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EDITORIAL - Getting serious about CARICOM

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Until now, the debate about Jamaica's relationship with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has been emotive and huffing. The core of the issue is Jamaica's near US$1 billion trade deficit with the community, the bulk of which is with Trinidad and Tobago. Jamaica mostly place the blame for this state of affairs on claims that Port-of-Spain breaks regional trading rules by providing energy subsidies to its manufacturers, who in turn cheat on the rules of origin for their products.

Jamaica: Searching for economic stabilization

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – At the beginning of this month, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved new funding arrangements to help stabilize the Jamaican economy and put it on a path to economic growth. The negotiation of the funds, a so-called Extended Fund Facility (EFF) up to US$923M has taken an extended period, lasting from the period of the recent Jamaica Labour Party governments of Bruce Golding and Andrew Holness, to that of the People’s National Party government of present Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller.

Chicken neck, back imports undermining local production, says JB exec

KINGSTON, Jamaica - THE Jamaica Broilers Group says the large volume of chicken neck and back being imported into the island is undermining local production, not just for the company but for thousands of backyard chicken farmers. While admitting that the company cannot, by itself, satisfy local demand, Group Vice President of Accounting and Information Systems Donald Patterson said the doubling of imports over the last three years has created an unbalanced playing field for local producers.

The CARICOM trade imbalance — Jamaica/T&T

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Recently, there have been a number of rash and, in some instances, derogatory letters, describing Jamaica's perceived relationship with Trinidad & Tobago (T&T). Some were whimsical and others simply vacuous. Generally, they demonstrate a lack of understanding regarding the consequences that would result if Jamaica were to demit membership of Caricom, apart from the forfeiture of the considerable amount of investment in time and money related to developing the regional union that is Caricom.

New global order needed

KINGSTON, Jamaica - T TAKES just one relatively small hurricane this season to throw our International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement off course. There is no provision for that, no special fund where we can access adequate resources to offset the kind of economic dislocation which results from our natural-hazard vulnerability. Adverse changes in the global economy, too, can overturn all our targets and hard-won gains and there is no global mechanism to take care of these exogenous factors. I am all for our 'putting our house in order' economically.

Government pumping millions into ICT sector

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government is pumping an estimated US$20 million in the development of the information communication technology (ICT) sector, Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Minister Phillip Paulwell has said. “Jamaica is on a growth trajectory once more. We are seeing expansion taking place, especially in Montego Bay, and we want to facilitate and encourage that.

Rowley: Air Jamaica bleeding T&T ‘like a chop neck’

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday Air Jamaica was bleeding Trinidad and Tobago “like a chop neck”. “Right now nobody knows what the Minister of Finance is doing by bankrolling CAL. All he is doing is giving them permission to go and borrow money short term. As of now we don’t know how much money they have borrowed and they writing off $200 million and the CAL board is having a generally good time as you see in the behaviour of (vice chairman) Mohan Jaikaran,” Rowley said. He said the airline was now “absolutely bankrupt”.

Government to build million-dollar medical facility

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Cabinet has approved the construction of a US$200 million medical facility in the western parish of St. James in an attempt to tap into the multi-billion dollar global health tourism industry.
Minister of Health, Dr. Fenton Ferguson said construction of the facility represents the first formal health tourism project for Jamaica and will be spearheaded by members of the Diaspora, through an established partnership with the Government of Jamaica .

Rating Agency reacts to IMF/Jamaica agreement

KINGSTON, Jamaica - RATING Agency Standard and Poor's says that last week's approval by the International Monetary Fund of a new agreement with Jamaica does not warrant a review of that country's credit worthiness at this time, as the details of the agreement were in line with expectations. At the same time, agency spokesman and analyst Joydep Mukherji has acknowledged that "meeting the targets will be challenging" for the country.

Paucity of Caribbean citizens in the top echelons

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Former Prime Minister P J Patterson, speaking at the launch of Ambassador Rudy Insanally's new book Multilateral Diplomacy for Small States, bemoaned the fact that people from Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries are no longer in top posts in international organisations.
Mr Patterson is quite correct on that score. But what is now important is to conduct an analysis of why this has happened.
In the past, Caricom citizens held top posts in international organisations, bringing the region much pride and the inevitable benefits.

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