Mark Myers (left), president of the Jamaica Chamber Commerce, and his vice-president, Edward Khoury, at a press briefing Tuesday. Myers charged the Government with favouring foreign companies over local businesses. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) said Tuesday it wanted a commitment from the party that wins the election to jump start the delayed Partnership for Progress (PforP) pact during the honeymoon period for the new administration.

"For a long time, local businessmen have been aware that foreign investors are often treated much more favourably than local investors through much greater access to incentives," said JCC president Mark Myers.

"Moreover, large foreign businesses typically have access to much cheaper capital, (which) gives them two very significant advantages over most local businesses from their first day of operation."

But, beyond its call for partnership, the JCC also chose yesterday to knock Government's chief spokesman, Donald Buchanan, the Information and Development Minister.

Buchanan has denied criticisms of Government made by JCC member Gassan Azan that its policies were not business friendly, saying in turn that the People's National Party had liberalised foreign exchange control and telecommunications, removed price controls, and reduced custom duties, among other measures. But the JCC has read the response as an attack on Azan. The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, headed by Christopher Zacca, similarly issued a statement a week ago against Buchanan.

Azan, Zacca and Myers sit on the board of the Jamaica Observer, where Azan had made the comment during lunch with business leaders.

Making Jamaica business friendly

Yesterday, the JCC called Buchanan "confrontational" , and Myers said the measures he outlined did not go far enough to make Jamaica business friendly, citing still high levels of beauracracy, operating costs and high interest rates.

In fact, Jamaica is ranked 50 of 175 countries in business friendliness.

"We believe that rather than attacking elements of the local private sector for noting that Jamaica is still a difficult place to do business, a better solution, particularly for our smaller local businesses, would be for the Government to work with the local private sector to create a more competitive business environment," the JCC president charged.

"It is through rapid growth and prudent management that Jamaica will see its way out of economic and social problems," he said.

The PforP initiative, modelled off the Irish experience, is a private-sector-pushed plan which holds that for businesses to grow, government must lower taxes on companies.

It was designed, said Myers "to create the necessary consensus in the society to design and implement tangible measures to move the economy forward."

The result, he said, should be a levelling of the playing field between local and foreign investors.

However, since it was proposed four years ago, the JCC said it has been unable to arrive at an agreement with Government to have it implemented.

"We expect that whoever forms the next administration will complete this process within their first 100 days in office," he said.

Businesses, he noted - quoting Turks and Caicos Premier Michael Misick - are anxious for a new investment culture where government rolls out the red carpet to businesses, and not the red tape.

john.myers@gleanerjm.com