Last month, Sir Richard Branson, billionaire owner of the Virgin brand, was the featured speaker at a think tank forum of leading academics, private sector and public officials held at the Ritz Carlton hotel, Montego Bay. Branson is a successful businessman who is a skilled negotiator.

I watched an interview in which he was speaking with a FOX News laissez faire capitalist, who was opposed to the UK and US bailouts. He argued his position firmly and showed that he would have lost billions through no fault of his own if a Vacation company had gone belly-up which had received bookings and payments on behalf of his company.

Branson is an unusual entrepreneur in that his business is not confined to one core business as most business schools would advise. He has interests in airlines, trains, stores, the Internet, cellular phones, financial services and health care. Unfortunately, I have not heard of any concrete proposal emanating from his meeting sponsored by the Mona School of Business.

Richard Branson, the 236th richest person in the world, came into Jamaican consciousness when the PNP administration sold the Heathrow Airport landing slots in England. It seems to have been a good deal for Branson. Heathrow's are prime slots and in July 2008 there was a newspaper report in England that there was an airline that flew 'empty' in order to secure those Heathrow slots. I thought the then government should have insisted that at least one slot should have been used to fly to Jamaica. It would be good for Jamaica to have flights originating not only from Gatwick but also Heathrow.

According to Forbes magazine 2008, Branson is worth US$4.4 billion. He has used his money for good causes such as donating billions to search for more environmentally-friendly ways for airlines to fly. He has put his influence and his skills at the disposal of ordinary patients. Richard Branson was recently appointed vice-president of the Patients Association in England. Since then he has called for the screening of all hospital staff for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and if infected, to be treated because MRSA and the avoidable, attendant infection, has led to misery and deaths.

In the United Kingdom, as in most developing countries, one in 10 persons will suffer harm as a result of the fault of the hospital. Apart from a few media houses exposing a fault of a hospital for causing harm nothing is known about the extent of malpractices in hospitals and doctors' offices in Jamaica. We need a Patients' Association in Jamaica.

And we need more Richard Bransons who will put their clout in volunteer organisations and mass-based organisations. There are not many who will do that. There is Earl Jarrett, general manager of Jamaica National, who serves as chairman of the Jamaica Cancer Society; there is Carolyn Gomes who is a renowned human rights activist; Earle Moore, president of Guardian Life who serves as chair of the Jamaica Business Council on HIV and AIDS and Mark Kerr-Jarrett who serves on the western board of the seven-year-old Errol Rattray Evangelistic Association. We need more persons who will serve on volunteer organisation's boards and not only as chairpersons.

Consumers unaware

We also need some Richard Bransons on the National Consumer League. In 2006, banks in England raked in three billion pounds because customers were unaware of how to avoid certain bank charges. How much are Jamaican banks making through clients' ignorance? We need a watchdog for our financial sector and we need some Richard Bransons in that organisation.

In these harsh economic times, we need persons to lead a patients' association, a bank watchdog organisation and to be more involved in the National Consumers League. We need some Richard Bransons.

n Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of Rebellion to Riot: the church in nation building. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.