Jamaican Day Celebrations – What is missing?

Terri-Ann Renee Paisley, Gleaner Online Writer

On February 22, 2013, Jamaican school children all over the island celebrated ‘Jamaica Day’ with the theme. ‘I’m in it’.

Jamaica Day is a holiday that the Ministry of Education has incorporated in their curriculum in order to foster national pride in our unique history and culture including our music and food. Even Jamaicans not in school were urged to eat our local Jamaican dishes and wear the national colours of green, gold and black.

So what’s missing?

The sad fact is that a lot of young Jamaicans are not even aware of the aspects of our culture that make Jamaicans special unique. When given a choice they prefer to buy ‘foreign goods’ than support local products. Jamaican manufacturers are struggling to compete with imports as ‘buying’ Jamaican is not attractive to most consumers.

Price is a huge consideration as many imported products are cheaper than their local counterparts. Consumers are also attracted by packaging or name brands which crowd out the local products on the shelves.

However, the mass importation of goods has to be curtailed if the economy is to sustain growth and consumers must be a part of the solution to ‘ buy Jamaican’. If more local goods are bought then those manufactures will be encouraged to continue to provide jobs which are desperately needed in this economy.
Some manufacturers are already bemoaning the tax increases and if they pass on those costs to the consumers there might be even further withdrawal as consumers try to shop for the best price.
This might force some manufacturers to close their doors for good.

What’s the solution?

What about instituting a policy that ensures that all imported items are sold at a higher cost than the local product to encourage local consumption?
This would be an added incentive for consumers and be a brief respite for manufacturers who would realize increased sales.

I realize that this is not an easily solved problem but it would be a true ‘Jamaica Day’ that many would celebrate!

What are your thoughts let me hear from you!

Tags: Jamaica