THIS WEEK'S celebration of 30 years of existence of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), which has unquestionably shaped the out-turn of modern Jamaican history, offers another opportunity for a close examination of the state of the partnership of the public and private sectors.
Thirty years ago, Carlton Alexander, then leading Grace, Kennedy and Company as one of the country's major business houses, pulled together a group of other business leaders for the formation of the PSOJ.
The organisation was formed in the context of the Michael Manley Government in 1976 pursuing a policy of controlling "the commanding heights of the economy". The year was an election year, which, up to then, would be the year with the greatest number of deaths from violence, 880, many of them politically motivated. Private enterprise including the media was under considerable pressure.
So while there were existing business organisations such as the much older Jamaica Manufacturer's Association and chambers of commerce, the Alexander vision was for a larger umbrella grouping of private enterprise for the protection and advancement of free enterprise. The fledgling organisation was aptly named the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, bearing its intent in its name. An early and long-lasting slogan of the organisation was "free enterprise and watch Jamaica grow".
Both the political and business environments have changed considerably over the last 30 years. The private sector has become the "engine of growth" in government's economic policy. And public sector and private sector are mentioned smoothly in one breath as partners in national development. The work and leadership of the PSOJ have played a significant role in this transformation.
Not only has the organisation functioned as an economic think thank and lobby group for private enterprise, it has taken an active interest in other areas of national life impacting upon business. The PSOJ, in joining the fight against crime, has provided, for example, significant support for Operation Crime Stop.
Over the 30 years of existence of the PSOJ, the Jamaican economy has managed to avoid any sustained and robust growth. Clearly the responsibilities and performance of both the Government and the private sector must be critically examined and lessons learned. The corruption and inefficiencies in Government, which the private sector constantly harps on, are not absent from the sector itself. The near collapse of the financial services sector, in particular banks, a few years ago is perhaps the biggest case in point.
The important role of the private sector in wealth creation driven by the profit motive, and, by extension, in national development is, hardly now in question in any serious quarter. But how to facilitate and achieve those results remains a matter for careful, collaborative thought and action by both Government and private enterprise.
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