Letter of the Day | The capital flight we never counted

THE EDITOR, Madam:

When people discuss the economic trauma of 1976-1980, we usually speak of foreign-exchange shortages, devaluation, empty supermarket shelves, business closures and the exodus of professionals. But perhaps one of the greatest forms of capital flight from that period has never been properly counted.

The economic decline was severe. World Bank records confirm acute foreign-exchange shortages and further devaluations in 1978-79, eventually taking the exchange rate to approximately J$1.78 to US$1. Contemporary accounts also record shortages of raw materials, consumer goods, medicines and fuel.

The Manley Government and its supporters alleged hoarding and economic destabilisation, while the Opposition and business interests blamed government policies, declining confidence, import restrictions, and the exhaustion of foreign exchange. There is evidence that allegations of deliberate hoarding were made, including later testimony from someone who said his organisation had been paid to withhold baby food and sugar. That remains an allegation rather than proof of a centrally directed political campaign.

Years later, a cousin whose family migrated said they did not have money to take out of Jamaica. They took their treasures. Suddenly, capital flight looked different.

A painting or antique mahogany cabinet exported would not necessarily appear in statistics measuring foreign-exchange losses. Yet, it represented accumulated wealth, and, in many cases, and Jamaica’s cultural inheritance.

How much disappeared in shipping crates, we may never know.

That is why today’s exchange rate, hovering around J$160 to US$1, cannot by itself explain Jamaica’s continuing economic struggle. An economy can replenish currency reserves. It can renegotiate debt, which can eventually attract new investment.

Jamaica lost skilled people, businesses, investment and financial capital during those turbulent years. We should now ask how much physical and cultural capital disappeared with them.

Perhaps we have spent nearly half a century counting the dollars that fled Jamaica while overlooking the the treasures packed quietly into crates. Those crates may tell another story of why Jamaica became poorer.

DUDLEY McLEAN II

dm15094@gmail.com