SPEAKING NOTES FOR

METRY SEAGA

PRESIDENT (INCOMING), JAMAICA MANUFACTURERS’ ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

JMA Building

JUNE 24, 2015

10:00 am

All Protocols Observed

Ladies and gentlemen I stand here before you both honoured and humbled. Honoured to be chosen to serve in the same capacity as some of Jamaica’s finest businessmen and woman that line these walls and some that we have the pleasure of being here with today. And humbled that you have put your faith in me to lead what I consider to be the finest, fiercest and most influential sector group in Jamaica since 1947, a long time before I was born.The team and I have big shoes to fill and we know that – but I assure you that our passion and the certain knowledge that manufacturing is the key element to creating the direly needed growth in our country, means wewill leave no stone unturned to ensurethat who needs to hear will hear and who needs to be taught will be taught, but mostly that who needs to act willdo so.

Brian, thank you for your service to this Association and by extension our country. You have worked tirelessly to ensure that our sector has gotten the much needed attention that it deserves. I promise that I will do my best to carry the baton for you to the finish line.

Imega, I have watched you grow from strength to strength as a person and in your position. You are the backbone of the organization and along with your staff, you have brought us into the 21st century – our new offices, export department, video conferencing facilities and all the modern amenities that any organization, anywhere in the world has or needs, will now be at our members’ disposal.

To you our members, I thank you for continuingto be at the ready, to guide us when necessary, to rein us in,but most of all, to be ready to take to the airwaves and engage the authorities when manufacturing and manufacturers, the engine of growth, are not getting the gas required to run as it should and create the employment for our people and growth for our country.

Under my stewardship, the team will ensure the JMA is ever present on the airwaves, in the newsprint and that we are at the negotiating table with the Government in all instances. Together, we will ensure that manufacturing is once again treated as it should be, put on a pedestal, placed at the front of the line, as this ladies and gentlemen is, I dare say, the ONLY way for us as a country to grow our way out of the economic mire that we have createdfor ourselves over the last fifty years. This growth that I speak of, Jamaica’s economic health and a sound manufacturing industry, can, and will only be realizedif, and when we set a firm base for our economy.

It is my opinion that the four main pillars on which our base should be built are, in no particular order:

  1. Crime and Justice – crime is our greatest devaluer. It costs us so much more than we can even imagine and must be addressed in a real and forthright manner for us to move ahead as a country.
  1. Energy – There has been some progress in this area and we must continue on the road to more competitive rates.
  1. Tax Reform – We must fix a broken tax system. Minister Phillips must be given credit for starting - we have reduced corporate income tax which is a good thing but must work towards a simple, easily administered and evenly shared tax structure.
  1. Local ProcurementPolicy -My personal pet peeve. The Government must, I repeat must, buy Jamaican-made when it is spending our money. As the largest purchaser of all goods and services, the Government is bound to lead by example and buy locally made products – that is when we will see small companies grow into medium sized companies and medium into large. We will see employment increase and our economy grow from strength to strength.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been a manufacturer from the age of 16. Iknow that we are a unique group. We are passionate and loyal to our industry. I commit to you from today that the team will give one hundred percent to ensure that the good work that our past presidents have done, the battles they have fought, are not in vain, and that Jamaica will return to the place it once held as the leader of industry in the Caribbean, and our products will once again line the shelves of the supermarkets both at home, and around the world.Then and only then can we be satisfied that we have started down the correct road to economic recovery and ultimately financial freedom, where as a country – our people, our children and elderly can live and work at a level that they deserve.

Thank you. God bless you.