Macroeconomic policy can be eaten, but…

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The Government must effectively communicate the country’s macroeconomic achievements in a manner that enables citizens to undrstand how they will benefit.

Speaking recently at the opening of Courts’s Drax Hall location in St Ann, Prime Minister Andrew Holness was jubilant in declaring that his Government’s macroeconomic management of the economy “can nyam”. He was probably stung by the criticism that many people are not feeling the effects of his Administration’s economic policy;, and many cannot see any compatibility between the much-ballyhooed economic achievements, especially over the past seven years, and what they are experiencing when they go the supermarket, buy gas at the pumps, try to purchase a home, or do many of the other tasks that make life humane and liveable.

As I have noted repeatedly in this space, no one can gainsay the macroeconomic strength that the economy has achieved. The people of Jamaica have sacrificed much over the years to achieve this. The astute management of the economy over the last seven years has cemented this achievement. But while lauding this achievement, this column has consistently called attention to the lack of coordination between the macro and the micro indices in helping people to feel that they are important stakeholders in what has been achieved.

I have been consistent in pointing out the phenomenal achievements that have been done in righting the economy, in achieving a strong fiscal space, and in ensuring that the foundations for growth are being established, with borrowing our way into the future being a thing of the past.

But my concern has always been that the Government has been poor communicators of this reality to the public. It is, therefore, refreshing to hear the prime minister sounding the gong in spelling out how these macroeconomic achievements have and will enable Jamaicans to eat in the present and in the future.

His speech in St Ann was the first that I have heard from any government official in making the connection between the economic viability that has been achieved and the possibilities that have been opened up in the economy for people to feel this achievement. More has to be done in this regard.

The Joe Biden Administration in the US has also suffered from this deficit of communication. For while the US economy is at the strongest it has ever been in the past 50 years, there is still the feeling among many Americans that their economic livelihood has not improved and will never improve in the near future. You may say that these feelings are detached from reality, but guess what turns up in a ballot box?

People must be helped to understand that if the macroeconomic indices are strong and sustainable over the long term, then people can expect to see a true renaissance in their own economic fortunes. I say expect, for it cannot be taken for granted that this will flow naturally to them, that it is a done deal that there will be economic revival in their personal prospects because the macro indices are good. Money will not just “jingle” in people’s pockets, and we must be conscious of the realities on the ground that can impede needed economic progress. There are still structural deficiencies and deep systemic problems that bedevil the Jamaican economy that will cauterise economic growth if they are not overcome.

The low productivity of the Jamaican workforce is a case in point. This is a recurring variable in any analysis of growth in the Jamaican economy. I am not sure that we are addressing this as we should. Do we have the carrying capacity to get the economic growth that we desire with the kind of civil service we have? To what extent can this important constituency of public sector workers be relied upon to spur the growth we need? What about the work ethic of the average Jamaican worker, both in the private and public sector, and the self-esteem and integrity that will be required to drive this economic renaissance?

Too many Jamaicans bemoan the poor quality of service they receive from government departments and even private sector companies, especially in the communications and utilities spheres. It is one thing to get the macro right, Prime Minister, but what about the simple “irritables” that make life a living hell for too many Jamaicans?

One remembers the grand announcement that Jamaica will work towards achieving developed nation status by 2030. A family member was very prescient in commenting that what was meant was 3020, not 2030. The initial enthusiasm that attended this announcement has since diminished if not evaporated as it has become pellucidly clear that this goal will not be met anytime soon. The planners will have to go back to the drawing board to come up with a more realistic and achievable goal.

One remembers also the five in four economic growth initiative for which the goal was set for Jamaica to achieve a five per cent growth in its gross domestic product (GDP) in four years. This initiative has disappeared like mist at the rising of the sun. It came out of the Ministry of Economic Growth and was a laudable one. But like the 2030 goal mentioned above, this initiative was not grounded in the reality on the ground. It could not be sustained given the impediments in the economy. We are now in a better position given its macroeconomic achievements, but there are grave problems to address.

It certainly gives me no joy to criticise these lofty initiatives. I am by nature a very optimistic person, but I have learnt over the years that to achieve anything worthwhile in life one has to be grounded in reality and make decisions based on hard facts and not on any starry-eyed assessment of what might be merely the figment of my imagination.

There is nothing wrong with dreaming. The time will come when we will achieve more than five per cent GDP economic growth and eventually developed nation status. But I would urge the powers that be to temper enthusiasm with realism and ground pronouncements in the achievability of the goals we set.

We must resist the temptation to tell people what they want to hear, be honest with them as we invite them to be important stakeholders in achieving that of which we dream. Any deviation from this will only take us down the path of a national nightmare that will do great harm to the country.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life; and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. He hosts the podcast Mango Tree Dialogues on his YouTube channel. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.

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