The reality of the devalued Jamaican dollar is something that should be addressed by those who are trying to enter representational politics.

Today, September 15, 2015, I see that it will take $118.74 Jamaican dollars to buy one US dollar. What does that mean to us in Jamaica? This means it will cost us more to buy those things bought from overseas with US dollars. This is a serious thing.

As it stands, a car which is imported and made using overseas technology and materials can cost more than a house made of materials produced in Jamaica. This comparison makes most sense to me because I am no economist, but that is my reality as an architect. I am paid to design houses, and I get paid over the time it takes to design and construct the house, which may be 10 months. My fee on a $6-million house, say at 15 per cent of the cost of a small house is $900,000.00, and my profit of 15 per cent, if I’m lucky and prudent, is $135,000.00.

Of that, I need to have saving, and funds for entertainment, and other personal things. So, for me to buy the foreign-made car that is selling for $6 million, I will need to design a minimum of 44 houses. Already the problem is obvious. The car will need maintenance, with items from overseas, fuel from overseas, and expertise from overseas. So buying a car from overseas is a losing proposition. That motorised handcart seen on the city streets is a germ of a solution. Can we nurture it to grow? I am not sure who might take this up. But this takes me to the economic environment in which Jamaica exists.

Local development

The development of the local economy is the only way Jamaica can survive going forward. This is the function of policy and management. Items that can create local development must be identified and placed in a position that will be able to sustain itself. We need this activity now more than ever.

The payment of present overseas debt, moreso the management of that debt, must avoid adding one penny to that amount. This is so, as every penny of local value that goes to paying overseas debt will ensure that, as a nation, we will remain shackled to the whims and fancies of the developed countries. We need the spin-off of the value created here to stay here and develop here.

As some may say, the devaluation of the Jamaican dollar is one way for us to become truly independent. I agree. I also agree that this project will require the most adept skills available in Jamaica in every productive endeavour. It requires the most visionary coalition between the people of the nation and those we choose to manage our resources. This level of partnership is necessary for our future.

So, as we venture outdoors to our streets and listen to our news, read our newspapers, drive our children to school, and go to the grocery store, we must consider the absence of nationalism/patriotism that has existed in some form in our politics since Independence.

First, there were the Indians, then the Spaniards, then the English, now us. Who are we? Are we the children of the plantation owners, indentured servants, slaves, merchants, administrators, or overseers? To be sure, I’m not sure. All Jamaicans need to be on the same page regarding our way forward now that we need to be our own managers, disciplinarians, legal teams, politicians, etc. I know that individually we are great, so collectively, we can build our nation to be even greater.

Who will collect these hard edges of history sharpened by over 500 years of hardships, misfortunes and glory? I have said that we need to create our museum of Jamaican history. This will be our truth and reconciliation venue, where each of us can face the truth of how we got here, and reconcile that with where we stand today, as African, Chinese, Indian, European, or all the above. Garvey said, “We must know our past”. It must not be trivialised, and we must stop ignoring it. Our past has the answers to our problems, and this reconciliation must become the dawn of our awareness, or it will be the overseer of the reckoning, whose advent we will rue for the pain and suffering it resurrects. Then we will have to start again, and we need not start again, then our sojourn in the valley would have been for naught and we would be lost. We can start the trek to the top of this mountain now, from where we can see a promise. Call it land or the Caribbean, we need to get to the mountaintop to see it. For this we need politicians, no, leaders of great integrity, patriotism, selflessness and education.

Many Jamaicans have made excellent use of their time on The Rock, making it a place for the world to look at for reggae and sprinters. All Jamaicans need a cause around which to rally, and this is where politics can be a point of meeting. Politics is the process of creation, of co-operative and collaborative action, and the people we choose to manage this process are not just our representatives, but those who we have deemed best suited to manage our affairs. I ask with all earnestness, for all Jamaicans to keep this in mind as we approach the next general election.

Hugh M Dunbar is an architect. Send comments to the Observer or hmdenergy@gmail.com.