Jamaica Sugar and Economy

The failure of the divestment plan to a Brazilian company cannot simply be ascribed to the problems of the world economy. Government's role in negotiating with a company that did not seem to have money was part of the problem. Meanwhile, the loss of purchasing power by displaced workers has caused companies like Super Plus to be selling off stores that are not doing well in those communities, not to mention the corner shops that have done business with these workers for generations.

In a press release from PNP, The Government must also decide with one voice whether it believes we are, in fact, in an economic crisis. It seems to say so when it finds it convenient to say it cannot do this or that. Dr Christopher Tufton, for example, has ascribed the failure to find buyers for the sugar factories to the "economic tsunami". The sugar-divestment issue, he says, is a casualty of that environment. Will Audley Shaw admit to the crisis, not just of the economy, but also in people's lives?

As for the bauxite industry, the picture is also bad. West Indies Alumina Company (Windalco) has come to an agreement with the company to put 850 permanent employees on three days a week work with a 40 per cent reduction in wages, effective from April 1. It had already cut 250 temporary employed persons. It will suspend operations in Manchester and St Catherine. It seems the best the unions can do, but it still means that there is a crisis in people's lives across the island's constituencies.

Economic problems

These are just some of the national economic problems that work their ways into communities and families in the country's 60 constituencies. The sell-off of a number of Super Plus wholesale and supermarket stores says much about what is happening in communities across the island. Ironically, the company was started over 40 years ago in Portland. The problems reported by the company are symptomatic of what businesses face - tight credit, rising costs, falling sales, and declining profits.

We are happy West Portland is getting some help. But after the elections we will have our democracy and economy to worry about.

Full Article

source: Jamaica Gleaner News