WE FACE a number of national problems. The Government does not seem to have the management capability to deal with them.
Consider extortion. Many parts of our capital city are governed by warlords, gang leaders or whatever is the name for dons. The construction industry pays them off. Some shopkeepers pay them off. Even street vendors pay them rent to use the public sidewalks.
Is anything done about those extortionists? Even after the Prime Minister speaks about extortion applied to truck drivers on Highway 2000, not too many dons go to jail.
Dr. Omar Davies, the Finance Minister, is basing a large portion of his new tax revenue on collecting import duties not now paid. But he hedges his bet by making all the law-abiding importers borrow money at say 30 per cent per annum to prepay their four per cent cess. Even the X-ray machines are not put in place after years of discussions.
Jamaica has become a large trans-shipment platform for cocaine smuggling from Colombia to North America. How many major drug dealers have been arrested?
Our debt is building up. But there is no apparent effort to chop the public sector. The promised 30 per cent wage increase to the public sector cannot be paid. Who is going to start these discussions?
Air Jamaica is practically a Government-owned company. But none of the US$90 million of losses pass through the Government's Budget. Can Jamaica afford a national airline, which lost $13 million every day last year?
Where are the cuts in discretionary payments to elected officials. Why not reduce the number of ministers and ministries? Why start paying Local Government councillors when the Budget has such problems?
If the Government has plans to manage the country better, then it should allow Jamaicans the opportunity to see such plans being implemented to deal with extortionists, smuggling of drugs and expense reduction, and quickly. If they cannot manage the country then the Government must get the necessary assistance to help with their shortcomings.
We cannot continue like this if Jamaica is going to create jobs, improve the standard of living of its citizens and grow the economy. We need a competent Government which is prepared to take tough decisions.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
