Newly-elected president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), Michael Ammar Jnr., expresses gratitude to outgoing president Anthony Chang for carrying the mantle during the past three years. Occasion was the annual general meeting of the JCC at its Duke Street, downtown Kingston office on Wednesday. At right is acting executive director of the JCC, Trevor Fearon. - Contributed MICHAEL Ammar Jnr., the newly-elected president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), says his plan for the business lobby group does not call for extremely revolutionary measures, but among his plans will be a crusade for the renewal of major townships, starting with downtown Kingston.
In a telephone interview with the Financial Gleaner yesterday, a day after he took over the leadership position of the city-based business group, Mr. Ammar said he would continue to improve on a number of programmes started by his predecessor Anthony Chang, who did not seek re-election after serving as president for three years.
While Mr. Ammar said he would be meeting with the JCC's new executive next Monday to formalise plans for the year ahead, among the issues he would personally be seeking to address "is to solidify the running of the Chamber" by improving its internal operation, including but not restricted to facilitating better information flow to members.
He would also seek to work closer with other private sector associations, including the umbrella Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), which is seeking to consolidate the operations of the main business lobby groups, through a process begun under former president Peter Moses.
Mr. Ammar, alluding to the bureaucratic system that often times delay progress in firms, said he would also be concentrating on getting the powers-that-be to improve legislation to better facilitate businesses and already they were pursuing possible sources of funding.
He would also be making efforts to ensure progress on a programme called "country modelling", which would examine programmes, such as currency reform, that have been used in other countries to transform their economies.
In addition, the new JCC president said he would seek to pursue partnerships with both local and central government in an effort "to get things done." According to Mr. Ammar, "we have to try to convince government that the old way of doing business is over."
The businessman, who has been involved in the operation of Ammar's, a garment store on King Street, downtown Kingston since 1979, said his pet peeve - the urban renewal thrust - would also be at the forefront of his plans during his tenure.
Noting the unsightly conditions of major urban centres such as Spanish Town, St. Catherine, among others, Mr. Ammar said the JCC, under his watch, would crusade for the renewal of those areas, starting in the downtown Kingston area of the capital city.
Mr. Ammar's position was reflective of comments he made after his election to the top position during the JCC's annual general meeting in Kingston on Wednesday. He called on the business community to "partner with government and the public sector to help create and implement pro-active economic and social policies to return our country to prosperity and unite our people."
He said the JCC would continue to press for "that which is in the national good," and that, as an organisation, it "must demand that those entrusted with the power to govern do so in a manner which is in the long term economic interest of the nation."
In calling on the broader community to become more active in the interest of the country, Mr. Ammar, in an apparent reference to the increase in crime and violence, said: "No longer can patriotic Jamaicans simply sit and watch as our society becomes more base and crude with each passing month." He continued: "Neither can we as a business community only focus on those things which fall strictly in the sphere of business. As a nation and as a business sector, we must work towards a new level of co-operation and pro-active planning to ensure a future grounded in equity, prosperity and the rule of law."
Others elected to the executive of the JCC were: Noel DaCosta, First Vice President; Patrick Scott, Second Vice President; Mark Myers, Third Vice President, and Ed Khoury, Fourth Vice President. Elected as directors for three-year terms were: Warren McDonald, Sandra Shirley, Lazarus Bucknor, Laurence Heffes, Erica Gaynair-Shilletto, Charles Browne, Paul Bourke and Linden Williams.
