Gov't fails to heed its word
published: Sunday | March 7, 2004
THE EDITOR, Sir:
JAMAICANS ARE being encouraged to support our local manufacturers by buying their products/services and yet, our Government is showing us they have no faith in Jamaican product by having Eniath's Printing Services, a Trinidadian company printing our textbooks. Last year when Von Hoffman Corporation, a United States company, was awarded the contract they had the audacity to request more funds because they underestimated the cost for producing the textbooks!
If memory serves me right, several years ago when Trinidad & Tobago was in turmoil, the Trinidadians took a decision not to import any foreign products into their country, but instead, buy into their country's products and services. Do you think Trinidad's action would be reciprocated, more so at a time when the economy is on the decline and jobs become scarce? I think not!
If the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association (JMA) expects the people of Jamaica to buy into this concept of putting your country first and purchasing local products, then we have to see the powers that be supporting the cause. The JMA's role in this instance has got to be more than just standing before a camera and signing a piece of paper. We have got to hear the voice of the JMA demanding an explanation from the Government about its decision to award the contract for printing local textbooks to a foreign company.
