Dear Editor,
When environmentalists Diana McCauley and Peter Espeut show concern about China's interest in Goat Islands I don't believe that they are "enemies of the state" or "naysayers".
When Carolyn Gomes of Jamaicans for Justice is critical of our children being in lock-ups with adults, it must be out of deep concern that she does this.
Their actions are not meant to embarrass the Government. This Administration views criticisms as a sort of anathema, and those who strongly disagree with it as being its enemies.The fact is, when the British owned Jamaican sugar factories they occupied senior management positions. The same thing held for the Americans when they controlled the bauxite industry. Jamaicans are worried that Chinese investment will result not only in high skilled job loss, but also low skilled jobs going to some of the millions that China has at home.
This isn't a farfetched fear, Deborah Brautigam, associate professor of international development at American University and someone who has done serious research on China's investment in Africa, corroborates this view. Chinese construction companies often bring in Chinese manpower — on average 20 per cent of the labour their projects require — reducing opportunities for Africans. When they do employ locals, Chinese firms often offer low wages and low labour standards.
But there are ways to mitigate these dangers. African governments are already driving harder and better-informed bargains. Angola required Chinese companies to sub-contract 30 per cent of the work to local firms and insisted that the Chinese solicit at least three bids for every project they planned to undertake. The Congolese government has stipulated that 10 to 12 per cent of all infrastructure work undertaken under their arrangement must be sub-contracted to Congolese firms, that not more than 20 per cent of the construction workers involved be Chinese, and that at least one-half of one per cent of the costs of each infrastructure project be spent on worker training.
There is no doubt that we are desperate for foreign direct investment to ensure employment and development of our country. But this can't mean that we must compromise our environment, jump at any hare-brained proposal that is thrown at us and rush in where fools fear to thread.
Our development cannot be at the expense of our environment or employment of our people. This time around we must ensure that no one, "run wid it, gwan wid it," or "naw stop di progress".
Mark Clarke
St Elizabeth
mark_clarke9@yahoo.com
Once bitten, twice shy
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When environmentalists Diana McCauley and Peter Espeut show concern about China's interest in Goat Islands I don't believe that they are "enemies of the state" or "naysayers".
When Carolyn Gomes of Jamaicans for Justice is critical of our children being in lock-ups with adults, it must be out of deep concern that she does this.
Their actions are not meant to embarrass the Government. This Administration views criticisms as a sort of anathema, and those who strongly disagree with it as being its enemies.The fact is, when the British owned Jamaican sugar factories they occupied senior management positions. The same thing held for the Americans when they controlled the bauxite industry. Jamaicans are worried that Chinese investment will result not only in high skilled job loss, but also low skilled jobs going to some of the millions that China has at home.
This isn't a farfetched fear, Deborah Brautigam, associate professor of international development at American University and someone who has done serious research on China's investment in Africa, corroborates this view. Chinese construction companies often bring in Chinese manpower — on average 20 per cent of the labour their projects require — reducing opportunities for Africans. When they do employ locals, Chinese firms often offer low wages and low labour standards.
But there are ways to mitigate these dangers. African governments are already driving harder and better-informed bargains. Angola required Chinese companies to sub-contract 30 per cent of the work to local firms and insisted that the Chinese solicit at least three bids for every project they planned to undertake. The Congolese government has stipulated that 10 to 12 per cent of all infrastructure work undertaken under their arrangement must be sub-contracted to Congolese firms, that not more than 20 per cent of the construction workers involved be Chinese, and that at least one-half of one per cent of the costs of each infrastructure project be spent on worker training.
There is no doubt that we are desperate for foreign direct investment to ensure employment and development of our country. But this can't mean that we must compromise our environment, jump at any hare-brained proposal that is thrown at us and rush in where fools fear to thread.
Our development cannot be at the expense of our environment or employment of our people. This time around we must ensure that no one, "run wid it, gwan wid it," or "naw stop di progress".
Mark Clarke
St Elizabeth
mark_clarke9@yahoo.com
Once bitten, twice shy
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