JAMAICANS are demoralised and doubt their capacity to succeed, reasoned Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips on Wednesday.

The statement was made within the context of emphasising the importance of achieving economic reform.

“The point I want to make is that on reflection over the Christmas what strikes me is that we have an enormously demoralised country. Demoralised in the sense of an inability to grow,” he told a business forum hosted at the headquarters of the Jamaica Observer in Kingston. “One feature of demoralisation, whether a demoralised football team or school, is that you begin to doubt your capacity to succeed. The country is losing its feeling that other than on the sports field the country can make it.”

The cash-strapped Government entered into a four-year, US$948.1-million Extended Fund Facility with the International Monetary Fund. The IMF Board, on December 8, completed the second review of Jamaica’s performance, which includes a number of qualitative and quantitative requirements.

Phillips continued on the interrelation between economic policy and the psychology of the Jamaican people.

“That is a major factor quite apart from the policy issues which can make a difference,” he continued. “Quite frankly countries don’t disappear but they can fade away and take a long time to recover. Where we are now if we do not grasp the opportunities now, then we would have not only betrayed previous generations but forfeited the prospects for future generations.”

Jamaica Government embarked on a Vision 2030 campaign which aims to make Jamaica the place of choice to live, work and do business. It has four goals — empowering Jamaicans to achieve their full potential; making the Jamaican society secure, cohesive and just; making the economy prosperous; and maintaining a healthy natural environment.

However, the island trails much of Latin America and Caribbean in growth prospects for the medium term. Specifically the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC), a UN body, expects Jamaica’s growth in 2014 at 1.2 per cent or the third slowest in the region. The body remains concerned about the impact of weak growth on jobs, with unemployment inching up two percentage points to 16.3 per cent in 2013.

The island’s EFF with the IMF calls for the reduction of Jamaica’s debt from some 145 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 96 per cent by 2020. It also includes achieving a 7.5 per cent primary budgetary surplus target; implementation of a National Debt Exchange (NDX) programme; tax reform; and public sector reform, restructuring of salaries to reduce ratio to GDP from 10.6 per cent to nine per cent by 2015/16.