THIS article is going to stray a little from the regular focus on domestic politics and although it is next to impossible to advance the issue of economic development and industrialisation without calling out the mistakes made in managing Jamaica’s political economy, the intent here is not to dwell on juicy political events of recent times or splutter over decades-old political shenanigans. Last Thursday afternoon, I decided to take a stroll around my office area during my lunch break. However, as I walked the usual 10 blocks, the song, Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow, kept ringing in my ears and the rhythm was too irresistible not to sway my head in appreciation.

So call me obsessed, if you may, because as I walked the busy Manhattan street, I could not help rewriting some of the lyrics to that song and I began singing, “Don’t stop thinking about Jamaica, Don’t stop thinking about her future”. In spite of this, I kept asking myself, what must we do and what can we do to make things better? What if every Jamaican in the diaspora do what the Israelis have been doing for years — sending back home money to the government monthly — would this help? What form of contribution could professionals make and how would this affect our own personal plans and circumstances? Is it really money, ideas, or both, that Jamaica lacks, or is it implementers? What if we start producing and earning our way out of our situation? Why are we repackaging and selling Brazilian coconut water and coconut milk instead of our own? Can’t we make our own “brand Jamaica” souvenirs, instead of importing them from India and China?

Naturally, as I contemplated these questions, a plethora of other things and possibilities came to mind, some realistically achievable, others more idealistic than anything else, but all sprang from a deep desire to see my country progress. And not even the unlikely prospects of being taken seriously by the powers that be were enough to dissuade me or cramp my natural enthusiasm and bullishness about Jamaica. Nevertheless, I kept wondering why we have such little confidence in ourselves and in our own abilities to solve our problems, preferring instead to accept everything that an outsider or prominent members of the oligarchy suggest, without regard for great ideas from the less prominent among us.

Consequently, it did not sit well with me, that after years of pussyfooting on the matter of energy sufficiency, it took former US President Bill Clinton to tell us exactly as we have been told many times before — that we must diversify our energy portfolio, become less dependent on fossil fuel and find a common goal around which to rally the entire country. Quite frankly, I was peeved by the chorus-like reaction and acknowledgement from our media as if Clinton’s remarks were spanking new, this they did without highlighting the irrefutable frequency with which many, including former prime ministers Edward Seaga and PJ Patterson and energy ministers Paulwell and Hylton, have spoken to the issue, especially as it relates to a national industrial policy.

In fact, the PJ Patterson government of the 1990s did more to advance energy diversity, such as solar and wind-power generation than any government before it, but more could have been done and still needs to be done in the areas of renewable: hydropower, ethanol and biogas to reduce Jamaica’s dependency on imported fossil fuel and for the country to take full advantage of the abundant sunshine, water and wind it has been blessed with (the Jamaican private sector has missed many opportunities in this regard). It is not only energy independence that we must aspire to achieve; we must begin to move away from the mindset of making Jamaica a purely agricultural/craftsmanship driven economy (as tropical storm Nicole has taught us) to an industrial economy — we have to begin to make things, right here in Jamaica again and make them well, at competitive prices, and sufficient for export.

Too much of the Jamaican economy is in the financial sector, insurance, IT, retail industry, service and food services and too little in manufacturing. Spanish Town was once a busy place, and the GoodYear tyre factory in St Thomas now stands as an insult to the memory of the late Robert Lightbourne’s dream of an industrialised Jamaican economy. We continue to import more goods that are manufactured abroad than we are exporting. We talk ad nauseum about agro-processing and food production, but except for ackee, rum and seasoning, what else are we producing and exporting? We have to start manufacturing and exporting raw materials and finished-goods, such as bamboo flooring (huge market abroad), alumina, figurines, coconut water, Sea Island Cotton and clothing, among other things.

We have an abundance of trainable and utilisable labour, so with proper labour market reforms, training and education, infrastructural development, reliable intra-island transportation system and a sound renewable energy platform, we could become an economic powerhouse similar to what Singapore became under Lee Kuan Yew. We already know of the industrial revolution and the technological and economic progress that flowed therefrom, particularly in the development of steam-powered ships, railways and industrial power generation, etc. And even though a shift had taken place from the industrial to knowledge-based economy, our school systems do not appear equipped to cultivate the knowledge we need. We are now witnessing phenomenal industrial growth in China, Brazil, India and other economies, while manufacturing and textile production activities in Jamaica, and the US, for instance, have diminished significantly. As Prime Minister Bruce Golding has correctly said, “We are too rich to be so poor and too blessed to be so stressed.”

Burnscg@aol.com