Keith Collister, Contributor
Dr. Omar Davies, Minister of Finance and Peoples' National Party presidential candidate. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
PEOPLE'S NATIONAL Party (PNP) presidential aspirant, Dr. Omar Davies took his 'world class' campaign platform to a nearly full house of private sector business leaders at the Terra Nova Hotel on Tuesday morning.
Dr. Davies is contending with Cabinet colleagues, Portia Simpson Miller and Dr. Peter Phillips as well as former Cabinet minister Dr. Karl Blythe, to succeed P.J. Patterson as party president and prime minister when he retires early next year.
Addressing the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica's (PSOJ) Job Creation Awards ceremony Dr. Davies, who has been Minister of Finance and Planning for the past 12 and a half years, cited the achievement of macroeconomic stability as his most critical accomplishment. In his view, from the late 1980's, continuing into the early 1990's, there was a lack of confidence in Jamaica's economic future. The reasons included instability in the foreign exchange market, no foreign exchange reserves, high inflation, huge deficits, and no growth.
In this scenario, he said, nobody was willing to lend Jamaica money except multilateral lenders such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and despite passing 12 consecutive IMF tests the country still had no reserves.
The finance minister said a key turning point was in 1997 when Jamaica first borrowed from international investors. Now the country's name in the international capital market is sufficiently established, evidenced by the fact that in the last bond deal the investment bank was given a mandate on Monday evening, and it raised the money by Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. Macroeconomic stability, Dr. Davies argued, has allowed an unprecedented foreign investment boom, noting that the U.S. $1.3 billion invested by Jamalco will be the largest single investment in Jamaica's history.
BIG MAN VS SMALL MAN
He argued that it is 'downright irrational' to imply that these investments only benefit the 'big man'. In his view, these large, 'lumpy' investments are critical to increasing confidence, export earnings and a strong balance of payments. "While it is true that they don't all imply large increases in employment - the Jamalco expansion will only create 100 new jobs - they have produced important economic spin offs," noted Dr. Davies.
The challenge for the future, he said, is how to 'milk' these investments. He urges smaller businesses to capitalise on the employment benefits and opportunities created for the country from the opening of investments, such as, the 800 room RIU hotel, which apart from creating 2000 jobs immediately, will create 1500 high income 'residents' in Ocho Rios.
WORLD-CLASS LABOUR FORCE
Dr. Davies reiterated the need for a 'world-class' labour force, and for small business to operate at 'world-class' standards of quality and price. He argued that it was becoming increasingly difficult to protect domestic industries, which face the same level of competition as export industries, a category in which he includes tourism.
Turning to crime the minister argued that neither large nor small businesses can grow with the current level of crime and violence. He outlined his five-point crime plan if he became Prime Minister:
Remedial training.
Improved Police/Community relationship.
Expanded Operation Kingfish,
Zero tolerance in the enforcement of laws.
Crack force to deal forcefully with 'mindless violence'.
In his view, this was required not to make 'uptown' safe, but to allow the ordinary citizen, such as those in his constituency, to go to a bar to buy a beer without fear.
