McPherse Thompson, Staff ReporterAUBYN HILL, managing director of the National Commercial Bank (NCB), is confident that public order will be restored to the business district of downtown Kingston if a plan being considered by a working group established by Prime Minister P. J. Patterson is implemented.
Noting that the problems caused by social decay in the capital city was among his biggest challenges, Mr. Hill, himself a member of the working group, said that over a period of time people would see "that we are going to get Kingston fixed, because if we don't, we won't have a country."
He was addressing a reception for CARIBIZ 2003, comprising a group of students and alumni from the Harvard Business School and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania at the Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston, on Thursday night.
In December, Mr. Patterson appointed a group, headed by Dr. Vincent Lawrence, chairman of the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), to explore options for the revitalisation of downtown Kingston. The appointments followed a meeting at Jamaica House between the Prime Minister and representatives of the Kingston & St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ). The meeting was called to discuss the controversial issue of street vending. Mr. Patterson has mandated the group to submit a report by mid-January.
Mr. Hill used the opportunity of the meeting with the Harvard and University of Pennsylvania students to reflect on his study at Harvard as well as the opportunities it presented, charging them to always have "a positive attitude" as it was critical to their success.
CARIBIZ 2003 is a collaborative effort between students and alumni of the Harvard Business School and The Wharton School. According to Paula Campbell and Barron Channer, both of whom co-ordinated the inaugural mission to Jamaica, the primary objective of the initiative was to expose students and alumni to business and investment opportunities in the region, as part of a long-term strategy to get them to contribute to and participate in Jamaica's economic development.
The group arrived in Jamaica last Tuesday, January 7 and are expected to leave today, January 12.
During their stay, they met with a number of government officials and private sector leaders as part of a networking mission, as well as to provide participants with an overview of the Jamaican economy and an appreciation of what it means to work, live and invest in the country.
Both Miss Campbell and Mr. Channer said that although the mission involved students and alumni from Harvard and Wharton, the intention was to incorporate young professionals from other universities in the United States in future missions. In addition, it was their intention to highlight investment opportunities in other Caribbean islands.
During their stay, they also met with a group of potential business students, encouraging them to pursue such a career path as it would assist in the economic development of the region.
According to a CARIBIZ brochure, the organisation was formed against the background that individuals who possess management and financial skills could make a significant impact on the development of the private sector, a situation that was necessary for sustainable economic development in the Caribbean. In addition, tapping into the emigrant talent pool was key to successful development in the Caribbean. Furthermore, a relatively high concentration of Caribbean students at the top business schools presented an opportunity to mobilise efforts in support of a long-term Caribbean development strategy.
