Mark Kerr-Jarrett IN A thought-provoking speech aimed at members of Jamaica's private sector, Montego Bay's Chamber of Commerce President Mark Kerr-Jarrett says that fifty per cent of what is happening in Jamaica he blames on himself and his colleagues.
"The private sector has failed to demand performance and accountability from successive governments, instead after we have cast our votes we turn our backs abandoning politics," he said.
Accordingly, he says without the sector's input, politicians resort to doing what is popular, instead of what is right.
Mr. Kerr-Jarrett was speaking to the large gathering of the second city's business community that turned out to welcome Dyoll's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stephen Thwaites and his staff at the opening ceremony of the new Dyoll Insurance Company, Customer Service Centre at Baywest Shopping Centre in Montego Bay last Tuesday evening.
NEUTRLA TERRITORY
Underscoring the fact that there is no neutral territory in nation building, he lauded the Dyoll Group for their bold step in continuing to set the pace as one of the leaders in the marketplace.
He also used the platform to impress upon his colleagues the importance of not turning their backs and returning to business as usual after casting their ballots on Election Day. Issuing a clear message, he said, "As the private sector, we need to demand public sector reform and support our elected officials to effect this change, a change that must be initiated by the private sector."
Paraphrasing from a recent statement from the IMF, he added: "There needs to be a reduction of the onerous public sector burden, while maintaining macro-economic stability and laying the foundation for more economic growth".
The Chamber President said that the Government couldn't continue to be the employer of last resort, neither should it be the unofficial welfare system for the island. He noted that 60 Members of Parliament could not run the country by themselves.
"This country is like a company and each and even Jamaican is a shareholder. The government has just been handed the responsibility as managers," he said.
Accordingly, he concluded that change is already taking place. The recent actions taken by the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce to lock down Downtown Kingston showed that the private sector was becoming a lot more pro-active, he said.
In his address, Dyoll CEO, Stephen Thwaites said the company has developed a new marketing system - the Business Development Unit which is designed to "help reach clients islandwide." Members of the Unit are responsible for "interfacing with business partners, conducting surveys and client visits, delivering and providing advice as needed."
He also introduced Mr. Paul Thwaites as the new Senior Business Development Officer for the area.
