OUR VOTE IS OUR BOND - PLEASE CONTACT THE SECRETARIAT FOR THE PNP INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

THEY WANT YOUR MONEY BUT THE WONT GIVE YOU THE VOTE TO ENSURE GOOD GOVERNANCE AND ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT OF YOUR INVESTMENTS


PLEASE CONTACT THE SECRETARIAT FOR THE PNP INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE TELL THEM THEY MUST TABLE FULL VOTING RIGHTS PROVISIONS AT THE CONFERENCE NEXT WEEK- FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
THE CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT
c/o The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade 21 Dominica Drive, Kingston 5, Jamaica
Telephone: (876) 926 4220 - 8 | Fax (879) 929 6733 Email: info@jamaicandiaspora.gov.jm or dca@mfaft.gov.jm

DEVELOPMENT VS. THE ENVIRONMENT

When we talked about development, we are not talking mining. We seem to limit ourselves to just one concept of development. The Cockpit is the Bread Basket of Jamaica and importing agricultural goods and food won't sustain Jamaica. The tourist industry imports all its food from the USA and other countries. Not even a Plantain could buy in the local markets. 

Commercial farming is not feasible, agribusinesses will depend on the produce from these mountains. Jamaica is over 80% mountains. Now, the issue of sustainability relates to the use of chemicals in land cultivation. which I think should be banned, as well as development pressures from the mining of bauxite. 

Now there was a time when young people would leave the country and find jobs in the city, that's not the case today, this too is impacting the environment in the Cockpit Mountains. Most of the sinkholes are clogged with garbage and so flooding too is occurring in the higher elevations. Jamaica since the early eighties has seen an explosion in the youth population. The challenge is how do you create opportunities for a large restless youth population who have the rug pulled out from under them when all of Michael Manley programs were dismantled by Saega and PJ.?

So when we talk about balancing development and the environment, it has to do with how we plan for and manage population growth. Population growth is also development. Underdevelopment is the inability to provide opportunities to a growing population.. Jobs, food, housing, education and healthcare. There is a direct conflict between continued bauxite mining and our water resources management. Economic Development Diversity is the key to resolving these conflicts. We must grow and create good jobs in research, engineering and high technology. The subservient jobs within the tourism sector are not enough to build and sustain a strong middle-class which is the fabric of a democratic society.

We aren’t the first to fight for progressive change and we won’t be the last.

The Jamaica Diaspora Sustainable InitiativeApr 22, 2015 — We are a movement of Jamaicans both at Home and Abroad who are willing to fight for real and lasting change. This isn't for everyone — we're Changing Jamaica Through Leadership, and we're proud of it. If you’re someone who'd rather get involved than sit back, if you refuse to be cynical about what we can get done together, then you should be part of this at www.ourjamaicavote.org

THE PARADOX OF UNSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

"Jamaica Falls 11 Places On Human Development Index, Risks Demotion AND Jumps 8 Places In Global Competitiveness Index. The rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer."

It is imperative that we understand what a cooperative democracy is. We need to fashion a new way of thinking about wealth and defining wealth. Wealth without welbeing is social poverty. We are not advocating redistribution of wealth we are advocating re-definition of wealth and ensuring that resources are consumed in a sustainable manner so your grandchildren children do not have to carry the burden.

Social poverty speaks to your mental and psychological wellbeing and can be attributed some of the heinous crimes we witnessed in our country. No society can afford all its citizens material wealth but at the same time no society should prevent individual from achieving their full potential. However, material wealth cannot be at the expense of social wealth, hence the goal of a co-operative democracy is to strike a balance between each through the practice of sustainable economic development.

Simply put, under a Cooperative Democracy the most venerable of citizen is the guaranteed the rights to seek justice in a court of laws when governments; their project, programs and policy is deemed to have contradict their rights as citizen instead of getting a bullet to the head. Guaranteeing rights is more than putting it on the books, it is building the institutions and funding these institution to protect fundamental rights.-Obama Doctrine.

We aren’t the first to fight for progressive change and we won’t be the last.

The Jamaica Diaspora Sustainable Initiative

Apr 22, 2015 — We are a movement of Jamaicans both at Home and Abroad who are willing to fight for real and lasting change. This isn't for everyone — we're Changing Jamaica Through Leadership, and we're proud of it. If you’re someone who'd rather get involved than sit back, if you refuse to be cynical about what we can get done together, then you should be part of this at www.ourjamaicavote.org