PRIME MINISTER Patterson told The Gleaner's Editors Forum last Wednesday that there would be no surprises in the PNP manifesto in the sense of "things which are brand new".
What is surprising, however, is that at this stage in the campaign the manifesto is not yet available for public scrutiny and debate.
The early dominance of the election debate by the subject of education was a refreshing change from the norm. It used to be that the rival major parties would seek to match track records of achievement in government. This might have been easier to do under the two-term syndrome as the PNP and JLP alternated in government from 1944; that is, even before Independence in 1962.
That changed when the PNP started the first three-term stint in 1989. In effect the PNP now has a longer period of administration to defend; and the JLP in turn has more scope to critique what are claimed as "solid achievements." And since a party in opposition is not saddled with running the country as a daily responsibility, there is more time and scope to fashion an elaborate and detailed manifesto.
This document has thus claimed a good slice of the public debate and left observers wondering about the PNP's own plans for the future. On this matter the observation of political analyst D.K. Duncan is pertinent. He has described the JLP manifesto as the first of its kind to be so seriously critiqued as Norman Manley's "Man with the Plan" in the 1950s the inference being that that manifesto was released early enough for keen scrutiny.
As he sought to explain to the Editors Forum, the Prime Minister does not envisage a raft of brand new projects. Instead there are what he termed as ongoing processes which include time-frames that go beyond five-year electoral cycles. He cites programmes such as a National Health Insurance Plan and even subjects such as poverty, land reform and community development.
That may be fine for the man with the power to "fly the gate." In our view piecemeal disclosure on political platforms to party supporters is no adequate substitute for the full document put before the public at large. Let's have the manifesto, Mr. Prime Minister. Let us debate the issues.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
