ON July 31, at King’s House, the Prime Minister (on behalf of her government) and representatives of the private sector (Chris Zacca), trade unions (Lloyd Goodleigh) and civil society (Kemesha Kelley) signed the Partnership for Jamaica.
Although the prime minister should be congratulated for finally achieving Jamaica’s first social partnership agreement, as the agreement acknowledges up front, the signing is merely the first step on a long road to deal with “the urgent national and economic crisis the country faces”. The theme, as expressed by the extremely able chair of the event, Harvard-educated Professor Alvin Wint, corresponds to the governor general’s “I Believe” campaign and its byline – “there is nothing wrong with Jamaica that cannot be fixed by what is right with Jamaica.”The agreement acknowledges that the levels of trust across the Jamaican society are extremely low. The critical issue of “trust amongst partners” is governed by the Partnership Code of Conduct, which was signed in late-2011 as one of the last acts of former Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who was the sole member of the Opposition attending the signing of the agreement. To deal with this mistrust, the code outlines the guiding principles to be followed as “Respect, Engagement, Sensitivity, Reliability, Equity, Openness, Courage, Patience, Understanding and Humility”, with the key mechanism being one of “open communication” between the partners to resolve issues. The National Partnership Council, which has been meeting for over two years (supported by a Council Secreteriat) will be supported by a standing working committee to coordinate its agenda, led by Ambassador Burchell Whiteman as Partnership for Jamaica coordinator. Whiteman is a particularly astute choice for the position, combining past Ministerial experience with huge credibility and trust as one of a dying breed of true Jamaican gentlemen.In addressing “specific commitments”, the agreement correctly starts with Jamaica’s growth challenge (the economy has declined in 18 of the last 40 years), and the consequent erosion of social capital and increasing inequality. The priority challenges include fiscal consolidation (with social protection and inclusion), rule of law adherence (and timely justice outcomes), ease of doing business and employment creation, and energy diversification and conservation. A useful acronym to simply sum up the agenda might be DEBT plus crime (with the former standing for debt, energy, bureaucracy reduction and tax reform), very similar in fact to the economic agenda agreed with the IMF, but with the addition of a number of wider social issues.The timing of this agreement is extremely important, as it is not an exaggeration to say that Jamaica now faces its deepest crisis since the 1970s, hence the agreements call for the need for “all hands on deck”. The international financial markets, the rating agencies, and, indeed, the local “smart money” are acutely aware that the current IMF agreement is extremely ambitious, and requires, as one of them put it recently “for everything to go well” to succeed. Currently, the exchange rate of the Jamaican dollar and net foreign exchange reserves (which have again fallen below US $ 1 billion), are being used as key short-term indicators of the health of the economy. Business and consumer confidence is extremely low, and the investment plans of investors have not yet recovered from the collapse in confidence that occurred between the last quarter of last year, and the first quarter of this year, when the IMF agreement seemed delayed.Anecdotal evidence suggests that economic activity ground to a halt in July, as the full impact of the highly deflationary tax measures announced in the budget as part of the IMF deal were combined with apparent severe restrictions on government spending. Perhaps more importantly, everybody is now realising that the IMF agreement is no panacea for Jamaica’s deep-seated problems, and that we are in for a long haul to achieve a better economy, as we have finally come to the end of what seemed in the past to be our seemingly never ending ability to “kick the can further down the road”.The social partnership agreement could be extremely valuable in helping to restore confidence, both internally and externally. By creating a true “joined up” problem- solving mechanism that simultaneously achieves consensus amongst all partners, the government could lay to rest the enormous existing concerns about the speed and political feasibility of the very ambitious reform agenda it has agreed on with the IMF, and allow Jamaica to finally get ahead of its current ongoing crisis.In his speech at the signing, PSOJ President Chris Zacca noted five concrete examples of public/private partnership implemented this year. These include the cooperation of the Jamaica Bankers’ Association and Jamaica Securities Dealers’ Association to help complete the National Debt Exchange, the Economic Programme Oversight Committee, the linkages committee based at the Ministry of Tourism (facilitating partnership between the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association in buying Jamaican products), and the very close cooperation between the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce with the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce to promote the logistics hub. Finally, he quoted Financial Secretary Devon Rowe as describing the Incentives Working Group (the committee working on a new Omnibus Incentives Policy), as “a model for the world to follow on tax reform”. All of the above examples have involved the combined brainpower of the public and private sectors working closely as a team under time pressure to achieve critical national goals. A similar approach in other key areas supported by the collective will of a true Partnership for Jamaica would pay even bigger dividends.Signatories to the Partnership for Jamaica Agreement (front row), President of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions Lloyd Goodleigh (left); Youth Advocate, Jamaica Youth Advocacy Group, Kemesha Kelly (second left), representing civil society groups; Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller; and President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, Christopher Zacca (right), display copies of the agreement during the signing ceremony at King’s House in Kingston. They were joined by a host of other industry leaders and dignitaries. (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS)View the original article here
The Partnership for Jamaica requires all hands on deck
