No doubt among the ambitions of any politician is to make the news cycle, preferably front page or item number one in the newscast. But with all respect to our colleagues in the Fourth Estate, that position is not always occupied by the most important item of the day. Other variables affect some decisions.

One item that slipped to a later position this week was a statement by Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Senator Aubyn Hill as he addressed the second staging of the Anti-Illicit Trade (AIT) forum at the AC Hotel in Kingston on Wednesday, April 22. He made a call for businesses and their partners in the public sector to urgently collaborate with a view to severely decrease the impact of illicit trade on the Jamaican economy.

Among the statements made in his presentation was that Jamaica loses over $26 billion annually due to illicit trade.

While certainly not a news-sexy topic, such information cannot be buried among the din of murders, motor vehicles crashes, and other matters that often pique the public’s interest.

Readers of this space might not take this statistic personally, but it speaks much to the modus operandi of a people who purport to have the mission to be the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business. It is a damning report card of activities of which too many of us are tangentially aware.

The news reports indicates that Minister Hill was speaking to some 80 representatives of the private and public sectors as they engaged in a half-day review of the financial impact of the criminal smuggling behind the illicit trade and the national policies and corrective measures to combat its growing scourge within the nation’s ecosystem.

“The country, he disclosed, is estimated to lose over $26 billion in tax and excise revenue annually through the activities of many involved in organised criminal smuggling, particularly of such products as cigarettes, alcohol, clothes, footwear, pharmaceuticals (including sexual enhancers and weight-loss products) and fuel. He cited the growth recorded in the smuggling of cigarettes, noting that whereas in 2024 there were a reported seven illicit brands seen within normal distribution channels, just one year later that number had climbed to 17,” shared a Jamaica Information Service report on the forum.

Such activities are not undertaken by those on the margins of society. The quantum identified cannot be missed amid the many decimal points that feature on the national budget.

Such outlandish breaking of the law serves only to stymie the growth of the nation and thwart efforts to encourage compliance in a stable society.

The minister did indicate that it is in the self-interest of all in the private sector to invest in supply chain integrity and collaborate with the relevant public sector entities that play critical roles in the drive against corruption. But, while sounding sober in tone and judgement, there needs to be intentional activities geared at more significantly combating this scourge.

This situation warrants more than a call for a task force. It seems material enough for a coordinated national push towards probity and rectitude.

We have looked on at the deliberations in the nation’s Parliament as the lawmakers work to pass a National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) Bill. The activities, sadly, seem drawn largely against party lines, would that the interest of the nation, and keeping each other honest, rise to the top?

Indeed, it is well time that the cunning of Anancy that fuels the illicit trade and our politics is laid down for the virtue of a pledge to stand up for justice, so that Jamaica may, under God, increase in prosperity.