Creating jobs, Simpson Miller's toughest task - Poll
published: Sunday March 12, 2006
Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
Simpson Miller and Hinchcliff
CREATING JOBS and finding a solution to crime and violence are seen as the biggest challenges for the administration of Prime Minister-designate Portia Simpson Miller, according to a recent Gleaner-commissioned poll conducted by Bill Johnson and team.
The survey, carried out March 4-5, interviewed 1,008 persons in the 14 parishes. Fifty-eight of the respondents said creating new jobs, especially for youth, will be the toughest task for Mrs. Simpson Miller's cabinet over the next four to five months. Forty-two per cent consider the long-standing problem of crime and violence as a major obstacle. Thirteen per cent believe improving the education system will be Mrs. Simpson Miller's greatest challenge.
Reacting to the poll finding, Audrey Hinchcliffe, president of the Jamaica Employers Federa-tion (JEF), says she is not surprised that the majority of persons surveyed are concerned about the high level of unemployment. She says if Mrs. Simpson Miller honours her vow to reach out to the grassroots when she becomes Prime Minister of Jamaica, it will be a step in the right direction.
"I agree with the Prime Minister-in waiting that if you fix communities you can fix this country," Ms. Hinchcliffe told The Sunday Gleaner. "If we can get more persons gainfully employed, then they can be empowered and that will make them feel better about themselves."
A recent study by the United Nations revealed that lack of jobs has triggered mass flight of young persons from several Caribbean countries, including Jamaica.
Political analyst and Sunday Gleaner columnist, Kevin O'Brien Chang, says the image of Jamaica as the 'murder capital of the world' has scared off potential investors. With a record 1,671 persons murdered here in 2005, he says the new Prime Minister must present an effective crime plan that will not only reduce homicides, but restore civility to the society.
"If she cuts crime, everything will fall into place. There is foreign investment coming in now so more would come in," he reasoned. "There would also be a brain infusion with Jamaicans abroad coming home. Jamaicans abroad, especially women, love Jamaica, but they are scared of the crime."
The police reported last week that at the end of February, 217 persons had been murdered in Jamaica. Other areas of concern for persons interviewed in the survey were fixing roads (eight per cent), helping the poor (6.1 per cent) and affordable housing (four per cent).
Fifty-two per cent of those interviewed were males, and 42 per cent female. Twenty-three per cent had full-time jobs, 11.1 per cent held part-time jobs while 35 per cent were self-employed. Twenty-nine per cent of the interviewees represented the 25-34 age group; 22 per cent from the 35-44 group, 20 per cent from the 20-34 bracket and 13 per cent were between the ages of 45 and 54.
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