THE EDITOR, Sir:
THERE IS a general euphoria when Jamaicans welcome visitors from foreign and while I join in the hearty welcome being extended to the delegates at the Jamaican Diaspora Conference being held at the Jamaica Conference Centre from June 16-17, I can't help wondering if we are getting value for money. Indeed, the list of invited guests seems to have been culled from the best and the brightest in their respective fields and adopted societies and these persons would no doubt be au fait with developments on the rock.
Therefore, is it a case where we are preaching to the converted? Grand gestures have their place but certainly not in the area of effective relationship building. Any textbook writer will tell you that one-on-one works best in these scenarios. That is, unless we hope to nudge the participants into contributing more to the society.
I am sure the organisers will have their assessment and measurement tools in place to ensure we get a reasonable return from the tremendous financial outlay to host these individuals, many of whom we trained at taxpayers' expense before exporting, so that they could use their newly acquired expertise to develop some other nation.
I hope I am not misunderstood so let me repeat my welcome. However, we must insist on a fair return. Jamaica can be marketed as a viable investment option and all the participants know that. I just seek greater accountability at this time of financial austerity in how we expend hard-earned tax dollars.
I am simply hoping that it's not a case where after we have paid to train them, we are now rewarding them with a junket for having fled overseas when we needed their expertise the most.
I am, etc.,
MAURICE TOMLINSON
Maurice_Tomlinson@
yahoo.com
Student, Norman Manley
Law School
