Jamaica needs transformational leaders, leaders who can motivate the people to buy into its vision for a successful economy, leaders who are proactive and who can communicate with the populace.

The Government's short-term goal, apparently, is to return to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to meet our demand for foreign exchange. Our current leaders, most definitely, have not learnt anything from the 1970s with the harsh IMF conditionalities. I think it would be a retrograde step for us to return to the IMF after we proudly walked away more than 15 years ago.

I agree there is a world crisis and in Jamaica we are having a balance of trade problem which is not new and continues to haunt us because past and current governments did nothing to improve the situation. We continued to import more than we exported and put stress on our foreign exchange earnings. It is time for the Government to put emphasis on increasing production and to widen our export market to include more of our products.

Encourage campaign

What has happened to the 'Eat what you Grow' campaign which was so widely publicised by the Ministry of Agriculture a few months ago? This needs to be continued vigorously in every nook and cranny of Jamaica. We are too dependent on foreign products. We need to reduce our imports and stand on our own feet economically. We do not need the IMF to tell us what our problems are and the solutions. What we need is good governance.

There are those persons in government and media who said that the conditionalities are not as harsh as before but failed to indicate what the new measures will be. There are thousands of Jamaicans who were born during the 1970s, and after, and do not know of the IMF experience. Therefore, the Government should have already started to educate the people about the purpose and options of the IMF, what is expected of them and the consequences.

The Government cannot expect to engender support from the poor and working class if they decide to return to a borrowing relationship with the fund. It did not work in the '70s, nor in the '80s and will not work in the 21st century. Successive governments have failed us as a people and they all need to step aside.

I am, etc.,

J. MAUREEN HAUGHTON

jenhaughton@hotmail.com

Bushy Park P.O.

St Catherine