KINGSTON, Jamaica – Earl Jarrett, General Manager of the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS), says Jamaica can catalyze its development if it broadens its debt strategy to include an intricate focus on how best it can also use its assets.
Addressing guests and employees at the 40th Anniversary Banquet and Awards of the JNBS-owned tech company Management Control Systems (MCS) on November, 9, Mr. Jarrett juxtaposed the growth and success of MCS with the past four decades of development in Jamaica, noting that the country can achieve far more, if it takes an approach similar to MCS’ trajectory.
“If ‘Project Jamaica’ is to be successful, we have to continue to invest in the development of our human capital, embrace globalisation, and shift from the old paradigm of focus on the land instead of its people to develop the wealth of the nation,” he said, underscoring that the country’s capital was not mainly its terrestrial assets, but its people.
He said one of the greatest impediments to “resetting” the “switch” to human capital was the matter of the national debt, which stands at 140 percent of gross domestic product. And, he pointed out that as the country works to contain the excessive debt, the debt-problem must be seen within the broader context of national development.
“The question we must ask ourselves: ‘Is the value of the Jamaican asset worth a trillion dollars, at which our debt is currently valued?’” he said.
“I would say that it is definitely worth a lot more than that. So, if one looked at the debt in relation to the asset cover, or the realisable value of Jamaica vis-a-vis the debt, one could begin to have a different conversation about Jamaica’s indebtedness. And, if one started a different conversation our actions to take advantage of the opportunities would be energised,” he added.
Pointing to the opportunities for growth, Mr. Jarrett noted that the island’s geographic location and its strong fibre optic backbone positions it to become the fourth Global Logistics Hub, and support more diverse use of information and communication technologies. However, he opined that the concept of the Logistics Hub needed to be better explored and articulated by Government.
Emphasising that the Hub was not only about the development of a transhipment port on the Goat Islands off the St. Catherine coast, he said the Hub is expected to have significant and far-reaching implications for the national economy, but how it will work needs to be explained.
“Something is going to happen in Jamaica; but, there is no clarity at this point how these developments will play out and what will be the specific impact,” he said.
“The Logistics Hub is not just about the Goat Islands, which hopefully the Government and the environmentalists can arrive at an agreement shortly, so that the project can proceed, as the greatest environmental threat as stated elsewhere is poverty and the lack of jobs,” he said.
The JNBS General Manager continued: “Without a project such as the Logistics Hub, it simply delays the inevitable environmental fallout that will arise, as people denude forests of material and continue to fish in an unsustainable manner in order to feed themselves and their families.”
Congratulating MCS for its success, he said if the ethos and management capabilities of MCS could be transferred to the country, then Jamaica would be more successful.
MCS, which is a leading technology company in the country and the English-speaking Caribbean, provides ICT support to varied businesses. It has also pioneered some of the country’s impacting tech solutions including, the first internet-based payroll processing service, BizPayCentral.com, which provides small businesses with a fully automated and regularised payroll in an efficient and prompt way; and also the E-Money system, which revolutionised the remittance process in Jamaica.
The company is a partner of leading technology firms Microsoft, ACL, Verifone, Diebold, Hewlett Packard and Mitel.
