Dear Editor,
We wholeheartedly welcome the Economic Growth Council’s ‘Call to Action’ to achieve a growth target of five per cent real GDP by 2019-20 (‘5 in 4’), against a background of average real GDP growth of 0.5 per cent over the last 20 years.
The eight-point plan of initiatives arrived at through consultations with a wide cross section of stakeholders speaks to fundamental social and economic issues that must be addressed if economic growth targets and improved standard of living for all Jamaicans are to be realised.
It is now the responsibility of the Government to follow through by developing and implementing the policies, plans and programmes that will serve to create and sustain an enabling environment conducive to increased investment and economic growth.
But how do you respond to the ‘Doubting Thomases’ who, based on past experience, forewarn us: “Don’t hold your breath; we have been there before.”
Ambassador Dr Nigel Clarke, deputy director of the Economic Growth Council, refers to the “copious reports, studies, commission findings, ministry papers, and executive plans that lie in the filing cabinets of Government”, will ‘5 in 4’ suffer the fate of those before it?
The chairman of the Economic Growth Council Michael Lee-Chin is equally aware of the past and seeks to urge and reassure us that “consistent with the Jamaican spirit, our disposition is not to let our historical experience constrain our aspirations”.
For my part, I have never doubted the indomitable spirit of our Jamaican people, even in the midst of overwhelming odds. What may be in doubt is the will of our political leadership for a sustained, coordinated, and focused approach to plan implementation, and their ability to see beyond the five-year electoral cycle.
Launcelotte J Tulloch
lance-t@cwjamaica.com
We wholeheartedly welcome the Economic Growth Council’s ‘Call to Action’ to achieve a growth target of five per cent real GDP by 2019-20 (‘5 in 4’), against a background of average real GDP growth of 0.5 per cent over the last 20 years.
The eight-point plan of initiatives arrived at through consultations with a wide cross section of stakeholders speaks to fundamental social and economic issues that must be addressed if economic growth targets and improved standard of living for all Jamaicans are to be realised.
It is now the responsibility of the Government to follow through by developing and implementing the policies, plans and programmes that will serve to create and sustain an enabling environment conducive to increased investment and economic growth.
But how do you respond to the ‘Doubting Thomases’ who, based on past experience, forewarn us: “Don’t hold your breath; we have been there before.”
Ambassador Dr Nigel Clarke, deputy director of the Economic Growth Council, refers to the “copious reports, studies, commission findings, ministry papers, and executive plans that lie in the filing cabinets of Government”, will ‘5 in 4’ suffer the fate of those before it?
The chairman of the Economic Growth Council Michael Lee-Chin is equally aware of the past and seeks to urge and reassure us that “consistent with the Jamaican spirit, our disposition is not to let our historical experience constrain our aspirations”.
For my part, I have never doubted the indomitable spirit of our Jamaican people, even in the midst of overwhelming odds. What may be in doubt is the will of our political leadership for a sustained, coordinated, and focused approach to plan implementation, and their ability to see beyond the five-year electoral cycle.
Launcelotte J Tulloch
lance-t@cwjamaica.com