By Damion Mitchell, Staff Reporter 
Lopez...confidence in the economy still missing
PLAYERS IN the education, financial and manufacturing sectors say that while the Prime Minister's New Year's message provides some hope for a resurgence this year, 2004 will be difficult.
"There could be more of what happened last year where public sector workers were unable to receive their salaries on time," said economist Dr. Omri Evans.
Camille Bell Hutchinson, former CXC examiner now Mathematics Lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Mona said "there is still a lot to be seen."
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson had said in his message Wednesday, that he would shortly name a team to conduct a review of all the initiatives which have been undertaken in education and training over the last 20 years with a view to redirecting funding and undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of the education system.
"I am heartened that now that the 'chickens are coming home to roost' somebody in a position of power is seeing that the education system is in a mess," said Mrs. Bell-Hutchinson. But, she said there was still concerns as there was no indication that the Government could fund a complete revamping of the system.
"What our system needs is going to take money and we cannot speak out side of the reality of Jamaica. We are in a country which is entirely bankrupt," she stated.
Notwithstanding, she said that there could be "pockets of influence" where individuals and organisations could assist in improving the system but she maintained that a comprehensive overhaul was the solution to the failures in education.
"Education has had enough lip service, what we need is a kind of intervention that considers every single aspect of the educational system from early childhood to tertiary, " she said adding that: "I would hope that whoever will comprise the (review) committee, would not just give lip service."
And Dr. Evans said that the Prime Minister's acknowledgement that the country was facing a tight budget was the first step to healing the nation's fiscal sore.
"But if the assessment which the IMF (International Monetary Fund) is now doing on the economy turns out to be as bad as that of May 2003 it will mean that next year we would not be able access funds from the capital market," he said.
He warned that the decisions to ignore a number of "creative suggestions" for debt restructuring last year would hurt the economy this year.
Jamaica's fiscal deficit now stands at J$656 billion with an inflation rate of almost 13 per cent - two times more than the figure which was initially projected.
In the meantime, Beverly Lopez, president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) said that while the Prime Minister has highlighted the growth in the tourism and bauxite sectors, the level of confidence in the economy was still missing.
"The fiscal out turn is not there. We need to see how the Minister of Finance is going to balance the budget recognising that he cannot come back with any serious tax package," she noted.
The PSOJ President suggested that the size of Government and the wage bill be cut. Additionally she said that there should be an attractive divestment package. She also said that entrepreneurs must honour their tax obligations.
"If indeed we all paid our taxes then it is possible that the rates could even be reduced," she said.
