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JAMES MOSS-SOLOMON
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Many Jamaicans, and in fact Western-oriented thinkers, seem confused by country strategies that require long-term thinking. In our own case in Jamaica, traditional and political time frames seem to usurp our ability to plan for the long term.
So the large developmental goals which should extend for decades or longer tend to rotate around five-year political terms, and in other cases our own perceived lifetime. So strategic planning is essentially left to the corporate work environment and this also restricts itself to the public corporations and not the family businesses.
Therefore, imagine our difficulty in accepting a country strategy which pulls together a billion people, and which has an infinite time line for its overall achievement. Here I will refer to essential time perspectives of the Chinese as opposed to the Western world. A vision unbounded by time which could happen in 20,000 or even 10,000 years is within the scope of thinking of a Chinese civilisation which has existed for over 6,000 years thus far. Consequently, we are unable to recognise the long-term strategy of that country as it plays out.
My focus is on the White Paper on China's Policy on Mineral Resources as this will have a great effect on Jamaica and on other holders of strategic raw material resources. The policy states: "It is an important government policy to import foreign capital and technology to exploit the country's mineral resources, make use of foreign markets and foreign mineral resources and help Chinese mining enterprises and mineral products enter the international markets... China has discovered 171 varieties of mineral resources and 158 of them with proved reserves."
The White paper goes on to present a rationale for exploiting mineral reserves, and reading between the lines, the direction is obviously towards owning access rights to mineral wealth all over the world. The establishment of CHINALCO, and recent buyout of the Rio Tinto Mining reserves in Brazil and other Far East and Australian acquisitions send us a clear signal. China's reserves in alumina are either of low quality or difficult to mine.
Therefore, Jamaica's bauxite industry with its easy strip mining seems to be a strategic purchase even in difficult economic times, for stockpiling alumina. Guyana's deposits are more difficult to transport, but Guyana has a promise of future development of cheap hydroelectric power for the conversion of the raw material. So if I were in the position of the Chinese, with cash in hand, I would be looking out for all mineral purchases at distressed prices, which can assist the massive manufacturing sector in China when the world economic situation turns around.
<span style="font-weight: bold">In Jamaica we need to be extremely careful not to confuse the short-term cash needs with the temptation of selling all future benefits</span>. As suggested by the China White Paper, it is possible for us to negotiate a win/win situation if only we had the courage to look beyond the possible immediate unemployment, need for cash, and try to seek a negotiated solution which will see our reserves parlayed into a sustainable development tool.
Let us try to extend our vision beyond the next scheduled elections and negotiate settlements which benefit our development through the year 2050 and well beyond. Short-term goals have not assisted us in growing our economy in Jamaica, so let us take a page from the outlook of the Chinese and learn to think in millennia rather than days.
The White Paper: "China is a developing country with a large population and a relative shortage of resources. China will continue to deepen the reform, widen the opening-up, develop the socialist market economy unswervingly, take the road of sustainable development, and rationally use and protect its resources."
James Moss-Solomon is past president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce and past vice president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica.
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