Dennie Quill, Contributor

A thriving hub of businesses exists in Northside Plaza, Liguanea. They include well-patronised restaurants, serving up a range of cuisines from Chinese to Indian, as well as a bank, laundry, haberdashery, optician, hairdressing saloons and assorted small enterprises.

A pretty impressive line-up for a narrow bit of land. However, this tiny strip must rank as one of the worst surfaces in the Corporate Area. Invariably debris is piled high on the road and garbage remains uncollected for days. I have watched the road surface deteriorate over time under the strain of heavy-duty traffic and is now an obstacle course for motorists and pedestrians alike.

Last week it occurred to me that if all the business operators in this strip got together they could fix this road at what I estimate would cost about $20,000 each. Alternatively, they could approach the Works Agency and offer to buy the material and have them supply the manpower. Unfortunately, such innovative and concrete action on the part of our businesses is very rare.

Gov't cannot do everything

I know that many business people may argue that they pay their taxes and are entitled to good roads and better social services. Government does have the main responsibility to deliver to legitimate businesses the infrastructure tools to help them realise their development goals. However, increasingly people are coming to realise that Govern-ment cannot and will not do everything. Positive action by businesses, such as patching a road surface, will contribute to protecting their most valuable assets, namely, their customers, employees and reputation.

Here's how Kofi Anan, the United Nations Secretary General, addressed the issue: "Nowadays governments realise they cannot do everything, that society's objectives can only be achieved through cooperation and alliances with a wide range of actors, including the private sector, civil society and other groups."

My point exactly. It is inevitable that some government failures will have to be addressed by the initiative of the private sector. And the sooner we come to that understanding the quicker we will be able to establish meaningful alliances and move towards our development goals of reducing poverty, and increasing prosperity.

Folk in rural Jamaica have already come to that realisation and it is now commonplace to see young men patching potholes while trying to collect a contribution from passing motorists. This is citizens' action in response to government's inaction. In the end the members of the community will reap the benefits.

I have selected Northside Plaza because I am familiar with it. However, I am sure there are many other areas in which the same situation applies. There is broad consensus that the private sector is the engine of growth and if members use their initiative to tackle these small pro-jects, they will go a long way in chipping away at the negative image many of them have in the communities where they operate. It is because of this negative image that shareholders are now starting to question the social and environmental policies of the companies in which they invest. This new thinking is growing tremendously in the United Kingdom, and before long shareholders in Jamaica will also raise these issues right alongside with questions about the returns on their investment.

Concerned jamaican

In response to my column urging people to help poor students I received several letters from persons who have been helping others. This letter is from a Jamaican who wants to help.

"My name is Sherine Williams, I was born in Jamaica, left when I was four years old and now reside in Canada. I recently came to Jamaica to visit family after not seeing them for many years. While on the island I felt a deep desire to help the children of the island in some way. After returning to Canada I began to research how I could send school supplies to primary school-aged children on the island. I recently came across your article on the Internet through the JamaicaGleaner and would like to get some information on how to locate a school in need primarily in the Montego Bay area. Your help would be much appreciated. Thank you. Sherine A. Williams."

I will be happy to relay any expressions of interest to Sherine.

Dennie Quill is a veteran journalist who may be reached at denniequill@hotmail.com