Good Governance an Imperative for

Women’s Economic Empowerment:The Case of the Fern Gully/Swansea Craft Traders &

Producers

Presented by

Prof. Rosalea HamiltonScotiabank Chair, Entrepreneurship and Development, UTech

VP, Development & Community Service, UTechEmail: rosaleahamilton@yahoo.com

SALISES 50/50 Conference

Fifty-Fifty: Critical Reflections in a Time of UncertaintyJamaica Pegasus Hotel

August 22, 2011

A GOOD GOVERNANCE framework is essential for Women’s Economic Empowerment and is necessary to enable Jamaica to achieve the 3rd Millennium Development Goal (MDG 3) aimed at the empowerment of women.

By “Women’s Economic Empowerment” I mean the ability of women to make economic choices that seek to improve their well-being.

By “Good Governance framework” I mean the legal and political context that facilitates democratic decision-making in which the voices of citizens can be effectively heard –i.e., a framework of democracy in which citizens have effective oversight and control over their representatives.

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The Core Argument

The Concept of Good Governance

This concept is consistent with the views of Jamaicans expressed in the 2010 UWI-Vanderbilt University study

86% of Jamaicans agree or strongly agree that every citizen should have an equal chance to influence government policy

However, an “equal SMALL chance” to influence policy is not enough. What is required is a BIG, regular chance for oversight of policy decisions by women and men.

The current governance framework is not only inadequate but it stifles rather than stimulateswomen’s economic empowerment.

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• The decision to close Fern Gully on March 19, 2011 was made with no discussion with craft traders and producers about the implications of the closure for their livelihood or the gender impact of the decision.

• About 400 craft traders/producers and their families who depend on spending from tourists visiting Fern Gully have been significantly affected by this decision. It directly affected:– 62 craft traders/producers in the Fern Gully

Craft Association

• 55% are women– 30 craft traders/producers in the Swansea

Travel Halt & Craft Village

• 84% are women4

THE FERN GULLY CASE

The Fern Gully Case is instructive:

In September 2011, after effective advocacy and demonstrations about the negative impact of the road closure, NWA promised to pay a “discomfort allowance” to craft traders/producers in Fern Gully.

No similar compensation was promised to those in the Swansea Travel Halt & Craft Village. NWA insisted that there are not “directly affected” by the closure of Fern Gully.

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THE FERN GULLY CASE

On November 3, 2011, the NWA paid a total of Ja$4,200,000 to 62Fern Gully craft traders/producers. The amount they each received is about the income they generate in ONE MONTH.

As of today (Aug 22, 2012) this “discomfort allowance” translates to Ja$130 (less than US$2) per day per person since the closure.

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THE FERN GULLY CASE

On Nov 15, 2011, after more effective advocacy, the NWA offered to pay $900,000 to the 30 Swansea craft traders and producers.

In December 2011, General Elections took place – no payment was made. Fern Gully reopened to single lane traffic but not to the Tourist buses.

In January, 2012 it was reported that the road works, which is a part of the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme(JDIP), was halted by the new administration to sort out payment to contractors and subcontractors.

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THE FERN GULLY CASE

Work resumed in May 2012 after the outcry from the workers involved, craft traders/producers, residents, motorists, among others. The work continues with no definitive timeline for completion.

On June 14, 2012 the $900,000 was

paid. As of today (Aug 22, 2012) this “discomfort allowance” translates to Ja$58 (less than US$1) per day per person since the closure.

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THE FERN GULLY CASE

It is estimated that the total loss of net income to the 92 craft traders/producers is aboutJa$66,000,000 (US$743,000) over the 17 mths since the Fern Gully closure (assuming net earnings below the tax threshold @ $42,000 per mth)

– 62 Fern Gully craft traders/producers -$44,000,000

– 30 Swansea craft traders/producers -$22,000,000

It should be noted that 60%-70% of the crafts sold to tourists in Fern Gully are LOCALLY MADE

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THE FERN GULLY CASE

With no additional support from the state over the past 17 mthsthe impact on women and children have been devastating!

The video speaks for itself… http://themsmealliance.org/press/help-fern-gullyswansea-craft-traders-producers/

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THE FERN GULLY CASE

Concluding Remarks

In our 50th anniversary reflections, we ought to reflect on the adequacy of our inherited governance arrangements and the proliferation of Policy commitments made and ignored by government. The experience of the Fern Gully/Swansea Craft Traders and Producers is

but one of many examples of BAD GOVERNANCE with severe consequences especially for women and families!!!

The decision to close Fern Gully without a gender analysis was made five (5) months after the National Policy for Gender Equality (Oct 2010) was deemed to be “now a reality.” The Policy commits to: “adopt a gender perspective in all its national policies and programmes” and to

“employ Gender Analysis to guide the gender mainstreaming process.”

The Policy also reaffirms the gender mainstreaming commitment in the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action to promote “an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies and programmes, so that before decisions are taken, an analysis is made of their respective effects on women and men.”

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Concluding Remarks

For the next 50 years, we ought to move towards improving our governance arrangements and, in so doing, activelyfacilitate women’s economic empowerment. However, this requires:

ACTIVIST CITIZENS who see ourselves as “owners” of the country and willing to undertake the related responsibilities of ownership, including oversight and control over the decisions that affect us. The Fern Gully & Swansea Craft Traders and Producers have learnt to become

responsible “activist citizens” through their struggle for economic justice. More and more citizens must begin to actively demand better governance rather than accept the status quo and passively wait for others (politicians) to do the “right thing.”

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Concluding Remarks CAPACITY BUILDING is necessary to (a) learn how to act as owners of

Jamaica, including the art of compromise and tolerance; (b) learn how to create or actively participate in groups; and (b) develop the competence required to survive and compete in a highly competitive global market place. The story of Treacha Reid McCalla, owner of Shades of Elegance and winner of the recent

Nationwide-Scotiabank Entrepreneurial Challenge is instructive!!! In 2008, during the global recession when her business was at its lowest point, she went back to school, improved her competence in hairdressing and in business and by January 2012 she was expanding into a new business ventures.

The 17 months of road construction in Fern Gully would have been a GREAT OPPORTUNITY for capacity building in a different governance framework where Treacha’s voice could be heard… what a missed opportunity!!!

BOLD, ACTIVIST TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS willing to think and act outside the box in improving governance and transforming our economy and society. “Women’s Economic Empowerment” is not simply an academic concept… it’s about the lives of real women who need real help from institutions with the real capacity to help!!!

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THANK YOU