By Vernon Daley and Garwin Davis, Staff ReportersREPRESENTATIVES OF the local private sector have given the assurance that the island has adequate supplies of food and medicine to last for the next three months.
Yesterday, during a meeting with the Cabinet Working Group set up by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson last week to monitor effects of the war in Iraq and act to lessen its impact on the island's shaky economy, major importers and distributors dismissed suggestions of an impending food shortage .
"They gave the assurance that basic supplies of food and medicine would be in place for the short term to deal with the fallout from the war," said a source who attended the meeting.
The meeting which took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, New Kingston, also heard that local manufacturers and distributors had been in contact with their overseas suppliers and had been given commitments that there would be a steady supply of food and drugs.
At a post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday, Burchell Whiteman, Information Minister, told journalists that the Cabinet had discussed the matter of food and medicine against the background of what seemed to be a decline in the supplies to the island.
"I am not trying to be an alarmist but in respect to commodities in our supermarkets and general shops there are initial signs of a fallout in stocks," Mr. Whiteman said.
"This is something we have to watch closely considering that many of us tend to rely a lot on US imports."
The minister did not say what goods were showing a shortfall but stressed that it was now incumbent on citizens to conserve on both food supplies and energy. "We must understand that situations can change dramatically," he said. "While there is no need to panic presently, we can't say for sure what will transpire further down the road. It might well be that only those of us who have no problem buying our cabbage and lettuce from the local farmers will be okay," he added.
The Cabinet Working Group which has representatives from 12 government ministries and agencies had its initial meeting last week and will continue to watch developments from the US-led war in Iraq.
Establishment of the group was one of the measures announced by Prime Minister Patterson in the House of Representatives to deal with likely fallout from the conflict in the Persian Gulf.
Last week the Government sent out an advisory to Jamaicans living in the Gulf states to take extra precaution even as it asked locals to contact the ministry with information about Jamaicans in the troubled region.
So far the ministry has identified five Jamaicans who are living in the Gulf region, based on information provided by nationals living here. According to Wilton Dyer, the ministry's spokesman, the names and contact will be sent to the Jamaican High Commission in London which will get in touch with the Jamaicans.
"We will try to touch base with them to see if they are all right and see if they require anything of us," Mr. Dyer said.
