Jamaicans in South Florida had a chance quiz Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding on numerous concerns about their home country last Friday at a Town Hall Meeting held at Nova Southeastern University in Davie.

Golding, who was on his first official visit to South Florida since winning last September’s general elections, said there is a need to strengthen the relationship between Jamaica and the Diaspora to help address some of the issues on the island.

While he lauded the establishment of the Diaspora Movement, and thanked members of the Diaspora for “keeping hope alive in Jamaica”, he also pointed out that “The Diaspora needs to be more structured” and said that there were certain elements that have allowed the work of the Diaspora to be “stalled or derailed.”

Golding also acknowledged the contribution that Jamaicans abroad have made to their country through remittances, but called on them to also give of their time and expertise to encourage economic growth in the island.

The prime minister, in his address, discussed a range of issues, from rising food prices, energy diversification, fixing the education system and security to the economy and crime. Crime, which has long been a major concern for all Jamaicans, is high priority for the administration which is intent on addressing the causes of crime. Golding said, "We have to strengthen the capacity of the police force," adding that "before you can strengthen that police force you are going to have to clean it out."

Hopelessness and degrading conditions contribute to the growth of crime, the prime minister said, asserting that they have to target young males and establish programs to preclude them from pursuing criminal activities.

On keeping campaign promises, Golding said his administration has removed tuition fees for high school and is removing hospital charges for Jamaicans. It will cost the government US$54,231,921 (J$3.85 billion) to support the new hospital policy, prompting the opposition to raise questions of how it would be maintained. Health Minister Ruddy Spencer said recently that everything was in place to implement the new policy and US$845,000 (J$60 million) had been distributed to regional health authorities to upgrade their facilities. However, he admitted that there will be challenges because of the critical shortage of key workers.

Golding plans to aggressively pursue tax evaders, which could generate revenue to help fund some of their policies. Golding said the ad hoc method of tax collecting in Jamaica contributes to the state of the economy, since many businesses and individuals have not been paying their taxes. He said there are about 245,000 persons who are on PAYE (Pay As You Earn), whose taxes are deducted from their pay. The remaining workforce is not aggressively pursued are therefore there is much outstanding taxes that the country desperately needs.

“Jamaica is too rich to be poor and we [are] too bright to be struggling,” Golding said to rousing applause.

Education is a major focus for this administration according to Golding, Minister of Education, Andrew Holness wants to focus on early childhood education and strengthen parental support. Golding said of the 53,000 high school graduates Jamaica produces per annum, 25,000 have passed only one CXC subject, 13,000 passed two CXC subjects and only about 15,000 passed three or more. This leaves 38,000 that are ‘unattached’ – meaning that they have not achieved anything sufficient to go to college, work or do anything else, so the criminal elements usually come from this group.

Golding told the audience that his administration will extend the school age by two years by 2010, so that students leave high school at age 18, instead of 16. They will also offer students vocational options after grade 9 and work to de-stigmatize vocational training as a viable and respectable option for students.

Other issues included the need for more focus on the disabled, Jamaicans in the Diaspora having a vote in the political process at home, debt management, developing downtown Kingston and Port Royal as a thriving cruise ship tourism area, encouraging nurses to stay in the country and providing incentives for more doctors to work in rural areas.