THE NEWS that Britain has written off one billion dollars of Jamaica's external debt is windfall good news for Dr. Omar Davies, Minister of Finance, in his fight to keep the economy afloat. There are signs that the tourism and bauxite industry are poised for growth and the British goodwill gesture will help to inspire confidence in a general recovery from last year's doom and gloom. British loans written off since 1997 amount to J$4 billion, a not insignificant sum.
The British High Commission is hailing the forgiveness as a reward for Jamaica's progress in maintaining economic stability and promoting security, which may be a slight diplomatic stretching of a point. Had we really been maintaining economic stability we would presumably either not have incurred the debt in the first place or had no difficulty in repaying it. But this illogic does not diminish in any way our gratitude for the relief that may set an example for other countries to follow.
Another gesture by Britain is a J$12 million grant to Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) to help in its ongoing fight on behalf of human rights in Jamaica against trespass and negligence of the State. The focus of the two-year grant is to provide JFJ with more legal resources in trying to protect the poor and disadvantaged, including the provision of independent pathologists to observe autopsies in the case of alleged extra-judicial killings by the police and the provision of legal counsel at coroners' inquests.
We applaud Britain for this gesture, which we hope will send a message to the society at large. But even as we acknowledge the gift, we cannot help wondering what has happened to the Jamaican justice system and the failure of its apparatus to make such assistance necessary. It was England which bestowed the system on us in the first place, so there is an ironic twist in Britain now helping to restore its honour and fairness.
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