Jamaica’s per capita income and independence
Norman Washington Manley in his last address to the People’s National Party reportedly stated, “I say that the mission of my generation was to win self-government for Jamaica. To win political power which is the final power for the black masses of my country from which I spring. I am proud to stand here today and say to you who fought that fight with me, say it with gladness and pride: Mission accomplished for my generation. And what is the mission of this generation? It is reconstructing the social and economic society and life of Jamaica.”
I raise this point against a background of Jamaica this year marking its 60th year as an independent nation and with much of the din associated with the celebrations receding, it is an excellent time to take a measure of where we are today against a background of the challenge issued by the senior Manley.
In 1962, Jamaica’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was US$777.6 million. This translated on a per capita basis at US$463.89 per member of the island’s population. By comparison, the per capita GDP rates of other Caribbean nations in that same year were: The Bahamas US $1,753.00; Barbados US $417.00; and Trinidad & Tobago US$707.00. During the initial 10 years after independence, Jamaica experienced growth rates of approximately 6.46 per cent per annum but its GDP lagged behind those of its neighbours. In 2021 the per capita GDP figures for the same Caribbean territories were: the Bahamas US $28,239.00, Barbados US $17,034.00, Trinidad & Tobago US $15,243.00, and Jamaica US $4,587.00.
The numbers presented above speaks volumes and when applied against a background of the challenge issued in the early 1960s by Jamaica’s founding father Norman Manley, it is difficult to disagree with the often-aired criticism that Jamaica has squandered its chances. In any event, a deeper assessment of Jamaica’s economic numbers would also suggest that the country’s economy was in a repressed state in 1962 and marked time into a state of perpetual stagnation. Our over-reliance on the few industries like Tourism, Mining, and Agriculture, our dependence on imports of foreign oil as our main energy source, high levels of imported raw material to drive a manufacturing sector predicated by favours from Jamaican politicians who over the years learned to master the art of self-dealing.
Let’s face it, despite the pronouncements made from individual soapboxes, politicians only care for themselves. and from my perspective, none are better at this than Jamaican politicians. It is my view that if the government of Jamaica really cared about the people of Jamaica it would author policies and make decisions that are designed to provide for better opportunities for Jamaica’s masses?
Consider this. If a natural disaster were to strike Jamaica tomorrow (God forbid that), the Government (be it JLP or PNP) would find every dollar that is necessary to restore the canons of the economy, moving heaven and earth to ensure a return to normalcy. They would certainly do that, as well as ensure that those close enough to the political trough are always well fed. The PNP’s self-made FINSAC debacle provides a perfect example of how that administration sucked more than US$150 million in order to bail out the financial sector and, in effect, presided over the greatest transfer of wealth since slavery, from middle-class as well as poor Jamaicans to members of the monied class.
At the time the decision was made under the guise that it was rehabilitating the financial sector as some participants in this sector were simply “too big to be allowed to fail.” Such decisions went against a fundamental principle that I believe in, in fact live by, which says that “a rising tide raises all boats.” Simply put, a prosperous Jamaica benefits all of Jamaica…inclusive of all its people, not just the chosen few. All that is needed to realize this is for the Government of Jamaica to commit to the long-term development of Jamaicans. This is no less than the approach to revive the country in the event of a natural disaster, especially the natural disaster that is unfolding as I write this. A recent article published by the Jamaica Gleaner reported that Jamaican youth have very little confidence in the future and that some 85 per cent of them having made this realization have expressed that if afforded the opportunity they would leave at the drop of a proverbial hat. Perhaps they are the smart ones.
At least they are not like their parents and those before them who fought their friends and eliminated their neighbours in the name of politics. They have failed the generations ahead by electing the same politicians who do not give one hoot about their future. That is because the only people politicians care about is themselves.
Richard Hugh Blackford
