THE Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) has urged newly sworn in Prime Minister Andrew Holness to move quickly to address issues impacting the economy, saying it stands ready to play its part in the process.

“It is very important, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce believes, that the country builds on the hard-won gains recorded in the country’s fiscal management over the past several years, as these gains exacted a harsh price for citizens who have, during successive administrations, been called upon to make sacrifices but have not seen the level of economic growth that assures them that such sacrifices represented a solid and sustainable investment in the future,” the JCC said in a statement released immediately after Holness was sworn in at King’s House.

“It is therefore critical that the incoming administration builds on what went right, even as it discards what went wrong. We take comfort in the fact that while in Opposition the JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) team gave every assurance that it was committed to consolidating those gains achieved in the management of the economy.

“In this respect, we call upon the administration to ensure that those vehicles that represent useful public-private partnerships — such as the Partnership for Jamaica, (PFJ), the Economic Programme Oversight Committee, (EPOC), and the Electricity Sector Enterprise Team (ESET) — are maintained. We consider them to be tangible illustrations of the fact that at this time we need all hands on deck and the private sector will stand up and be counted,” the JCC said in reference to programmes that were set up by the previous People’s National Party Administration.

The chamber reiterated that it had, for years, insisted “that the economy must see real growth if it is to satisfy the aspirations of our people” and proposed some areas through which the country could achieve growth. These include:

•Reverse the plans to limit the incentives offered on the Junior Stock Exchange;

• Embracing a more ambitious divestment programme; and

• Inject a sense of urgency into efforts to mobilise all Jamaica as to the imperatives of the economy.

According to the JCC, the Junior Stock Exchange should be used as a vehicle to mobilise resources to support productive investments.

“We expect the Administration to follow through on its commitment, while in Opposition, to put this into effect,” the JCC stated.

On the issue of the divestment programme, the chamber said that it was “persuaded that a trust mechanism to hold productive resources now run by the public sector could itself provide a real boost to the stock market as these resources are packaged and listed.”

“Let us begin that work now,” the chamber urged, noting that “Both the public and private sector must realise that we have long past the business-as-usual phase.”

Meanwhile, the JCC pointed to the razor-thin margin of victory the JLP received in the February 25 polls — 32 seats to the PNP’s 31 — saying that the narrowness of the results “underscored a worryingly dangerous alienation from the political process on the part of hundreds of thousands of our citizens”.

“It is undeniable that much of this alienation arises from disenchantment with the way our nation has practiced politics and governance. It is our hope that both the governing and Opposition parties as well as the forces of civil society, will soberly treat these past days as a wake-up call; one that forces us to reflect on how it is that our forefathers fought so vigorously for the opportunity to chart the nation’s course only for their descendants — particularly the youth — to assess the work of today’s leaders as being almost irrelevant to their lives.

“Let us be sure then that over the weeks, months and years ahead, both the Administration, the Opposition and the forces of civil society will embrace their responsibilities for where we are now and chart a remedial and sustainable course to ensure that we are finally able to live up to our potential,” the JCC said.