mall Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) President Hugh Johnson expressed his confidence in the country’s ability to recover from the effects of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“We have a cadre of leaders instituting interventions, who I believe mean this country well. We should support them in whatever they are doing to safeguard Jamaica against the adverse effects of COVID-19,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Johnson says the challenges associated with the outbreak present “glorious opportunities” to further bolster and safeguard the local economy against potential external shocks relating to the virus and future related events.
He added that this is critical in light of the global outbreak, which has impacted countries that Jamaica largely depended on, among these, the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, and sections of mainland Europe.
“Already, we are seeing the immediate fallout in the local tourism sector and the impending fallout in remittances, two of the largest [foreign exchange] contributors to the economy. In light of this, we need to focus more on building our local economy because, currently, we are too vulnerable to external shocks,” Johnson contends.
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