Address by the Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur at the National Partnership Council of Jamaica

KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE SECOND ANNUAL RETREAT OF THE NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL OF JAMAICA “THE SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP: MAKING THE DECISIVE DIFFERENCE”

By OWEN. S. ARTHUR

KINGSTON, JAMAICA, JULY 16, 2015

On the last occasion I spoke on matters concerning Jamaica in Jamaica, I unintentionally stirred up a controversy by stating, in 1999, that the conditions for macro-economic stability had been reestablished but that the manner in which the crisis in the financial sector was being dealt with was likely to compromise the country’s development prospects.

The latter part of the observation excited the media and the ensuing controversy held the attention of the public.

Suitably chastened, I promise today not to wander into the paths of controversy.

So I will observe the proper spirit and begin by observing that the conditions for macroeconomic stability and sustainable development are being established in Jamaica.  It is my expectation that the work of the institution which brings us together today will contribute in a profound way to the achievement of those highly desirable goals.

It is with this goal in mind that I draw from the Barbadian experience to share with you a perspective as to what the Jamaica social partnership can be designed to accomplish.

It may however appear paradoxical that in the same breath that I highly commend the Social Partnership as a model of governance which Jamaica should embrace with enthusiasm, I have also to report that the two countries- Ireland and Barbados-which have sought to make the most use of it, are among the countries which have fared the worst in recent times.

This however is not intended to depreciate the role the Social Partnership has played in Barbados or can play in Jamaica, as I will explain later.

Indeed, I subscribe to the view expressed by another Former Prime Minister of Barbados, that the Social Partnership represents the most momentous and creative piece of public policy engineering in the history of Barbados, both symbolically and substantively.  For it has taken the practice of democracy to its highest form.  It has done so by creating an agency by which the various estates of the society are conjoined in mutually beneficial relationships for the common good, despite their divergent roles, functions and interests that are in many ways conflicted…READ MORE

Download Address by the Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur at the National Partnership Council of Jamaica