In his sectoral budget presentation, the Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang made a profoundly worrying admission in the people’s Parliament.

He stated that over US$1 billion flow into the country illegally. This money is derived from scamming, the drug trade, money laundering, and other illicit activities. There are those who will suggest that the figure is well over US$1 billion. The truth is that no one really knows, but what is without doubt is that a great deal of illegal money flows into Jamaica and have a significant influence on the country’s economy and social dispositions.

The flow of illegal money into Jamaica is not new. The drug trade from very early has been a primary source of this flow. But, in recent times, this has been buttressed by other forms of illegal activities, especially scamming and the increased need to launder “hot” money.

On the surface, some may argue that this is a good thing. After all, we are a country starved of funds, so what can be wrong with money from any source coming in to help us out? This kind of thinking finds currency in the putrid, immoral swamp through which the country too often wades.

This morally relativistic thinking is attractive in a country where many have already sold their souls to the highest bidder, and the “eat a food” mentality has convinced many that one should survive by any means necessary, no matter the pain and suffering heaped upon others and the further tearing of the fabric of what is left of the country’s tattered reputation. After all, the end justifies the means.

In this new era, it is the law of the jungle that dominates. The young get killed by the gun and the elderly gets pushed to the curb. Get out of the way or get run over seems to be the mantra of, sadly, too many of our young people.

The more sober among us will see the grave danger of illicit money in the country. For one, he or she will be worried about the corrupting influence of such money on individuals and institutions; the lives that will be expended to ensure that this money gets into the country; the many officials in high places that become complicit in these acts of corruption, and the danger of such behaviour becoming normative in a country already mired in vice and corruption.

Apart from the social implications of such activities, the sober among us should also be worried about what this means for how we quantify and make prognostications about economic data. We know that Jamaica’s economy has long been supported by an underground economy. No one knows the true state of this economy and how it impacts the formal economy.

I am not an economist, but I wonder, if so much money circulating in the country is the product of illegal activity, how do we make cogent and reliable forecasts about the country’s economic health and its future with regard to the real economy? How reliable are the forecasts of our statistical agencies in predicting the future so that those who do business can be guided by the information given?

I suspect that these are not questions that can be easily answered since illegal money is so deeply wrapped up in legal, accountable business activity. But the distortions caused by this illegal flow has to be a matter of concern to the planning authorities.

GUN LUNACY IN AMERICA

Some readers of my last column on the gun lunacy in America were understandably concerned that I did not place emphasis on the lunatic use of the gun in Jamaica. Apart from the fact that I have many times written about this topic, my focus was on addressing the continued deranged use of the gun in the American society.

Though not explicitly stated in the piece, one can appreciate that the flow of guns to Jamaica is itself a function of the easy access to guns in America. If guns can be so easily accessed, it is not hard to see how people can amass these weapons for illegal shipment to the island. I would suggest that if there were stricter gun control laws in America, we could see a cauterisation of the flow of guns to Jamaica. Just a thought.

Furthermore, Jamaicans cannot be dismissive of the violent use of the gun in America. Most, if not all, Jamaicans have a family member, friend, or colleague living in America. Given the level of mass killings by the use of guns, such individuals, at any given time, can become a victim of gun violence. We would do well to keep this in mind as we are not as detached from the problem in America as we may believe.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storm and Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.