KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding says Jamaica has a powerful brand that has yet to be exploited. Our music and culture, he said, have gone far beyond our imagination and although we have developed in recent times in certain service areas, there is so much more that can be done.
Mr. Golding was delivering the opening address of the 8th annual Caribbean MBA conference at the Hilton Hotel in Kingston yesterday (Jan. 6). The 3-day conference which runs from Jan 6-8 is being attended by Caribbean graduates from top Universities in the US. The conference is being sponsored by First Caribbean International Bank and has attracted some of the best minds and the future leaders of business in the region.
Mr. Golding told the MBA graduates that there is a part of our culture that is holding us back as there are some formidable economic and social maladies that have to be addressed.
‘We tend to demand change and yet we want things to remain as much the same as possible. We tend so often to be afraid of the unknown and to be intimidated by adventurism, not recognizing that the world did not get to where it is if there were not people prepared to challenge and to go where nobody else thought it was possible or wise to go’.
Because of this there is certain lethargy in our disposition so that we tend to be late in recognizing opportunities that exist. We wait sometimes too long to seize the moment so that the moment has passed by the time we figure this is something worth seizing and it is here that I want to challenge all of you’ Mr. Golding said.
He called on the MBA graduates to make a difference as he said they were considered to be among the elite who have achieved levels of educational proficiency and attainment that the majority of the people in the Caribbean have not.
‘We have to look to you to bring this kind of boldness, a new perspective and perceptiveness that pierce much further than the average Caribbean person is able to see. Your commitment to the Caribbean and the Caribbean dream that is still left to be fulfilled cannot be questioned. The fact that you are here is an indication of that commitment. The fact that you have sustained these conferences for 8 years is a further statement of your commitment’.
Mr. Golding noted that the agenda for the 3-day conference is an impressive one. He said it confirmed their commitment and that all of Jamaica and the Caribbean looked to the MBA graduates as great things are expected from them.
