The Editor, Sir:

The recent debate on the role of government in my view misses the point in its entirety.

In his famous book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith outlined three important government functions - national defence, administration of justice, and the provision of certain public goods. These public goods in my view include key physical and social infrastructure such as transport, health care and education.

In the Jamaican context Smith's hypothesis takes on added significance given that the Achilles heel to economic growth in Jamaica is crime and the Achilles heel to our attractiveness as a destination for foreign direct investment is the lack of modern and efficient infrastructure.

Struggled with social services

Since independence we have struggled with how to deliver these social services. At times we have disagreed with the cost of delivering these services, and increasingly we are concerned with the quality of the services provided. Hence the national debates about free education, free health care etc and the various slogans which the two major parties have used in their campaigns with each election cycle.

How can government deliver the services our nation's citizenry demands given the constraints within the current government fiscal situation?

Government should utilise the public-private partnership or PPP models used in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore and increasingly in central Europe and parts of Asia. In these countries the private sector takes a proactive role in delivering services, constructing and maintaining infrastructure and the Government increasingly takes on the role of regulating markets, setting policy and managing those areas of public services which are necessary but where economic models to manage risk and provide returns are either too difficult to construct or are on a scale that makes it difficult to create competitive markets.

This shift also has the added benefit of increasing the role of the private sector in the growth of the economy and reducing the size and scope of government both in the recurrent and capital expenditure sides of the budget while increasing the scope and delivery of services.

The private sector participates not as a result of charity, but out of self-interest as infrastructure as an asset class provides many of the benefits sought by investors such as stable long-term cash flows, easily collateralised, and projected long-term demand.

There is the reality that this shift will bring about some increased costs of service provision (costs that are being currently neglected in the current dispensation) in the short-run, but long-term costs should decline and value for money should be improved. As an example the toll road is more costly in the short-run, but long-term costs in providing this road are much less than the roads built by government.

The Government should use the current crisis to bring about real and long-lasting change to improve Jamaica's economy and the quality of life for all of its citizens.

I am, etc.,

RAYMOND O'B. CAMPBELL

Kingston