Announcement of Public Release of Report on Mission to Jamaica on January 9, 1953

\':, (• HOLD FOR RELFASE INTERNA~:tONAL BANK FOR Rlt0NSTRtA1TI0N AND l>EmLOPMENT FOR THE_~ FOR RELEASE A.M. Newspap__.. ffi.~ RELFASE NO. 314 January 9, -19S3 Recommendations to~ the economic dev~lopment of Jamaica were published today \\ .· in t~e report e,f a mission to Jamaica organized by the International Bank tor Reccnstruction ai\d DeveJ_opment at the request of tne Governor of Jamaica., Eugene a. Blaek,:, President of tbe Intemational Bank, transmitted the report to the tlovernor, His Excellency Sir Hugn Foot, OQ D~ember 19. // •• !} The mission, under the leadership pf ·John b. de Wilde or the Bank's staff., was ,, ,• 1\ It consisted of seven experts. The two agricultural specialists were selected in consultation with the Food and Agriculture Organization whic~ also defrayed a portion of the 'salary am eJCpenses of one of them. Tlie mission proposes a ten-year development program aimed at increasing the · - - production of goods and services from a level of ii8S million in 1950 to app:roxi- mately ilSO million in l962. "Timid ha.lf'-measures"., the mission stresses, will not sol,re Jamaica's problems of the future. "The program must hold the promise or real ' . advance if :Li is to capture the imagination or the people and command their cont,inuous support and coopetat\<>n•••• 11 The program calls for government eJCPenditures or '34.,.324.,ooo over the ten-year period. To allow for the possibility that ob~tacles may arise., a reduced program has also been drawn up. Under it, public 'expen<U.tures would be ,27 ,97.3,QOO and (} production 1«>uld ~r~se to about ~36 mi.U,iQn. The mission urges, however, that ({ ·eta.'lt-~l prcgrees, the mission believes, in solving its chief problems - chronic unemployment and widespread poverty. · Most or the expansion or production and employment the mission foresees will , • . .r,~ult ~rectly and indirectly from the develQpment of agriculture. "Contrary to C} w;id,ely preval~nt belief;" the mission states, 11we are convinced that the potentiali• • -1;'2 - • (, tie.s or agriculture in Jamaica are tar from exhausted." Chier among the recommendations in this field are: a Vigor0'1S tlqp campaign to rebuild the tertility ot hill lands; extension or irrigation in soil conserva- ,the plains and valleys, and reclamation or part of the swamp land; a pasture I_I ·· " - imprr,vement program anq a rise in the price of beef to stimulate the growing ot livestock; a complete aerial and ground sl,lrV'ey as a basis for proper planning of land use and ,~or caz,-ying out essential improvement works; an::l the taxation of land, on the basis of unimproved, rather than improved, value to, gi!8 additional / incentive to development. The mission believes that if these measures are taken ,11 it should be possible to p\lt an additional 150.,_000 feres, of land under cultivation and to increase yields significantly. Thi,s would permit a substantial increase in the production or beef and milk, sugar., bananas., coffee, cacao., citrus., rice and other fo~ c~ops. The mission puts particular ~tress on the need for enlisting the support of tanners through an extensive progiaam of education, coupled with financial incentives. Recommendations are made for additional government credit to farmers to enable them to establish crops and purchase livestock approved under the land-use program. Some help is also recommended for rural housing and water supply. Because many of the improvement programs can be carried out success~ully only if all the fanners in ~ a given area join in them., the mission urges that the Government condition all forms ot assistance on cooperation in the development schemes. Further, the mission sUggests that the Qovernmen.t be given legal authority to proceed against the few recalcitrants who may refuse to cooperate in programs desired by the vast majority or farmers. In the field of industry the missiort believes the important task is to increase productivity. The report urges the inauguratio~ of ar1 appropriaw apprenticeship • - system, e:xpansion and ;bnproVement of facilities for technical education, and the provision by the lmustrial Pevelopment Corporation or technical and financial assistance on a large scale ,;to .