BRUCE Golding’s Caribbean Information Network Lecture, delivered last Tuesday at the Schomburg Center in New York, deserves a keen hearing. The former prime minister gave an even-handed analysis of Jamaica’s current economic plight, identifying “five binding constraints” and proposing a path of “tough, deliberate decisions”, declaring that “in a real sense, we are at war… not with any other nation, but with the poverty and development deficit that has plagued us for far too long”.

He made it clear that he was not casting blame, as “there is enough blame to go all around, and we don’t have enough fingers to do all the pointing”.

I think Finance Minister Peter Phillips would appreciate the caution expressed by Mr Golding about the Extended Fund Facility approved by the IMF in April of this year. He explained that we should not expect that “if we stick to our guns, and be able to meet all stipulated commitments, we will finally ‘for the first time at last’ be on the road to economic recovery and sustained growth.”

Mr Golding said he was not criticising the IMF: “Understand clearly that the 1947 mandate of the IMF is primarily concerned with financial stability… our ability to pay external bills/repay external debt, so that the smooth working of the financial/trading system is not disturbed.” Our challenge, he says, is not to be just IMF-compliant, but ‘IMF-plus’ in order to generate growth.

He called for “equal attention” to the following “binding constraints to investment in Jamaica”:

* Education and Training: “Investment is no longer driven by the availability of cheap labour, but by competent labour… the allocation of student loans cannot continue to be oblivious of what the market wants and is prepared to pay good dollars for.”

* Crime and Violence: “Costly provisions for extraordinary security have no place in business forecasting…”

* Hassle in doing business: Jamaica is 90/185; “when the question of doing business becomes a toss-up issue, there are 89 countries that will be more attractive to [investors]”

* Infrastructure

*Energy: “Jamaica’s electricity is 4 x Canada’s, 3.5 x US — this one has to be dealt with as a matter of urgency.”

Acknowledging our limited capabilities, Bruce Golding made it clear that, at this point, we need to call up every last bit of focus and energy. He put it graphically: “We will have to not only ride and chew gum — we will have to light a candle and direct traffic while we ride and chew gum!”

Personally, I felt Mr Golding’s pain when he referred to the Master Rationalisation Plan he had tabled in Parliament in 2011. The plan was the result of three years of intensive work by the Public Sector Transformation Unit (PSTU), led by the now-retired Patricia Sinclair-McCalla. Under the leadership of Citibank head financial guru Peter Moses, the voluntary Consultative Monitoring Group, including Wayne Jones Sr, Prof Alvin Wint, Ambassador Douglas Saunders, and yours truly, worked long hours reviewing reports of the PSTU, which included recommendations of the exceptional permanent secretaries with whom this country is blessed. Though it would not be painless, Mr Golding said that the plan should be implemented to reach the IMF requirement of reducing the public sector wage bill to 9 per cent of GDP, as the freezing of wages would not be able to achieve this. “We must not flinch!” urged Bruce Golding.

I mentioned to Education Minister Ronnie Thwaites that Mr Golding referred to his apology to the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, whose top members had so crudely insulted him, as ‘flinching’. Mr Thwaites said his action was misunderstood — he made a scriptural reference, and said that his gesture was that of a peacemaker, though he was quite aware of the steps his ministry would have to take.

On the subject of crime and violence, Mr Golding referred to the passage of the Charter of Rights in 2010 and the establishment of INDECOM in that same year, “to hold police/prison officials accountable for any human rights breaches.

“But the police cannot be epitomised as a villain to be harassed/intimidated to the point where they are too demoralised/dis-inspired to do their job,” he warned. He noted that anti-gang legislation had been initiated during his term in office, and that he was pleased that the present Government has taken it to Parliament.

“We will never get consensus on the strategies to be employed,” he noted, and continued: “Some of the alternative approaches being proffered are costly. If reducing crime is to await the day when our debt service obligations will allow us to allocate the resources needed to do so, that day will never come.”

NOW, I have heard and sympathise with my colleagues on their concern regarding the arrest of first offenders. I am suggesting that they should work on harmonising all the various well-meaning private, public sector and civil society organisations towards youth empowerment.

I have to mention the efforts of Food for the Poor to upgrade facilities in our schools. Several US, Canadian and local families and foundations have been partnering with them to build or upgrade 50 basic schools. The organisation’s Chairman Andrew Mahfood announced last week that there is a shortage of over 15,000 desks and chairs in schools islandwide. Now, why would a child want to go to school that has ‘standing room only’? No wonder so many of them have become easy ‘catches’ for gangs. When we support the Food for the Poor 30th anniversary drive to raise the US$600,000 necessary to buy this furniture, we’ll be giving our children a comfortable learning environment — that way we will keep them in school and out of trouble!

I know that politicians have become our favourite punching bags, and indeed some have earned the ire of their people. But, as we acknowledge that we live in a strong though not perfect democracy, let us respect not only our leaders, but also our own God-given talents and treasure by using them to help build our communities. Please take the time to watch Mr Golding’s full lecture at www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMUHPghqeJI. He received a well-deserved standing ovation.

Alpha Woman of Excellence Pamela

Lowe Chang

When Mr Golding gave his metaphor of doing myriad tasks while riding a bicycle, he could have been talking about Pamela Lowe Chang. In Annotto Bay, her name is legend. She has hosted fund-raisers to send children to school, refurbished police and fire stations, set up police-citizen committees, and shown true mercy to the less fortunate. Despite her daily commute from Kingston to her business in Annotto Bay, she has organised countless church dinners, sold literally thousands of tickets, and has brushed off any praise offered. Our Alpha Academy Alumnae Association finally caught up with her and got her to stand still long enough so we could present her with the 2013 Woman of Excellence Award last Friday.

Pamela, yours has been a true journey of mercy; a life dedicated, in the words of our school motto, Ad verum et bonum — To the good and the true.

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com