Dear editor,

Seaga’s commentary in the Observer, July 29, 2018 was a brilliant piece of financial analyisis; “How the financial crash of the 1990s happened and why”.

It was lengthy, but worth the time to read. Mr Seaga is indeed a financial genius, someone who continues to teach us, a visionary in his own right and someone whose achievements can neither be denied nor challenged. It is very important to share these types of analyses, and we hope those in leadership regardless of political affiliation, will at least pause, read and reflect (and hopefully learn a thing or two) as they try to find innovative ways to move the country forward.

It is so important to learn from the past, correct errors and stop repeating them which only cause more hardships. The modern economy is influenced by other factors including greater influence by global markets, but the key drivers remain. The ongoing devaluation of the Jamaican currency for instance, should be of concern to all, and its negative impact on the economy, prices, inflation, interest rates, GDP, investments etc.

Also worth noting was one of your readers response to Seaga’s column, Errol Townsend wrote an interesting response on August 8; “Not an ism in Seaga’s analysis’. Townsend summed it up best, as he wrote: “Halfway through Andrew Holness’ mandate there is not even a hint of the cultural transformation which is a prerequisite for any insignificant national development. Indiscipline and coarse behaviour run rampant. Agriculture still performs well below par. Imports are still on the rise. The road network is woefully below par, especially farm roads. The currency continues to sink. The grotesque income inequality, which has such deleterious effects on so many aspects of national life, is unchecked. The brain drain continues. Meanwhile, we want to construct a new parliament building with borrowed money, instead of extending and modernising the current one.”

Thanks to the Jamaica Observer for continuing to share these types of analyses.

P Chin