KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesman on Finance and Planning Dr Peter Phillips is proposing that Caribbean governments and private sector extend economic cooperation beyond the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in order to bring about greater economic growth and lasting social progress for the people of the region.

Phillips who was speaking today at the 12th Regional Investments and Capital Markets Conference hosted by the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) stated that there needs to be active integration of the Dominican Republic, Haiti to a greater degree, and selectively other Latin American countries bordering on the Caribbean to encourage “diversification of the productive base of our own economies and encourage foreign direct and other investment flows”.

He said that to achieve this, the JSE should explore the possibility of allowing companies from these jurisdictions to list on the local stock exchange.  He noted that already one Jamaican company – GraceKennedy – is  operating in some of these jurisdictions with operations in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Belize and Guatemala.

 Such private sector leadership in the region, he accepted, would need to be accompanied by Government actions to negotiate effective free trade agreements, tax treaties and common regulations and arrangements for doing business.

Phillips, who was speaking on the topic ‘The Right Leadership: The Way to a Great Regional Future and Greater Options’, said Jamaica had provided leadership in the Caribbean in the attempt to turn around its economic fortunes and reverse negatives indicators shared across the region such as high debt, low growth and large fiscal deficits.

Growth across the region, he pointed out, has for the most part been below five per cent on average everywhere except the Dominican Republic.  

Meanwhile, Phillips warned that in this delicate economic situation and with big deficits in the delivery of social services, notably education, health and security, Caribbean governments cannot afford to be fiscally irresponsible and ‘run with’ unprogrammed expenditures such as $600 million or $800 million for ‘bushing’ work.

 Citing the importance of collaboration involving all sectors to achieve the start of an economic turnaround in Jamaica, Phillips concluded that perhaps the greatest lesson for leadership to be derived from the recent Jamaican experience, is that all elements of the population must be brought together in a genuinely collaborative and equitable partnership to build a different and better future for the Caribbean.