The Way Forward

Earlier this year there was a sound of optimism as the economy of many countries returned to a path of growth in GDP.  Triumphantly many economists shouted that the recession is over with a view of great expectations for the future.  Well the recession may be over but the recovery has just begun.The collapse of the world’s financial systems may have only taken 6 – 12 months but the work of rebuilding the economies will take much, much longer.

Europe, except for the United Kingdom and Ireland which seemed to have escaped the worst of the crisis is now experiencing financial turmoil.  It has started with the announcement by the Greek government that they had lied to the commission about the state of their financial situation and had supplied false information to it. The Greek government has now found itself in a situation where the budget deficit is in excess of 13 per cent and there is 300 billion euros in debt to be serviced this year.  As a result the Government has had to announce austerity measures i.e. budget cuts in order to rectify the situation.  These measures include additional taxes, wage cuts for public sector workers and reforms to pension entitlements.  There is even talk about whether they will have to be bailed out by Europe or if they will have to borrow from the IMF.  This has not gone down well with the public and there have been some demonstrations in Greece but nothing too dramatic.

This situation sounds so much like what is happening in Jamaica. The last year was spent trying to prevent the total collapse of the world economies but this year will be spent feeling the effects of the recession.  The problems are not easy ones and there are no quick fixes.  It will take a lot of sacrifices and much patience to see the end of this situation and we will likely see more businesses fail and more countries turning to the IMF.

In Jamaica, it is time to stop blaming each other for what has happened and what is happening.  It is very hard to forecast how much more difficult things may get before they get better.  Instead, let us focus our efforts on coming together and working alongside each other with a view to achieving our goals.

Effective management needs teamwork and unity and within this framework there is room for diverse opinions.  Instead of bickering with each other, let us reason together to ensure a brighter future for our country.