Buoyed by a record fourth term, Prime Minister Patterson looks to further regional integration
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than six months into a record fourth consecutive term of office, Prime
Minister, P. J. Patterson
is as determined as ever to ensure that Jamaica continues to play a
leading role in creating an integrated Caribbean common market.
Jamaica has long championed regional integration, and was one of the four founding members of Caricom (the Caribbean Community and Common Market) in 1973. “We have recognised the physical restraints of small domestic markets and an undue reliance on primary agricultural production across the region require enhanced cooperation and collaboration to withstand the multiple challenges of globalisation,” says Mr Patterson.
A further step towards regional integration was taken in May, when Jamaica’s parliament ratified the agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice. The court forms part of the initiative by Caribbean leaders to establish a Caribbean Single Market and Economy.
On
the domestic front, Mr Patterson has been focusing on reducing a widening
trade gap and high unemployment. “We approached the people with
our policy for ‘Advancing the Quality Society’ in Jamaica.
“We are committed to delivering our pledge to build a Jamaica
that is prosperous, safe, dynamic, with first-class infrastructure and
full access to universal education and training. A Jamaica that prepares
all citizens to achieve their potential.”
Mr
Patterson returned to office for a unprecedented fourth term, a clear
endorsement of what the government has achieved since he first became
Prime Minister in 1992. Standards of living have been driven up and
huge improvements have been made in education, telecommunications, infrastructure,
the finance sector and in the tourism industry.
Tourism is Jamaica’s main foreign revenue earner and events elsewhere
in the world have given cause for concern among industry leaders. At
the same time, the Caribbean is viewed as one of the safest holiday
destinations in the world and Jamaica is well-placed to benefit -
the United States is only a one and a half hour flight, and Americans
continue to be the most numerous visitors.
Mr Patterson says the economy has picked up in the last six months, with 3.4 per cent growth recorded in the first quarter of the year, following 3.8 per cent in the last quarter of 2002. Although the Jamaican dollar has fallen in value against the US dollar amid worries about the economy, Mr Patterson says the central bank would intervene for as long as necessary “to stabilise the market and bring order to trading”.
He
remains optimistic that Jamaica can achieve steady growth in the future.
“Signs of growth are evident despite the difficult economic environment
within which we have been operating,” says Mr Patterson.
“We have now recorded three separate years of moderate growth:
0.7 per cent in 2000; 1.7 per cent in 2001 and 1.7 per cent for the
fiscal year April 2002 to March 2003.
“This is an encouraging performance when viewed in context against the background of a less than favourable world economy. Growth in 2003 is expected to come mainly from capital intensive investments in construction, communications, roads and other infrastructure. In addition, we expect agriculture to recover from the declines experienced last year. The bauxite industry has also shown significant growth in the first quarter of the year.”
Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr Omar Davies, says that although the government is putting plans in place to facilitate economic growth and employment, some enterprising firms have already taken action to increase their competitiveness and grow their businesses. “The success of these firms and their achievements represent a major lesson to the rest of the country,” he says.
Infrastructure
development has been a key component in not only opening up new areas,
but in encouraging foreign investors. Highway 2000, which will connect
all of Jamaica’s main cities with a fast dual carriageway to improve
the transportation of people and goods, is well under way.
The government is investing heavily in the multi-billion dollar expansion
of Kingston Container Transshipment Port, one of the most modern of
its type in the world, and this year capacity will be increased by 25
per cent. The cruise terminals are also being upgraded in anticipation
of growth in numbers of ships and passengers.
“Tourism has major potential for expansion, and opportunities abound in terms of resort development and operation,” adds Mr Patterson. “Highway 2000, for example, will create many of these opportunities as it opens up more and more rural areas and provides better communication within the urban centres.”
Minister
of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Keith
Desmond Knight, says a trade deficit is a result
of an increase in the importation of capital goods. “This is not
a negative thing, because it means the country is putting itself in
a competitive position to increase productivity,” he says.
The creation of a single Caribbean market “means that if we are
competitive, we will be able to penetrate the European and US markets”,
he adds.
The financial sector has also greatly improved since 1997, says William
Clarke, Managing Director of Scotiabank. Insurance companies,
which stumbled during the financial crisis of the late 1990s, are now
on a firmer footing and showing growth.
“The
sector has been consolidated - the government has sold off the
institutions that they intervened in and they are all now back in private
hands. So the sector is stronger than it has been in a long time,”
says Mr Clarke.
In cooperation with international authorities, the government has toughened
its stance on drug smuggling and has cracked down on local criminal
activity. The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) initiative is under
way to reduce the level of crime in Kingston, in collaboration with
the American Chamber of Commerce and the private sector. “We are
working well with our international partners,” says Peter
Phillips, Minister of National Security. “We
have had measurable success and we are building on that.”
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