Business leaders need to work closely with government officials in creating a strong social fabric to help Jamaica reduce its high crime rate, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno told private sector representatives in that country today.

Moreno was the keynote speaker at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Annual Economic Forum, "Going for Growth," held in Kingston, Jamaica. 

"The private sector has to take a hard look at the situation at hand," said Moreno as he highlighted the different challenges facing Jamaica.

These include a high murder rate; very high indebtedness; rising oil and food prices; and a reduction in the remmittances it receives from Jamaicans living in the United States, a direct result of the slowdown in the US economy.

When referring to the security situation, Moreno shared some views about the challenges his own country, Colombia, has faced.

"My generation had never seen a day of peace, and every family had a close relative who had either been murdered, kidnapped or somehow affected by drugs" he said. "Colombia is now under a new dawn because society one day stood up and said 'enough!' "

He encouraged the private sector to join forces with police and civil society in order to provide young people with opportunities and viable alternatives to crime, and he called for an increase in social investments.

As an example of successful programs financed by the IDB that have helped strengthen the social fabric in other communities, Moreno mentioned "soccer and light" in Paraguay, and the youth orchestras in Colombia.

In Paraguay, a private electric company worked with local communities to provide night lighting to neighborhood soccer fields, thus transforming them from an area where criminals would gather to a place where communities come together and celebrate youth development through sports.

In Colombia, the IDB has helped local governments finance youth orchestras that offer neighborhood children and young people viable development opportunities and offer them incentives that keep them from joining illegal armed groups.

During his visit to Jamaica, president Moreno met with Prime Minister Bruce Golding and with the Minister of Finance and Public Services, Audley Shaw.

The prime minister asked Moreno to expand the Citizens and Security Justice Program financed by the IDB which is scheduled for completion in September.

Golding said the program, which seeks to engage communities in reducing conflict and increasing the relevance of the formal justice system, has been extremely successful as his own constituents can attest to.

Before leaving Kingston, Moreno signed an agreement with Minister Shaw to help the government improve its public sector management by transforming the planning and financial systems. To this end, the IDB is providing a US$1.6 million grant which was approved by its Board of Executive Directors 10 days ago.

Source: www.caribbeanpressreleases.com