surprising that he is not fazed by unfavourable comments coming out of the debacle at the JDIP. That is how ppl without conscience usually are. What is true? Was he asked to “step down” as the article says, or did he resign of his own free will?
Isn’t it typical for the Observer to label the AG’s findings as “mismanagement” Wouldn’t it be more prudent to call it “revelations” for the time being until the CG has completed his probe and the Police theirs, if the matter is turned over to them? And why can’t they conduct their own investigations?

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Employment creation priority of the next Gov't