CONRAD Howard, a garage operator of more than 20 years and one of Jamaica's small business people, has seen his customer base slashed by some 50 per cent in recent months, as the global economic recession continues to hammer countries the world over.

"The crisis a beat everybody. We have fi a move from three meals a day to one meal now. One man just come pay mi a while ago and him short. Him a seh him nuh have no money, but what me going to do about that?" laments Howard to the Sunday Observer, while working on one of about six cars that have been left for servicing at his garage in the Mountain View area of Kingston