The Editor, Sir:

Some people have suggested that the election of Barack Obama will not make any difference to the fortunes of the Caribbean. This is not true. The fact is that Obama has been elected on the platform of improvement to the lot of the middle and lower classes in America by improving its educational, physical, and energy infrastructure.

It is thus very important for us as a developing country to fully utilise, as it becomes available, the research done by the Obama transition team as to the ways in which the mass of the people must be improved to restore the ascendancy of the United States worldwide. Jamaica needs to improve its human resources and its ability to innovate. It is thus crucial that we understand the strategic plan to be used in the US and piggyback on the plans where these prove to be appropriate for Jamaica.

It is also going to be critical for Jamaica to be aligned globally with the vocabulary and philosophy of development and be ready to take up the numerous options to be made available under the new dispensation of knowledge-based development, mutual respect, and the use of renewable energy as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Winning industries

The fact is that as America, under Obama, seeks to redefine its winning industries and determines how it rewards entrepreneurship eg penalties for large corporations moving American jobs overseas, we must stand ready to take advantage of:

1. Our close proximity to the US and thus our 'third' border status, already enjoyed from a tourism standpoint.

2. Growing world instability and the potential for India, China, and other parts of Asia becoming less attractive offshore locations, at least in the short term.

3. The fact that Jamaica has a large English-speaking population.

We must do this through a programme of education reform, and it will be best to align ourselves with the skill sets deemed necessary going forward. Large-scale manufacture is probably not the way forward for Jamaica at this time due to the heavy competition from China and other parts of Asia. We may have to look at the provision of knowledge-based services and high-end agro processing in the short to medium term to supplement what will be needed to have a more diverse and efficient tourism industry.

We must seek to develop a national vision based heavily on personal responsibility, a key factor which has to date been missing from our socio-political debate. Our politics has sadly been about seeking the lowest common denominator or setting the bar very low.

Pursuit and maintenance

Thus, the thrust that must continuously be made regarding improvements in technical, grammar, and cultural education complete with civics, morals and ethics, has suffered in many instances in the pursuit and maintenance of political power.

We must again begin to see our people as valued humans who deserve to be the best that they can be, as it is only through striving to have a critical mass of our citizens having this mindset that we can truly succeed as a nation in the long term.

One very important and direct issue to be dealt with by the Obama White House will be the question of a comprehensive strategy on regional and international crime that addresses the United State's contribution to the problem. Barack Obama's 'southbound' strategy will target the trafficking of guns, money, and stolen vehicles that go virtually unchecked from the United States south into Mexico and beyond (Page 181, Change We Can Believe In - Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise).

This is the clearest indication of help ever by the US on this important issue of gun exportation to the Caribbean. We must as Caribbean citizens, and Jamaicans in particular, agitate strongly in the correct forums and use the proper persons of Caribbean descent and appropriate influence, for this item to be tackled early in an Obama administration. This initiative will assist us in solving one of the most pressing issues in our fight against organised crime in the region.

I am, etc.,

RICHARD HALL

Richard.Hall@alcoa.com