Prime Minister Bruce Golding is unlikely to be having much of a Christmas holiday, which we expect to be the case for prime ministers even in the best of times.

And these are hardly good times. With the global credit crisis and resultant recession, all major sectors of the Jamaican economy are feeling the squeeze, forcing Mr Golding and his administration into a major act of juggling to keep the Budget and the national economy from crashing.

In the end, the Government might complete the fiscal year, at the end-of-March, achieving its fiscal target of a public-sector deficit of 4.7 per cent of gross domestic product. But growth will be flat, prices higher and more people unemployed.

The bad news is that the immediate prospects are not pretty. It will demand tough, bold and decisive action on the part of the Government to pull Jamaica through these difficult times. We have some suggestions for Mr Golding if the Government is to complete the job effectively and with its credibility intact.

National mobilisation

First, on the political side, we believe that there has to be a new tone to government; one that captures the sense of crisis, while engendering a spirit of national mobilisation. This, primarily, must be the job of the prime minister.

In that regard, Mr Golding, as he started to do in his recent broadcast, must speak to Jamaicans with frankness about the problem, eschewing that desire of politicians to sugar-coat things. He must set the agenda and ensure that everyone stays on message. A communication czar is critical. This, of course, may mean gagging the saccharine-encrusted Edmund Bartlett, the tourism minister, and Audley Shaw, the finance minister.

Mr Golding should also realign ministerial portfolios to create a 'war Cabinet' that is tightly focused on the crisis. A small group of ministers should have responsibility to follow up policy implementation. Some should be sent to the backbenches, political consequences notwithstanding.

Regulatory environment

On the economic front, there can be no public-sector sacred cows and Mr Golding must make it his priority of taking the Government out of the way of the private sector doing business. In the first place, the Government must, in so far as possible, return to its core functions of creating the regulatory environment for business and providing security. It must retreat from commercial enterprises, shedding itself of operations that stress the Budget.

There are signs that the Government is heading in this direction, but the process must be accelerated.

The Pegasus hotel is on the block. Other similar real estate should join it. The administration must also push ahead with the divestment of Air Jamaica. If a sale is not possible soon, it must close the airline. The country can't afford the loss of US$200 million a year.

Current suitors

It should seek to divest the Port Authority of Jamaica and the Norman Manley International Airport and seek, urgently, someone to take the Sugar Company of Jamaica off its hands if the current suitors can't afford the deal.

The National Stadium complex in St Andrew and the stadium in Trelawny should be also on the list, and perhaps its remaining stake in the Petrojam oil refinery.

Tough times call for brave action from the prime minister.

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