By Lynford Simpson, News EditorTHE MYTH that the governing People's National Party (PNP) is a truly democratic party, or that its members never 'wash their dirty linen in public' was shattered last Wednesday, with the embarrassing display by senior members who were so upset that Portia Simpson Miller, the Minister of Local Government, abstained from a vote on a motion brought by the parliamentary opposition, that they gave her a tongue-lashing in full view of the cameras.
This happened during the second day's sitting of the Standing Finance Committee and although the motion brought by Audley Shaw, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Spokesman on Finance, was defeated 26 to 15, it nonetheless handed the opposition a moral victory.
But just what sin did Mrs. Simpson Miller commit for her to be so roughed up by her colleagues in public? In the first place, she was too frank in answering questions brought by Mr. Shaw on the state of the fire service, which falls under her portfolio. She admitted under questioning that her Ministry was under-funded to the tune of $637 million, a situation that could result in job cuts and the closure of fire stations.
POWER OF CONSCIENCE
Shaw's motion had asked that members of the committee express "grave concern at this $637 million shortfall." In the second instance, she refused to vote as her conscience would not allow her. And who could blame her? While the Budget to be presented by Dr. Omar Davies this Thursday suggests all of us will have to tighten our belts some more, each area needs to be looked at realistically. Or, is it that the Government is waiting until a major disaster takes place by way of a fire, perhaps in one of the resort towns, before adequate resources are made available to the fire service?
The fire service is already hit by a shortage of staff and malfunctioning vehicles, some of them decades old. Therefore, to allocate $1.6 billion to the Local Government Ministry and then take back $500 million to clear outstanding statutory deductions does not make sense! While the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) may be a worse case scenario, many Government departments and agencies are forced to hold on to statutory deductions to finance their operations since the amount they are given in the first place is inadequate to do so. This point has been made repeatedly by Major H. George Benson, head of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, whenever he appears before Parliament's Public Accounts Committee and is asked to explain why statutory deductions from employees' salaries are not handed over to the relevant authorities. If he does, then there would be no money left to buy tyres or to put fuel in the trucks!
UNEASY IS THE HEAD...
Yet, when Mrs. Simpson Miller's conscience did not allow her to vote with her colleagues, she was chastised, in public. As Minister, she is the one who faces the brunt of the criticism when the departments under her are inefficient. How many times do we see on television or read in the newspapers of buildings being razed to the ground because the fire unit either broke down on the way to the fire or because assistance had to be sought from another station many miles away as the truck closet to the fire is not working? Also, millions of dollars have to be paid for overtime because of a severe shortage of fire personnel that goes back many years. It is full time we make the service, an essential one, efficient. Mr. Shaw was right in his comments to the committee that the funds are required to "ensure an adequate provision to a critical and essential service which is vital to the social and economic life of the country."
It is, therefore, in this context that comments from Dr. Peter Phillips, House Leader and National Security Minister, to the effect that "We will not allow the budget to be dictated by cheap, vulgar political behaviour" are unfortunate. They are nonetheless understandable since Mrs. Simpson Miller is seen as his main rival to succeed party leader and Prime Minister P.J. Patterson when he steps down, some time before the general election is due in 2007. In fact, Mr. Patterson is expected to exit the political arena sometime within the next 12-15 months.
Dr. Phillips must be a worried man with the latest Gleaner/Don Anderson polls showing that Mrs. Simpson Miller continues to be by far the most popular Minister and most likely to succeed Mr. Patterson. Regardless of the polls, PNP delegates will make that decision. They will no doubt take note of the Local Government Minister's popularity, especially with the massive defeat the party suffered in last June's Local Government elections and its narrow eight-seat win in the October 2002 General Election. Dr. Phillips, previously seen as a performer when he served as Health Minister and then at Transport and Works Ministry, has not made a serious impact on the crime figures, particularly murders.
ABUSE FROM COLLEAGUES
One is left to wonder whether 'Miss P', as she is popularly called, would have been physically abused if she had voted with the opposition. If she were a softer person she would no doubt have broken down in tears right there in the Chamber at Gordon House. This, especially since the tongue-lashing from her colleagues was accompanied by the pointing of fingers in her face!
Last year, I criticised the JLP for not doing a good job during the sitting of the Standing Finance Committee. This year, the Opposition must be commended for asking, for the most part, useful questions. This was reflected in the quality of the stories that were written.
What happened with Mrs. Simpson Miller last Wednesday was inevitable in our system of Government where the Prime Minister is all-powerful. This will only be addressed with constitutional reform which results in a separation of powers where MPs no longer feel obligated to toe the party line. While political suicide is almost always the result for those members who refuse to toe the line, Miss P's popularity should see her weathering this latest of political storms in a long and fairly successful career.
