Financial analysts want the populous not politicians to decide the fate of the stalled extradition of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke but they also want crime culled to fillip growth.

“If you have a part of the economy controlled by men affiliated with crime there will always be a disincentive for investment at any interest rate. We cannot play… with politicians who are tied up with alleged criminals, we have to have a united voice as a country on this,” stated Professor Alvin Wint professor of International business and pro vice-chancellor at University of the West Indies.

He was one of six panelists speaking at the Bethel Forum entitled the Recession, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and You, on Sunday in which analysts differed on economic prospects but agreed on societal ills.

“The church is so silent on the matter that there is a constitutionally elected prime minister and an unconstitutionally elected president with more power than the prime minister. Why is the church so silent on this matter,” stated Ralston Hyman analyst, radio host and financial editor for the Sunday Herald newspaper, alluding to one of Coke’s aliases which is president. The Bethel Forum was held at the Bethel Baptist Church in Kingston hosted by attorney, Jeremy Taylor.

Both analysts were the latest to join mounting calls for the US request of the extradition of Coke, the Tivoli Gardens strongman, to be handled with transparency. Last month the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) urged Prime Minister Bruce Golding to let the nation’s courts decide on matters relating to extradition requests from the United States.

Chartered accountant, Dennis Chung also an advisor on the Air Jamaica divestment committee, analogised that even if interest rates went to zero per cent that theft would still be a greater disincentive for investment.

“The reason why there is no long term investment is because even if you get money at zero per cent for agriculture there is a 90 per cent chance of praedial larceny therefore our main problem in Jamaica is crime. Unless you control crime you are not going to fill the gap left by government since coming out of (fiscal) spending,” Chung stated in his address.

Other panellists included Martin Henry public affairs analyst, Cheryl Hanson-Simpson personal finance consultant and Dr Anthony Allen who discussed managing personal finances within the context of the budget and the IMF.

Golding told the nation in March that the US extradition request for Coke was flawed as the Interception of Communications Act was breached. Golding said Justice Minister and Attorney General Dorothy Lightbourne had not signed the request on those grounds. But the PSOJ insisted that the matter should not be settled on a political level but should be dealt with judicially.

The US Attorneys Office had in August last year requested that Coke be formally extradited to that jurisdiction to face charges of gun running and drug trafficking in New York.

Coke was described as a major crime lord by the US authorities who stated that they had nine coconspirators who had furnished dirt on him. He is accused of illicit dealings since 1994.

But the Government has dawdled on the issue for seven months and the inaction has prompted the US Department of State to lash the ruling party for its close links to crime lords and branded it a corrupt regime in a recently released Narcotics Report.

The report also said three police commissioners had resigned over the state’s unwillingness to cut the nexus between political organisations and the criminal underworld. But Golding, unfazed, told the nation he was prepared to pay the political price for standing up for Coke, who is a point man in his West Kingston constituency which is controlled by the garrison of Tivoli Gardens, Coke’s stomping ground.

The US Government has since drafted a new indictment outlining further charges against Coke and is expected to forward the new indictment to the Jamaican government soon.