The eight-member selection panel that adjudicated this year’s Jamaica Observer Business Leader Award were indeed correct when they described their task of choosing a winner as “Herculean”.

For no one can deny that the seven nominated public sector entities — the Port Authority of Jamaica, the National Export-Import Bank of Jamaica, the Development Bank of Jamaica, the HEART Trust/NTA, the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), the Jamaica Tourist Board, and the National Housing Trust (NHT) — have all given sterling service to Jamaica’s growth and development.

Indeed, their transformative impact on private sector capital cannot easily be quantified, even as the evidence of their contribution to nation-building is plain for all to see.

We took great pride in sharing their stories with Jamaica and the world over the past few weeks. For, as Mr Moses Jackson — the conceptualiser of the award programme — so aptly stated in his address at the presentation ceremony Sunday night, the public sector is often vilified and its contribution, in many cases, is not appreciated.

We, however, cannot ignore the fact that the Port Authority, which ensures the smooth movement of imports, handled more than 29 million metric tonnes of containerised goods between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012.

Neither can we overlook the more than $8 billion in special financial assistance provided by the Ex-Im Bank to non-traditional producers just this year alone.

In the case of the HEART Trust/NTA — the eventual winners — many employers will vouch for the quality of the skilled workforce that that entity provides each year. Indeed, as was highlighted in our feature on the HEART Trust, almost 90,000 Jamaicans are enrolled in its programmes each year, and 60,000 of them will attain some level of certification.

We cannot forget, as well, that many companies managed to stay open because of the Development Bank of Jamaica’s (DBJ) commitment to providing loans at favourable terms. That, as we pointed out in the DBJ story, has resulted in the creation of at least 10,000 jobs.

A look at JAMPRO’s contribution over the past 10 years shows that it can boast of facilitating $159 billion worth of investments that have led to more than 73,000 jobs.

The Jamaica Tourist Board, for its part, can take pride in the fact that its aggressive and unrelenting marketing and promotion of the island have contributed to the more than three million visitors we welcomed last year and the US$2.07 billion that the country earned from tourism in 2012.

The NHT’s performance is legendary, having — since its birth in 1976 to March 31 this year — provided mortgages for 93,718 housing solutions and developing almost 42,000 housing units.

We are heartened by the fact that Digicel, Scotiabank, Cari-Med, Kirk Distributors, Supreme Ventures, and J Wray & Nephew all thought it prudent to support our recognition of these public sector entities. That, however, was not surprising, because those companies are good corporate citizens that are making significant contributions to the public service and to Jamaica in general.

The country owes them all a debt a gratitude.

The biggest winner on Sunday night was private-public sector partnership, more of which Jamaica needs to tap our vast potential as a productive nation.