Prime Minister Bruce Golding (left) and Audrey Hinchcliffe, president of the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF) during the JEF's monthly breakfast meeting at the Knutsford Court Hotel in St. Andrew yesterday. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

Prime Minister Bruce Golding says if the economy is to grow, Jamaica will have to lessen the bureaucracy that exists in the society and generate investments that will create jobs.

Speaking yesterday during the Jamaica Employers' Federation CEO breakfast meeting held at the Knutsford Court Hotel, Mr. Golding said the debt rate of the country was almost $1 trillion, adding that the country will have to grow in order to escape this enormous challenge.

"We are in a very tight situation and because of that the way out is not the subject of many options, we are going to have to grow our way out of this problem," he said, adding that Jamaica will have to get particular types of investments to create jobs.

"While we welcome all types of investments, we are particularly interested in getting investments that create jobs, not only to boost the revenue but also it is the surest most sustainable way of addressing your crime problem and the social difficulty that we face," the Prime Minister told the gathering.

However, he noted that there were challenges in doing that. "(Because of) our weak capacity - it is as if our economic body does not have the ability to absorb the protein of investment," Mr. Golding said.

Significant investment

He noted that the investment flows that have come into the country over the last 10 to 15 years are quite significant, pointing out that during 1995 to 2005, the country attracted US$4 billion of foreign direct investments plus other investments that were generated locally.

"And yet over that period, the growth did not even get into double digits," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Golding said another problem in attracting investments was the business unfriendliness of Jamaica and the bureaucracy that exists. He pointed to the length of time it takes to get things done and noted that Minister without Portfolio, Senator Dwight Nelson would be looking at studies conducted over the years to see which areas can be implemented to reduce the bureaucracy.