JAMAICA NEEDS to adopt an integrated approach to economic development, focussing on increasing investor confidence and cooperation between the private and public sectors, says president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, Anthony Chang.
Speaking Saturday night, at the annual dinner of the Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica, at the Hilton Kingston hotel, Mr. Chang appealed for "heartfelt discussion and debate" involving the various sectors of the economy, prior to policy enactment.
He deplored what he said was the tendency to hold discussions which were "filled with emotion rather than proper analysis", and the "unhealthy" divide between the public and private sectors.
Cooperation between these sectors, Mr. Chang said, was evident in Mauritius, a small country in the Indian Ocean with an economic structure similar to Jamaica's. "It has a Joint Economic Council, that is, a public- and private-sector body, making key decisions about their economic life".
"Maybe in our future Cabinets there will be competent persons from the private sector running ministries. Not only should you pull ministers from MPs but also from the private sector," he said.
