The Editor, Sir:

In response to Hugh Dunbar's letter in The Gleaner titled "Massive profits amid recession", I would like him to know that a lot of us have been asking the same questions for a long time.

For years, I have tried to understand how the members of the private sector complain that the economy is being ravaged by government policies and "nutten naah gwaan", and yet when there is a disturbance in downtown Kingston, or the electricity goes out, we can hear them complaining that they lost millions of dollars.

When everything is calm, they are not making money, but in an upheaval, they lose millions.

The Jamaican government lacks an integrated information system network, and, therefore, all information about the economy is suspicious at best. Until proper computerisation and integration take place, everyone will be, operating in the dark and we will get stories like those from the World Bank, which state that Jamaica may be underestimating GDP by up to four per cent per annum.

As we like to say in the business- intelligence field, "Only one version of the truth will enable management to make informative decisions."

I am, etc.,

VEROL THOMPSON

erol.thompson@sonic

planet.com

Atlanta, GA