THE Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) is urging a new phase of economic reform, one that moves beyond simply maintaining stability to building a system rooted in fairness, efficiency, and accountability.

The call comes from Metry Seaga, president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), who insists the country must confront the bureaucratic and regulatory hurdles that continue to stifle competitiveness and discourage investment. Jamaica, he argued, must modernise its systems, simplify processes, and hold everyone accountable to the same standards of fairness and efficiency expected in every other aspect of life.

“Growth without equity breeds frustration, and policy without predictability drives away investment,” Seaga said during a Rotary Club meeting in Kingston on Monday.

According to Seaga, if the country is serious about unlocking its full economic potential, the foundation must be a statutory and regulatory framework that is transparent, fair, predictable, and efficient, one that makes it easier to do the right thing rather than the wrong thing. He noted that for many business owners, navigating the system has become harder than running the business itself. Time and resources that could be spent on innovation, trade, or exports are instead tied up in chasing approvals. The result, he warned, is inefficiency that distorts prices — as seen on supermarket shelves — and discourages production. Using the poultry industry as an example, he pointed out that while it is good to support local farmers, inconsistent use of special permits and duty waivers undermines those same protections.

“When rules are applied unevenly, the result is inflated costs and distorted competition,” he noted.

What appears to be a technical issue, such as duty calculation, often becomes a question of fairness, governance, and trust. Questions arise about who qualifies for exemptions and quotas, how those decisions are made, and whether they serve the national interest or simply those in positions of power. Every exception, he warned, erodes confidence.

“When do people lose confidence? When they feel the rules apply differently depending on who you know. That’s when the system starts to break down, and that’s when black markets start to develop,” said Seaga.

To restore trust and efficiency, Seaga recommended several reforms, which include publishing clear and consistent duty schedules, removing unnecessary discretion in duties and quotas, digitising approvals, eliminating duplication across ministries and agencies, and setting measurable performance standards for public service delivery. He also called for consistency in maintaining honest, ongoing dialogue between policymakers and the private sector. The issue, he added, is not always bad intent but outdated systems that no one has fixed. He further emphasised that conversations about competitiveness lose meaning when compliance is punished, productivity is drained by red tape, and prosperity depends on connections instead of contribution.

“We can’t talk about productivity if bureaucracy drains our energy, and we can’t talk about prosperity if the rules favour connections over contribution. Real change must help businesses grow,” he added.

Echoing Industry Minister Aubyn Hill’s stance, Seaga reminded that Jamaica cannot rely on selling to three million people. To achieve real growth, businesses must look outward and embrace exports. With Jamaica’s geographic position offering an advantage in global trade, he is urging entrepreneurs to capitalise on it, but to do so, long-standing roadblocks must be removed. The expansion of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is one step in that direction. He urged large companies to invest in SEZs as developers, describing the regime — in which raw materials are duty-free — as “a great opportunity”.

With the United States imposing new tariffs on Chinese goods, Seaga said Jamaica now has a window of opportunity to expand its export presence. He explained that Jamaica’s share of exports to the US has risen from zero to 10 per cent, while China’s has fallen from 90 per cent to 30 per cent, giving Jamaica a 60 per cent competitive advantage.

“The days of making small items to send in one container to the States are over. We’re talking about production that moves the needle,” Seaga encouraged.