Business View Caribbean
5
Samuda:
“In some instances, we have investors who
underwrite costs that are not funded from the public
purse. For instance, our road network system that was
recently completed – the north/south highway – was
constructed by the Chinese, utilizing their own funding;
and they get their revenues through the tolls. This is
the sort of public/private partnership that we’re seek-
ing to encourage, where we, in some instances, will
be required to offer our share of the investment, such
as land, and they will put up the necessary capital to
build out the infrastructure and collect their revenues
from the type of business that they engage in. That’s
the model that we’re trying to adopt because we are
coming out of a difficult economic period and we don’t
have the fiscal strength to accommodate any kind of
investment based on loans. We’re trying to maintain
our debt-to-GDP ratio by containing our exposure and
encouraging foreign investors to come in and partner
with us.”
BVM: On the Ministry’s website it says that it is
charged with ‘spearheading the modernization of in-
dustry.’ What specific programs or agendas address
that imperative?
Samuda:
“We encourage existing businesses to mod-
ernize their equipment and to introduce new technol-
ogy. And through the application of this new technol-
ogy, output will be much more competitive. So, there
are incentive schemes that are very encouraging to
investors coming in. For instance, we had a free-zone
structure which has just been superseded by the ‘spe-
cial economic zones,’ which will have designated ar-
eas where certain incentives are provided for investors
who move into a zone where there is no duty paid. And
we’re going to expand these throughout the island,
where appropriate, to encourage investors to go in
there and conduct business.”
BVM: Does the Ministry invest resources in market-
ing or disseminating information to individuals and
businesses?
Samuda:
“That is primarily the role of JAMPRO (part
of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation).
JAMPRO is the one that markets the Jamaican prod-
uct, which includes business opportunities. But we do
have publications and we hold seminars and we hold
trade shows to showcase what we do produce.”
BVM: Are there any sustainable, or so-called ‘green’
initiatives that come under the purview of your Min-
istry?
Samuda:
We have embarked on an active program
