“I say that the mission of my generation was to win self-government for Jamaica, to win political power which is the final power for the black masses of my country from which I spring. I am proud to stand here today and say to you who fought that fight with me, say it with gladness and pride: Mission accomplished for my generation! And what is the mission of this generation? It is reconstructing the social and economic society and life of Jamaica,” said Norman Washington Manley in his last address to an annual conference of the People’s National Party (PNP) in 1968.

With that statement, the late premier and national hero left us a yardstick with which to measure the nation’s progress. The verdict is in on whether succeeding governments have achieved this high benchmark, and it is neither comforting nor reassuring.

One telltale indicator of the economy’s underperformance is the country’s balance of trade. Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Senator Aubyn Hill is not shy in pointing out the untenable deficit, which in 2023 was a record US$5.8 billion. In his contribution to the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate last November, he is reported as saying local businesses must create new products and find new markets overseas if Jamaica is to reverse its 61-year-old trade deficit.

The reasons for Jamaica’s inability to do what Senator Hill has been saying and trying to encourage as well as incentivise run the gamut from an untrained labour force to inadequate investment in human capital and the means of production; low productivity; and lack of complexity, without which, according to economist Don Robothom, the country’s ability to produce value-added products that are globally competitive is seriously impaired.

The Andrew Holness Administration has announced a policy pivot towards boosting economic growth, as the economy has achieved a measure of stability, with debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio projected to decline to 64 per cent by April 2025. A fresh medium- to long-term vision using the acronym ASPIRE has been enunciated. The R stands for ‘reform of bureaucracy to improve ease, speed, and cost of doing business’.

This should be music to the ears of the local productive sector, but, impatient for results, the emphasis may have shifted to making it easier to attract foreign investors in order to catalyse growth.

The vision and associated strategy became clearer in a well-received address by Prime Minister Holness to a packed Pegasus hotel ballroom at the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE) annual regional conference in Kingston on Tuesday, January 21, 2025. Borrowing the title from Microsoft’s Bill Gates 1999 book,
Business @ the Speed of Thought, which reveals how businesses and economies use technology to gain an edge in global competition, he meticulously laid out a plan for at long last tackling the country’s stifling bureaucratic red tape.

The Thursday, January 23, 2025 edition of the Jamaica Observer, which carried excerpts of the speech, reported, in part, his words: “We’re the country of the fastest man alive. We must translate that speed on the track to the speed of doing business.”

Belatedly, but better late than never, there is, it seems, the realisation that in an age of globalisation “countries must compete like businesses do”. The term is often attributed to Thomas Friedman, who used it in his 1999 book titled The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization to discuss the reality of a new dispensation of global trade requiring countries to adopt business strategies and approaches to enhance economic competitiveness and achieve sustainable growth. In simple language that means best talent, best products, best quality, best price at the time and place dictated by the customer. Long gone are the days of guaranteed import quotas gratuitously extended by former colonisers needing feedstock for their supply chain.

Recognising that we cannot take forever to get to the starting block in a race that has already started, Prime Minister Holness announced establishment of what he calls the Speed (streamlining processes for efficiency and economic development) Task Force to “identify bottlenecks, recommend actionable solutions, and deliver tangible outcomes within specified timelines” toward ensuring Jamaica’s business environment meets world-class standards.

One understands these announcements will be met with scepticism. The January 26, 2025 Sunday Observer editorial, in reference to the Speed Task Force, opined as follows: “So far so good. But as we pointed out in this space last November after Mr Holness signalled his intention in a policy address, we won’t start doing cartwheels until we actually see this policy working like a well-oiled machine.” There is, however, quiet optimism.

Sitting next to me at the JSE conference, tapping away at her device as the prime minister spoke, was my vacationing daughter — recipient of the Prime Minister’s National Youth Award for Excellence in information technology, The University of the West Indies valedictorian from the Faculty of Science and Technology, and runner-up for the Rhodes Scholarship — who has rapidly risen to become an engineer at Google’s Toronto office. As the prime minister spoke of the digital transformation of government services and Jamaica becoming the Silicon Valley of the region, she momentarily lifted her head from whatever it was that so preoccupied her: “Daddy,” she said, “I would love to work on that.”

That a member of Generation Z who grew up with and mastered the Internet would find the prime minister’s words so enthralling bodes well for his vision of an efficient business environment and inclusive growth.

Dr Henley Morgan is founder and executive chairman of the Trench Town-based Social Enterprise, Agency for Inner-city Renewal and author of My Trench Town Journey: Lessons in Social Entrepreneurship and Community Transformation for Development Leaders, Policy Makers, Academics and Practitioners. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or hmorgan@cwjamaica.com.