Dear Editor,

I’d like to congratulate Prime Minister Andrew Holness for naming Mr Michael Lee-Chin as the chairman of the newly formed Economic Growth Council (EGC) for the country. I’d also like to join your esteemed chairman, Mr Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, in supporting and wishing Mr Lee-Chin all the success in this endeavour.

He will not only set the table but will bring a lot to it. These successful, wealthy and smart businessmen are true patriots and have so much to offer their beloved country. They should be respected and listened to. Some pundits would like to put a political spin on it, but I’m not going to go there.

I think the timing is right; and it is better to be late than never. That said, Jamaica has become an import economy; a country of consumers and not producers. A nation of talkers and not doers. Until the country changes its outlook to an export economy, I’m afraid no measurable growth will be achieved. And one doesn’t have to have a PhD in economics to figure it out.

China, the second largest economy and one of the richest countries in the world, is a perfect example. Just about everything is made or manufactured in that country. Just imagine where would China be without exports. They would have little or no growth.

There has been a lot of talk recently about boycotting Trinidadian goods, which I don’t necessarily agree with. The big question is, what does Trinidad produce that cannot be made in Jamaica? I will agree that because of high energy prices over the years and because of their oil wealth they allegedly subsidise their manufacturers with cheap energy, which gives them an unfair advantage over their Jamaican counterparts. But the good news is the price of energy is way below what it used to be; so I would urge the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) to get busy and stop the whining.

Great Jamaican world-class companies such as GraceKennedy, Seprod, J Wray & Nephew make world-class products and compete. Their markets are global, domestic and regional. For a start, the country should immediately expand the capacity of Petrojam oil refinery and JAMPRO should also play a pivotal role in getting the diaspora more involved.

After all, the goal at the end of the day should be wealth and job creation.

Noel Mitchell

Westchester, New York

nlmworld@yahoo.com