Letter of the Day | COVID-19 presents an opportunity for change

THE EDITOR, Madam:

THE JAMAICAN economy has been underperforming for the last 40 years, during which economic growth averaged approximately one per cent per annum. One of the main reasons for this poor performance is the non-competitive nature of the economy. Many key sectors of the economy, such as financial services, electricity, water and petroleum distribution, as well as telecommunications, are controlled by a few companies, resulting in a stifling of research and development, innovation, new product development, and higher prices to the consumer. The gaming industry also falls into this category, although it is operated by a private-sector company rather than the State.

This is one of the factors that has led to the pre-COVID-19 deceleration in the rate of economic growth to 0.9 per cent during the last fiscal year. It is therefore against this background of a lack of competition and innovation, I believe, that the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked such havoc on the economy.

Until a vaccine is discovered, the COVID-19 pandemic is going to be around for a long time, despite our best efforts to contain it locally and internationally. Most experts say that a vaccine is between 18 and 24 months away. No government can afford to keep its economy shuttered and provide support for its people for so long, so the narrative has now shifted to the reopening of the global and, by extension, the Jamaican economies.

RESHAPE THE ECONOMY

It is therefore against this background I am proposing that we take the opportunity provided by this pandemic to restructure and reopen the economy, including the lottery industry, on a more competitive basis in order to make it more resilient. The lottery industry plays an important role in the viability of the Jamaica economy because of the jobs it creates and the revenue it generates, which zipped to $76 billion last year. The amount of taxes paid to the State also jumped to almost $10 billion during that year.

I believe that Jamaica must use the opportunity presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to develop a more competitive and innovative economic base in order to make the economy more resilient. The gaming industry must be a part of this change, given its importance to employment creation, revenue generation, and socio-economic stability. A more competitive economy is a stronger and more stable economy.

DONOVAN MARSHALL

St Andrew