This Plan has been produced in the midst of a global financial and economic crisis that is the most serious since the Great Depression of October 1929.While Jamaica has to respond to short-term emergencies, it cannot lose sight of the strategic and long-term requirements for development.We must continue to plan, even though we operate in a dynamic global context, and deal with the consequences while we grasp the opportunities to prosper.
Many social and economic problems preexist the current crisis. Partly due to our neglect of long-term issues, our nation has suffered from a number of inadequacies since achieving Independence in 1962 which has led to: poor GDP growth performance, high levels of debt, unacceptable levels of unemployment and poverty, crime and violence, low levels of skills, weak infrastructure, and uncompetitive industries that produce low value commodities.