With energy and commodities
international prices drastically declining and forecasted to fall even further,
extractive industries especially petroleum exporting nations, must focus on
other sectors and industries to generate its foreign earnings. A Ministry of
Energy and Energy Industries, responsible for
monitoring, controlling and regulating the energy and mineral sectors, developed over the
last century, cannot easily be replaced as the main earner, but the effort to
do so must start NOW! Not just by investment in renewables but through a mixed
of economic drivers.
Strategies in
harmony will each other and built out of current expenditure. Pulling it all
together, mapping out the details, costing and pricing, making it feasible, with
a modest initial investment 100% locally owned towards an Initial Public
Offering in 3-5 years. A Ministry
of Planning &
Development aims to drive the transformation of
the nation by defining, coordinating & facilitating the implementation of
the National Policy Agenda for sustainable development and prosperity for all stakeholders.
Tracking each and
every trade and service with prudent useful feedback to guide improvements and efficiencies,
protecting the nation’s brand and engaging the nation’s icons, all to
disseminate, negotiate and contract new markets. The foreign
policy of the nation is pursued through the activities of the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs’ Headquarters,
its Missions and its Honorary Consuls. The Ministry aims to expand and
intensify the country’s relations through bilateral and multilateral
initiatives by seeking environments that are conducive to trade, tourism and
investment for the nation.
The process must be
market driven. Utilizing market intelligence (Demographics of the Diaspora) and
marketing strategies (Collectable Labels depicting local Subjects) to promote
the product lines directly to the end-consumers and creating a healthy demand. Recording
the process and showing it locally making all, into word-of-mouth product
ambassadors. The Ministry of Communication is charged with
maintaining
the National Archives, producing and disseminating local historical,
educational, cultural and emergency content.
The brand itself, in
partnership
with all service providers; National Icons, Pan Musicians, Designers, etc., is a continuous
invitation to visit the nation’s Carnival, ecological, environmental, event and
medical recuperation tourism. The Ministry of Tourism will
develop sub-sectors policies to guide the development of various tourism
niches.
Incentivizing
vertical integration in manufacturing, utilizing cheap energy as a competitive
advantage, to process mostly local raw materials into cross sector inputs, such
as; fertilizer. Encouraging the construction of green houses, due to the
effects of climate change, for kitchen gardens or farms to manage year round
production, operate bulk purchasing programs to manage quality grading and
distribute a Single Brand for export to contracted and approved resellers.
The
Ministry of Trade & Industries must
continue to promote the nation as an Investment hub; through its ease of doing
business programs, and through Trade Missions and Export incentives to
penetrate and access new markets for the nation’s products (Goods &
Services).
On the production
side, using the best technology, the most efficient process and every available
land space, much can be done to meet market demands, for example; Cocoa and
Seasoning for export, Chickens and Egg hatcheries for domestic, Waste to
Bio-Gas. The Ministry
of Agriculture, Lands
and Marine Affairs must focus on desperately needed
tax credits, land regularization and production leases, a crime (larceny) prevention
plan and borrowing incentives to simply meet the demand of the local market and
offer national food security.
Utilizing unskilled
workers, organized into training units, linked to leadership and given
progressive tasks to produce, subsidizing the cost. The
Ministry of Labor and Small Enterprises Development must
structure programs to provide harmonious relationships between employers and employees
while, incubating numerous qualified Small Enterprises for expansion grants,
aimed at building taxpaying enterprises.
Rationale
T.A.J & Associates Company Limited uses this occasion to comment on topics that have been covered, both academically and by the mainstream media, to add its opinion and point out investment opportunity, not to invoke any social action.
