KINGSTON, Jamaica – Milton Samuda, Chairman of JAMPRO, has challenged Jamaicans to plan big and aspire to achieve the highest possible standards of excellence in an effort to counter the economic crisis currently facing the country.
Speaking at the Environmental Health Foundation’s Grand Wellness and Lifestyle Awards Ceremony on April 17 at Eden Gardens, Samuda urged Jamaicans to demand much more of themselves in order to build the long desired ecosystem for sustainable economic growth, peace and prosperity. He noted that an extraordinary effort was required from an extraordinary people who are performing ordinarily in too many areas.
Milton Samuda
“In planning big, we need to set ourselves standards that are higher than those set by the world if we are to beat the world in several competitive markets and spaces in which we must engage for our very survival,” stated Samuda.
He identified the logistics hub initiative of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce as an example of a big plan, and asserted that people should not be dismissive of the project because of its large scope and multiple facets.
“That investment has the ability to transform Jamaica…ask the many potential investors from Europe, Asia and the Americas who are themselves hoping that we will get it done. Do we no longer believe in our ability to get big things done? Are we resisting the very call of our own history?” he asked.
Samuda also highlighted the need for Jamaica to move aggressively to dismantle bureaucracy, which is stifling investment. He stated that it was important for the procedures to get into business, export and pay taxes to be simpler and more straightforward, and cautioned that the development of additional regulation would not provide the most workable solution.
“We need to excise bureaucracy and corruption, not by heavy and intrusive regulations which impede commerce and humbug the honest as well as the dishonest, but by swift and decisive detection and punishment in a simplified environment.”
Samuda reiterated that the solutions to the challenges facing the nation required more than ordinary effort, and pointed out that Jamaicans can no longer proceed with the notion that it is “business as usual”. He stated that Jamaicans must make unreasonable demands of themselves, as the demands that have been traditionally made have rendered the country uncompetitive.
“From the level of highest office to the so-called ordinary man in the street, Jamaica demands more of us. Better performance and greater accountability in leadership and in followership. Each and every one of us has a responsibility to contribute to the nurturing of that ecosystem conducive to sustainable economic growth, peace and prosperity.”
