"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," wrote Charles Dickens of the French Revolution, in his novel, A Tale of Two Cities.

His point was that turbulent times, even revolutions, contain within them both the good and the bad, the positive and the negative, the best and the worst.

This is true of the current international financial crisis, which has its roots in the loose-lending criteria of banks mostly, though not exclusively, in the United States.

The lending books of these banks were in turn securitised and sold on to other financial institutions. Finance, of course, is a global market. When the debts started to go bad it affected the whole world economy.

Worst is obvious

The worst is obvious.

The best, as far is Jamaica is concerned, is that there is no better time to begin the detailed process of hosting an international financial services centre.

As reported in the Financial Gleaner, Senator Don Wehby, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance said, "While I recognise that the current crisis in the financial market will have an impact on the international financial corporations all over the world, it is important for Jamaica to ensure that we are ready when the market settles."

And the market will settle.

Today, even the most capitalist of governments are putting aside ideology and aggressively intervening in the market place to support ailing financial institutions. It is the age of the proactive.

This is the climate in which Jamaica must now act. We must create the Jamaican International Financial Services Centre (JIFSC) in time to take advantage of the upswing in the world economy.

We must be focused and determined. We must have a plan. Moreover, we must hit the ground running.

A chief implementation officer will lead the process. The short-listed candidates have now been interviewed. The appointment is only days away.

The first task of the CIO should be obtaining a public expression of consensus.

Investors in JIFSCs - be they individuals, corporations, trust companies or banks - are making long-term decisions.

Such investors would be very wary of a centre whose very existence was subject of political debate.

This consensus need not be on the detailed legislative changes necessary to create the framework for the IFSC.

Quite the reverse, it should be broad in nature.

Jamaica's social institutions

It is the sort of consensus PSOJ President Chris Zacca raised when he called on all Jamaica's social institutions - government, opposition, civil society, trade unions and the private sector - to agree to keep Jamaica's taxes low, simple and transparent.

The CIO's next task should be to finalise the minutiae of the IFSC policy framework, enabling Minister Wehby to present to Cabinet an agreed legislative and regulatory report, rather than an array of fiscal and policy options.

Once the policy framework has been agreed, the CIO should host sensitisation seminars.

The purpose of such seminars will be to inform Jamaican stakeholders of the agreed JIFSC structure and explain how they may participate in and benefit from the process.

These seminars are part of the process of reaching out. They should be held not only in Kingston, but in Montego Bay; not only in Jamaica, but in the wider diaspora.

They must touch the Jamaicans abroad - whether in industry or commerce, the universities or the civil service.

They should enlighten the entrepreneur and the artiste alike.

The relevant legislation, based on the policy framework, should be fast-tracked, with the aid of senior legislative drafting professionals.

The CIO should liaise at the earliest possible time with the leader of the House and the attorney general to secure appropriate parliamentary time for the introduction and reading of the consequent bills.

As the legislation is being drafted the marketing should begin in earnest.

Some have argued that this should begin by the CIO calling the world's top banks. I disagree.

The key point is this; it is not for Jamaica to seek to persuade the tentative boards of international banks to set up subsidiaries in Kingston or Montego Bay. Rather the marketing of the JIFSC itself should create such interest and momentum that the banks themselves seek to come in, not wishing to be sidelined on 'the next big thing' in the international financial services industry.

An example will suffice. One of the JIFSC's stated market niches is sport and entertainment, which - for all the current financial cyclical problems - remains one of the strongest and fastest growing market sectors in the world.

Moreover, it is a market sector with which Jamaica is already associated across the globe.

Indeed this association, following our remarkable achievements at the Beijing Olympics, is currently at a high.

The Reggae Boyz too would be riding high had Theodore Whitmore been in charge of all the qualifying games!

Dr Trevor Thomas is an international tax consultant and the author of 'Offshore Jamaica: The Path Ahead'. Email: tax@drtrevorthomas.com