The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has got to be the most overrated financial institution in the world. So many of the world's economies look to it in times of crisis, largely for its money, but certainly not for the conditionalities that usually accompany such funds.
The harsh reality is that the IMF has few, if any, success stories in its long history. But why are we even surprised? The IMF has always been staffed at its highest levels by former politicians (usually finance ministers) from failed or failing economies.
IMF prescriptions have never worked in Jamaica, and never will. They always adopt this one-size-fits-all economic philosophy that leads, inevitably, to massive contraction in the economy at a time when what we need is economic expansion. They are notorious for never ever addressing the real economic issues facing the economy.
One of the chronic maladies we face is that we are sprinters and not long-distance runners. This malady is present in how we approach business, education, our politics, and the economy.
Ever-growing Import Bill
We have this penchant for preferring to import the things we love, rather than producing them. And then we are surprised by our ever-growing import bill, which, by the way, will be getting bigger and bigger with the IMF intervention in our economy!
The solutions to Jamaica's economic problems are not as intractable as we often make them out to be. We have significant social issues that must be addressed with urgency; otherwise our society is likely to descend into unmanageable chaos.
In order to address these social issues, we require taxes. Government earns taxes when people are employed and businesses are doing well. If we are adopting policies which facilitate the demise of the productive sector, businesses will go under or, at least, contract, and Jamaicans will lose jobs. This erodes the tax base of the nation.
The consequence is that the Government will reduce its earning capacity.
Facilitate Entrepreneurship
The solution: Government MUST facilitate entrepreneurship and industry. There is no other way. Jamaica, despite its significant investments in institutions such as JAMPRO and the like, has not been open for business.
Leadership in this country, both political and private sector, has grown fat and lazy. The followership is no better. Business-as-usual just won't cut it. We need leadership that will really shake up this society. Our needs are just too urgent for the old, tried and wanting approaches of the past.
Jamaica cannot borrow its way out of its problems any more than any individual Jamaican can. It takes strategic and visionary redesign of our productive capacity and processes to satisfy the demands and needs of the rest of the world.
I continue to hope and pray that such leadership will step forward quickly and steer us from a road that can only lead to a nation in abject poverty.
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