Golding

Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter

Opposition Leader Bruce Golding on Thursday scoffed at the Planning Institute of Jamaica's (PIOJ) projection of a 2.9 per cent increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the January to March quarter.

Director General of the PIOJ, Dr. Wesley Hughes, last week projected increase in GDP, providing there are no economic shocks.

However, Mr. Golding, while addressing the relaunch of the G2K chapter at the University of Technology (UTech) said the country should not be satisfied with a 2.9 per cent increase in GDP.

"Last week, we were about to declare a public holiday because we did 2.9 per cent!" he said. "And I ask the university community, have you taken an interest in this thing?"

Positive impact

Mr. Hughes further claimed that the impending ICC Cricket World Cup would positively impact the economy.

However, Mr. Golding said that this money should have been used to provide the best early childhood education possible in the Caribbean. He said many of the school plants were in a deplorable condition, with some lacking furniture.

Mr. Golding said despite these deficiencies in the system, there are still students who do well at the secondary level. He said studies that have been done showed that these students who did well, were students who had a solid early childhood education.

"And one of the reason why I get so upset over this cricket fiasco, is that the money we are spending on Cricket World Cup would have fixed our early childhood system," he said.

He said that the $9 billion being spent on Cricket World Cup would have maintained early childhood facilities for the next 10 years.