Deon P. Green, Gleaner Writer

Dr. Omar Davies, Minister of Finance and Planning. - File

Jamaica's finance Minis-ter Dr. Omar Davies says the multimillion-dollar flows of remittances to Jamaicans were instilling a culture of dependency over achievement, as he headed into a meeting with London bankers in the United Kingdom on the weekend.

Davies, while acknowledging remittances as a boon to the domestic economy, said it was time to find ways of funnelling the funds into productive activity.

Last year, Jamaica recorded US$1.6 billion of remittance flows, with expectations that money transfers will climb again in 2006.

This year, flows have amounted to just under US$1.3 billion to September.

The funds have helped to keep the foreign currency market stable but, socially, transfer recipients are becoming less inclined to find gainful employment, said Davies, responding to comments by Sylbourne Sydial, the founder and director of Facilitators for a Better Jamaica (FFBJ).

Channels

Sydial was concerned, he said, about the tendency to treat overseas Jamaicans as "cash crops", and argued that policymakers were failing to develop channels for the funds to move into productive enterprise.

"It is for the government to encourage Jamaicans to realise that we (the diaspora) are not cash crops and interest should not just be a need for remittance," he said.

His comments came behind Davies' presentation to U.K.-based Jamaicans on developments in the economy. The minister met with Jamaicans prior to his meeting with the bankers.

In his update on the country's economic performance, Davies highlighted ongoing programmes and projects, the 16 per cent growth in tourist numbers, and the target for single-digit inflation being back on track.

Retired civil engineer Stafford Stewart was not impressed with Davies, saying the Finance Minister was too casual in his presentation, and that he gave too many jokes which distracted from the weight of his topic.

Stewart said, too that, while Davies' growth figures sounded impressive, they required deeper explanation.

Sydial, however, reacted positively, saying the figures presented by the minister were convincing and that Jamaica seemed to be on a solid economic path.

He also anticipates that the meeting with the international bankers would bring positive, if not immediate, financial results.

Said Sydial: "The meeting should not necessarily mean more money, but tangible association that will build the Jamaican economy over the years, that will stimulate investment."

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