Beggin, beggin you

Photo by Heloise Bottomley.

Prime Minister Golding is putting his loving hand out to the International Monetary Fund for a loan to help Jamaica’s struggling economy.

It’s with a clear sense of desperation that he’s doing this; he’s reported as saying the factors that are leading down this path are :  the markets are not lending any money, downturn in bauxite and tourism, reduction in remittances.

The last time Jamaica got help from the IMF was not a great thing.  The list of conditions and strings attached, crippled the local economy through cuts in public spending which hurt the poor.  Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, the loans mounted up and growth stayed low.

Will this time be any different really?  It’s supposed to be thinking differently - the IMF I mean, and they have outlined a whole new set of rules based around its’ loans.  But the Director of the IMF, Strauss Kahn says that they are “helping” Jamaica with its’ new tax initiatives.   Should Jamaica trust the IMF?

Jamaican crime policy

Are the JLP’s anti crime policies any different to the PNP’s? The crime rate has jumped up since they took over power (by some 22 per cent) so have there actually been any policy changes to account for this? I listened to a recent interview of Bruce Golding on the BBC (May 2008 on The World Today BBC World Service). He says that the crime has been carried over from the PNP, typical politician, blaming the previous adminstration – he outlines to get a working police force which has integrity, secondly he says they are employing a strategic approach to deal with the root causes of cirme – ie. poverty and getting young people into jobs to give them options away from crime.

Bruce Golding says they have set up an anti corruption arm of the police force and he says they have made 30 arrests so far and that this shows they are moving aggressivley on this. Anyone who spends more than five minutes in Jamaica quickly understands the corrupt police and the woefully inadequate measures to stamp it out. There may be planty of enquiries and supposed investigations but there are rarely any real outcomes.

In all this bad news, he tries to talk up the economy and says tourism is doing well and he talks up giving free access to schools and removing hospital charges.