THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WOULD like to congratulate Mr. Ian Boyne for his contributions over the years through his insightful and thought-provoking articles. I was constrained to write to commend Mr. Boyne after reading his article entitled "Davis Meets Seaga" in The Sunday Gleaner dated May 2, 2004.
Mr. Boyne is right on the ball when he identified the lack of real strategy for small business development and the nurturing of entrepreneurship, as one of the missing links to promote sustained economic development in Jamaica. We must applaud Scotiabank for the $1 billion initiative announced. However, we need much more than this. We need a new creative strategy for small business supported by the Government, the banks, and other private sector entities.
The plans and projects announced by the Government are a breath of fresh air, and we hope these will all be implemented successfully and timely. These projects all rely on foreign capital and these investors will naturally transfer most of their earnings to their parent companies and shareholders oversees. Notwithstanding, one cannot discount the value such investments will bring to the country by way of jobs, tax revenue, foreign exchange, and general cash flow. Small business development means creating a sound mechanism for transferring wealth to local Jamaican entrepreneurs. The small business sector must therefore provide quality products and services to support the larger businesses such as tourism, hotel, and bauxite sectors.
The reality is that if these large businesses cannot find the required services locally then they will be forced to seek overseas sources. There is a marked difference between development and sustained development. We cannot have sustained development without a clear strategy for the development of the small business sector. A strong small business sector will help to close the gap between the wealthy and the poor, and thus contribute to improving the quality of life of Jamaicans overall.
So while attracting investments in hotel, tourism, and the bauxite sectors is certainly a step in the right direction, we now need to create a sound strategy for small business development.
I am etc.
RAYMOND SAMUELS
raysam@hotmail.com
Nassau, Bahamas
Via Go-Jamaica
