THE JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) has slammed the Government for "presiding over a business environment that is so hostile to investment that even the most efficient investors have to close their doors and seek alternative offshore locations for manufacturing".

Commenting on yesterday's announcement by Gitano of Jamaica to lay off 539 workers, JLP General Secretary Audley Shaw said "it is the overall uncompetitiveness of the Jamaican environment, with high interest rates, high cost of utilities, high cost of security and other overheads, combined with a high crime rate, that combine to make Jamaica totally unattractive to foreign and local investors".

The JLP observed that JAMPRO's new and unfortunate role had now been reduced to sending out announcements about factory closures, rather than attracting and opening new investment projects in the country.

"JAMPRO cannot even devise a programme of encouragement and containment to keep the existing factories open under the present circumstances; it is a sorry state of affairs," he said.

NDM spokesman on Labour, Christopher Tufton, said it is clear that the traditional 807 concept of just cutting and sewing is no longer the way to go.

The demise of the industry, he said, had come about because buyers were expecting more from the source of the manufacturing.

The NDM spokesman said these issues and those related to marketing and high utility rates must be addressed if we are going to compete with countries like Mexico. "It's still an important industry and it is not too late for the Government to take some proactive action."