By Michael Spence
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| Michael Spence |
An island with 635 miles of coastline. Almost 500 miles of beach. Yet, a Jamaican family driving out on a holiday today will struggle to find a place to put down a blanket without paying a fee or being turned away at a gate.
Government records show we have only about a dozen fully operational public beaches. Campaigners estimate Jamaicans have free access to less than 3 miles of our own shoreline. Our beaches are disappearing behind walls. And that matters, because the beach is not just sand. It is memory, it is culture, and it is who we are.
We were told that when sugar was no longer king, things would change. Emancipation came in 1838. By 1890, the laws and the land patterns locked that old plantation model in place. In 1962, we raised our flag and celebrated independence. But did the structure change? Or did we just swap sugar for sun, sea, and sand?
Today it is "Plantation Tourism." Mainly foreign-owned, all-inclusive resorts. Food and all inputs are mainly imported, with profits exported. The Caribbean retains only 15 to 20 cents of every tourism dollar.
Jamaica does better, about 40 cents. Our target should be at least 60 cents. Because 60 cents is leaving, it does not circulate or multiply here.
Look at our trade. In 2025 we exported US$1.65 billion. We imported US$7.52 billion. For every $1 we earned abroad, we spent $4.50 buying from abroad, which is unsustainable. What are we spending that foreign exchange on? Fuel, parts, food, cars, and other consumer items.
We have roughly 800,000 vehicles on our roads, most of them privately owned. That Motorized Pyramid Scheme Economic Model (MPSEM) eats foreign exchange, further eating our roads, fuel, lives, and productive time in traffic jams.
As a people, we are about the 2nd poorest per capita GDP in the Caribbean. We have carried the title of one of the most murderous countries per capita in the world. 2025 showed improvement, but at 23.7 per 100,000, we are still far too high.
Our literacy rate still lags behind many CARICOM partners.
Close to 1 million Jamaicans live in informal communities. We call them squatters/internal migrants. Let us call them what they are. Jamaicans without land, without stable homes, without security, without a fair start.
This is not the Jamaica our ancestors fought for. So many are asking, "Was life better under colonialism?
Yes/No. Disenfranchisement then was by law. Today it is by economics. Both are wrong. Independence in 1962 was not necessarily a fraud. But if we only celebrate it once a year and do nothing the other 364 days, then we are betraying it.
So what do we do now? We cannot cut and run from tourism. We must own the supply side. Grow the food for our hotels in St. Rebuild St. Elizabeth, St. Ann, St. Thomas Westmoreland, St James, Clarendon and other parishes.
Train our people to manage, to build, and to own our destiny. We must buy Jamaican first. Export Jamaica beyond tourism. Bauxite, agriculture, creative and digital services. We must build Jamaica for Jamaicans—housing, schools, and public beaches. Infrastructure that serves people, not just visitors.
Demand effective, forward-thinking governance. The Bank of Jamaica has warned that the economy is under pressure. We cannot borrow and import our way out of this dilemma.
The signs are here. A trade deficit is a sign. The closed beaches is a sign. The young man without a job is a sign. High crime, including high murder, scamming, and drug trafficking, are signs.
A sign that is significant is the vulgar vilification, representation, and cursing of the present Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, like never before in Jamaica's history since Emancipation 1838/Independence 1962.
This nationwide, sadly uncivilised behaviour, "Nasty Mouthism" must end now.
The road ahead requires work. Let us walk it together. One Jamaica. One people. One future. It cannot be business as usual.
Bob Marley told us a long time ago, "Wake up and live." Life is one big road with lots of signs.
Michael Spence
Michael Spence is a graduate of Cornwall College and the University of the West Indies. He is a trained teacher, a sociologist, and a writer for Bark Di Trute.
Micspen2@hotmail.com
Editor's Note
Michael has given us plenty to think about. Let's spend less time on petty talk, gossip, and political propaganda. Jamaica is ours. If it fails, we all fail. We don't have to agree with everything that he says, but we should at least think about it.
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