Taino Heritage

Isn't the June 16th by-elections for the North-East St. Catherine seat a must win for the PNP? How devastating would it be if in the wake of a budget that included significant tax increases, they still lose? Taking all these citizenship cases to court is really a high stakes game for the Opposition.

Blogging has been light the past few weeks its not because we have already grown weary of the process and have fallen into the blogosphere's scrap heap, its just that life happens.

Still watching the fits and starts of the sugar divestment; definitely looking out for the upcoming by-elections and the surrounding debate about the constitution; looking forward to hear great things about Calabash 2009, going on this weekend; and no we did not miss Senator Lightbourne's one woman filibuster.

Thanks for your support over these last few months, and we look forward to being around for years to come. Just blog about the Land we Love.

...and I'll say it again. Claude Clarke is essential reading for anyone concerned about Jamaica's economic policy. Here is another wonderful article from him. Agree or disagree with him, Clarke, always asks the essential questions. Here are a few quotes:

Successive governments have failed to carry out the reforms necessary to lead the economy in a clear and positive direction. The country's economic management has been characterised by policy inconsistency and strategic incoherence.

On the one hand, each political administration has consistently presented ambitious national-development plans, such as the National Industrial Policy (NIP)and the recently promulgated Vision 2030. All have set highly desirable economic objectives with which no one could disagree. Yet, year after year, governments have presented national budgets that bear no relationship to those impressive objectives.

Why then do governments continue to produce these national-development plans when they are unwilling to commit to the policies that will make economic competitiveness possible? Our successful CARICOM and Latin American neighbours have all made these necessary policy changes and are now reaping significant benefits; achieving per capita gross domestic product (GDP) several times greater than Jamaica's.

• In Defense of the GCT: UWI and CaPRI economist, Damian King argues that consumption taxes are a more equitable form of taxation:

Data from the annual survey of living conditions reveals that, in 2006, the poorest 20 per cent of households consumed $87,000 of the food category that includes canned bully beef.

At the same time, the wealthiest 20 per cent of households wolfed down $550,000 worth of the stuff. To put it another way, for every can of tax-subsidised bully beef bought by the poor, the very wealthiest amongst us bought six cans.

The inescapable conclusion is that the GCT exemption has been mostly subsidising the consumption of the wealthy.

• ...Higher Education or Sports? Mmm...? : "A proposal from the University of Technology (UTech) to transform the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium into its western campus is facing stiff competition from the interests of United States-based professional teams from the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball."

• Maybe if we just used blue tape: The Jamaican government, in an effort to combat red tape, proposes forming a 'new-public-private-lending-institution-investment-bank-thingy-do' ostensibly to "...help those businesses, more so small and medium companies, get around the roadblocks they now face accessing high-cost credit under terms that they can actually hurdle to qualify for loans." (emphasis mine) Wouldn't it be easier to just remove the 'roadblocks' and the onerous 'terms' so that businesses can actually hurdle them??? Maybe it's me; Bring on the blue tape!
• The Sugar Limbo II: The Gleaner asks why aren't Appleton Estate and Worthy Park being considered? I was wondering the same thing?
• Tek Serious ting mek Joke: Dutty Bwoy finds humor in the economic downturn.

Seems like the Jamaican government is looking to get out of the hotel business:

Government plans to sell off just under $10 billion in assets held by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) this fiscal year, including the sale of stake in a number of hotels.

NHPL (National Hotels and Properties Limited) oversees Government interest of the hotel subsidiaries of the UDC, which include Bloody Bay Hotel Development Limited, which is operated as Grand Lido Negril by SuperClubs Jamaica, The Jamaica Pegasus, Ackendown New Town Development Company, which has held the majority stake in Sandals Whitehouse, Montego Beach (1975) Limited (Club Jamaica) and Kingston Waterfront Hotel Limited (Oceana Hotel).

Currently, the Government holds a 59.8 per cent stake in the Jamaica Pegasus.

Here's one more thing to hold the government to. This announcement, along with the impending sale of the Sugar Company and Air Jamaica suggests that the fiscal crisis might just force a much needed rationalization of Jamaican government activity. All we need now is a good faith effort at follow through. Admittedly, being in the throes of a global economic slowdown, it could prove difficult to be off load assets. However this is the time to strike, this is the time to attract the bold innovators willing to invest in such a market. It is in times of challenge that the skills entrepreneurs could be unleashed. Jamaica could use this an an opportunity to position itself well for the inevitable economic recovery to come. A streamlined bureaucracy and a more open and competitive market will serve us well in the long term.

It seems that eliminating hospital fees is not a sustainable policy. Not only is it expensive, at a time when the government ought to be considering cutting costs, it is has also resulted in undo strain on an already under resourced hospital system. Eventually, the whole thing is going to come to a head and the policy will likely have to be reversed, hopefully when this happens the long term damage to the hospital system will be minimal. The unfortunate reality is that Jamaica simply cannot afford to provide free health care for everyone or even most people for that matter.

Returning to things as they were isn't a good option either. The elimination of user fees, has unearthed a pent up demand for health care which was not being adequately met. Simply reinstating user fees might be good for hospitals, but it would likely push the thousands who've shown up for treatment back underground. It would behoove the government to to some thorough research to get some valuable information. Who are these extra people showing up to hospitals? What they did before the fees were removed? What percentage of them are actually able to pay for health care otherwise? How many would not have sought attention for their illnesses if hospitals weren't free of charge? And most importantly, how many of them could be treated by a regular physician?

Here's an idea, which though it would not solve everything, might help to ameliorate the situation and help to achieve a happy medium. The government could provide vouchers for the poor which they can redeem at private doctors. These could be used to pay for routine check ups, preventative screenings and consultations. It would cost a whole lot less than free hospital visits and could 1) Promote healthier lifestyle throughout the population 2) Benefit private doctors by widening their patient base 3) Detect deceases and other maladies earlier, thus making them cheaper to treat.

This is a fairly new idea and is still being tested in a variety of developing countries. For more information about how this could work, read this USAID 'primer' on voucher programs. Here is a summary of an evaluation of a pilot project using vouchers in Uganda. If you are feeling more wonkish, and like details and number crunching, you can read the full report here.

Even though I have decided not to pay much attention to the details of the 09-10 budget, I find it interesting reading the various alternatives that are put forward. I would love to hear from you my readers (all three of you) if you have any ideas of what the government could be doing I would love to hear it and share it. I will put forward some of my own ideas in the next couple days as well. Feel free to contribute your ideas to tainoheritage@gmail.com and I will post it on this blog if you would like. I need not agree with the idea to post it, and that's OK. We can have a spirited debate amongst ourselves debating each idea on its own merits. I would really like this to become a marketplace of ideas where we together, can create a vision for the Land we Love.