Foota Hype Skeptical About US Gov’t’s Billion-Dollar Investment In Jamaica
Foota Hype has expressed skepticism at the recent announcement that the United States government will be investing the equivalent of J$3.1 billion in Jamaica.
The news was revealed following discussions between Prime Minister Andrew Holness and US vice-president Kamala Harris last Wednesday, at a meeting in the United States, but according to Foota, he does not believe the US is making the investment out of altruism.
“Should we be happy or scared or nervous about this? What’s in the fine print what is being given up for this money what has the prime Minister agreed to for this cause I’m not stupid it’s not for free?” Foota wrote on his Instagram page.
The Dark Knight producer also questioned the visa requirements for Jamaicans to travel to the United States.
“And a next thing if England and America sooooo love wi why is there still visa restrictions on Jamaica pls I need answers plz,” he said.
“The point is the way how dem a act like dem love Jamaica and want to control us like animals might as well make it official,” he later added in the comments.
Several days ago news reports surfaced that during Holness’ working visit to Washington DC, he and Harris had expressed a “shared commitment to increase cooperation for the mutual benefit of Jamaica and the United States”.
According to Holness, the areas of cooperation that were discussed included violence prevention through intelligence and information sharing and investment in violence reduction programmes, targeting at-risk youth, and human capacity development, particularly in relation to cyber security and digital technology, energy, and infrastructure.
Holness, who is also Member of Parliament for St. Andrew West Central, also said he was encouraged by the positive feedback from Harris, who committed to funding several areas of need, among them expansion of commerce and trade, support for the health sector and COVID-19 recovery efforts, regional energy security and violence reduction programme targeting at risk youth.
“VP Harris expressed agreement for the establishment of a working group between Jamaica and the US to discuss issues unique to Jamaica and to continue dialogue,” Holness had said.
The responses to Foota’s visa question, ranged from outrage, to amusement to cynicism.
“Bahamas can travel to UK without visa and the whole a bahamas no gone a england …but knowing jamaicans the whole a we might pack up and wah go england 😂😂😂😂,” one woman said.
“Visa restrictions are on Jamaicans because we love run off Inna di people dem countries too much, and there weren’t any visa restrictions for the UK, and Jamaicans took drugs to the people dem countries. Nobody wants Jamaicans in their countries we caused that on ourselves,” another woman added, to which Foota replied: “A nuh we 1 do that”.
As for the US “investment” in Jamaica, many of Foota’s followers, just like him, were suspicious.
Others complained that the money was too little, while some claimed that the US was trying to win Jamaica’s favor over China, due to Holness’ January 2021 comments in a Bloomberg Television interview, where he said more investments by the US, would eliminate their concerns about China’s relationship with Jamaica.
During the interview, titled Challenges for Jamaica’s Economy, Holness was asked how he was prepared to navigate a world in which Jamaica may not be able maintain a relationship with both China and the United States.
The Prime Minister responded saying he was fully aware that Jamaica’s economy is intrinsically and inextricably linked to the US, but that Jamaica has also struck a “very good investment and trade relationship” with China and that he believed there is a “space for investment from China and other countries in small countries like Jamaica”.
“I think the possible dilemma could easily be resolved with an increase in attention and spending in this region by the United States, and I think that would eliminate any concerns that there could be,” he had said.
“Again, I would say that countries like Jamaica, we can’t rely on deficit financing and borrowing, and so we have to look for foreign investment and locally generated investment from our private sector,” he stated.