Jamaica Gleaner News - The road to growth, stability, prosperity - Sunday

Robert Gregory, Contributor

Individuals, when confronted with serious debt obligations, first compare their income-generating capacity to the size of the debt obligation. When that analysis indicates that the size of the debt far outstrips the income so that it would take several lifetimes of income to satisfy, then the individual has to find ways to enhance his income-earning capability to meet his obligations. He retools, he upgrades his qualifications and competencies, and repositions himself at a higher-level income bracket and earns himself out of debt.

Nations are fundamentally no different from individuals. Our Jamaican nation faces this dilemma of how to unsaddle our future generations from this monstrous debt which we have incurred. We must now devise strategies to enhance our national income-earning capability and grow ourselves out of the debt.

Examine the major areas of economic activity that generate the bulk of our national income, and I, em-barrassingly, include remittances, which, while not qualifying as a domestic economic activity, provides signi-ficant income. All these areas of eco-nomic activity operate close to or at the very base of the global value chain in their various industries/sectors, whether it be the production of basic commodities of sugar, banana, cocoa or even bauxite, albeit with some value added of local alumina processing. Even tourism still revolves around basic hotel, beach, sun, fun and support services.

These sectors, operating at the lower links on the global value chain, will never be able to provide Jamaica with the higher-level income-generating capacity we so desperately need.

Paving the road forward

The pavement has four special components necessary to create the durable and robustly reliable road surface we need to negotiate this global knowledge/information economy and society to which we belong. They are:

A socially inclusive meritocracy, totally reliant on a self-confident, educated and, therefore, highly trainable citizenry and work-force. This component in large measure is forged from an education process, which is founded on the understanding that in a knowledge/information economy and society, every person is valued as potential human capital and treated accordingly. Epitomising social inclusion, self-esteem and identity, the process is founded on UNESCO's four pillars of education: learning how to learn; learning how to do; learning how to live and work with others; and, learning how to be. This is a learning and learner-centred system which successfully educates and certifies 95 per cent of the grade cohort (one to 12), starting at early childhood, and on through primary and secondary schooling.

We must create systematically, and graduate a Jamaican citizenry who, from whatever socio/ economic level, knows, feels and acts as stakeholders in our society and economy. Each person must have at least a rounded secondary education which enables him or her to acquire whatever tertiary level skills and qualification he or she determines is needed to productively create value and exploit the opportunities in the Jamaican knowledge/ information economy and society.

A stable, predictable public environment (as in Emancipation Park) maintained by and in the interest of all our people, supported by reliable and respectful police services, health services, public transport and justice system.

A Government and governance structure whose role is to regulate and to safeguard the interests of the citizenry and to encourage, facilitate and enable world-class Brand Jamaica, private initiative, creativity, innovation and enterprise.

A whole-scale review and repeal in Parliament of all the legislation and regulations once needed to support the old role of Government, then to regulate and operate in most sectors and control the commanding heights of the economy.

We could be inspired to roll up our collective sleeves and together build only when we catch the vision of what is possible down the road to our prosperity.

Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.