<,>vercmqe ~isting defici&,cies in industrial  - 3 - • c'' • ·mlQAJement and capital equipment. The mission also points to the need for greater cooperation between management and labor to improve efficiency and to louer production costs. In the mission• s opinion the tourist ~dustey ha~ excellmt prospects. The Gov!rmen~ could contribute to its expansi,on, according to the report., by making more funds available for advertising, ard by reorganizing the Tourist Development ~ Board to make it more directly representativ, of those with ,an immediate interest in promotion of' the tourist t,radee The Governinent might also s~plement the measures it has already adopted to encourage investment in the hotel industry byt-1 II offering a limited guarantee of mortgages on hotel~., par·t\eularly in new areas 1 1,·1~ -which mi~ht be opened up !or tourists. Recommendations are a.lso ma.de in the fields of mining, power ~~q trar;isport. -/- - T~e mission recommends that present plans for 'a:xpai ding electr,ic ;power should be - w -·· - ·-- ··-· --- --·"". - -~- ·-·"' • . .reviewed in the light of expected requirE111en ts caused by expansion in agriculture and industry. Because elec~rical equipment of standard make is,~ designed for either SO cycle or 6o cycle frequency, the mission believes that the time has come to carry out the long delayed plan to convert the power :Jystem from 40 to So cycles. In transport the most.urgent requirement is to put the railway on a sound ,,j :footing. Existing fCM freight rates should be raised and the rail,way should be \~ placed under an auto'nomous administration and enabled to carry out a modest capital improvement program. If these steps are taken, the railway wi11 be a'ble to profit fully from the expected increase in traffic and to eliminate most or its present deficit~ The mission recOmJ11ends that more funds be made available for road main- t~ance ard urges that expenditures for improvements be concentrated on roads of key importance to the eeonontV rather than scattered among many small projects. Re- commendations are made to relieve the serioq.~ congeetion of the waterfront area in C) • JCingston and to improve and expand its airport, to increase the capacity for handling more, ~ea and, air traf fie. ln,\the field of social serrtc,s, the missi~n believes further tmprovement in l" • • ...,4 - • education would do most to bring about an increase in the co6:ntry•s productive ca.pacity. This would require more primary schools, and expansion o! facilities for • vocational and technical education; primary schooling should be given a less aca- 'demic and mo~e practica:1. "orientation. Efforts in the heal.th field. should concen- trate on preventive services., on improvements in some hospital~ and on relieving !\ \. ·i ,• I) overcrowding in othe~s. The needs for additimal housing are so great that the mean5 available to meet theD't will be inadequate for 1/a long time. The mission believes that in the years immediately ahea9, the Govemment can afford only a very modest supplement to the.- housing program· it is currently undertaking. Constructive steps, hOl-rever., can be taken to facilitate private investment in housing and to lower building costs. The repol'.'t concludes: "The program will cjemand of the government and people a degree of singlemindedness and cooperat_ion which ha.s not hitherto been evident. . " .-.This condition can be achieved only if the people understand the program and rally behind it. The people must lmow what the program is., what it will do for them,\ and what it will require of then. A publicity campaign on a large scale will be -=-- '-"\\ \f necessary to/'disseminate this knowledge. It must enlist the participation of the \') press and radio and ot a~i groups and organizations - the churches, the teachers, \ '\., a.n:l the farmers associations - who are in intimate touch with the people. If the > people under{!ta.nd the program they will realtze more :readily the advantages and obligations of wholehearted participation and will be less likely to tolerate any diversion from its f'undamental objectives. 1tJamaica today is at a crucial stage ot its political and economic development. In the-near future iJrJport,ant steps in the direction of complete self-government will be taken. The success of this venture may- well be Jeopardized unless economic progrees can also be asst.Wed. Jamaica can support its population under conditions . . .or political am eQonomic stability only.~ an imaginative., tarsighte4 development pro·gram ia vigorously prosecuted. In thts task the people ot Jamaica face a great C1 ,chaUeng~" •• THE Ml$I0N I) John c. de Wilde Chiet of Mission John Hugh Collier" Economist 1'.1 Albert Winsemiua .Economic Adviser on Indus~ f,.. D. Spottswood Engineering Adviser Douwe Groenveld Agricultural Economist w. V,. Blewett Adviser on Agricultur~l Production I. M. Labovitz Adv:ilser on SOcial Servic.es Ann Mary Rozeck Secretary and"Acbninistrative Assistant The report ot the mission to Jamaica has been published in a single bound volume or 288 pages, and may be obtained from Th\~ . . \, Johns Hopkins Pres~, aalt~re 18, Maryland, for $$.OO. \\ " •