Beverley Anderson -Manley
AT THE LEVEL of civil society, wherever it is possible, discussions on the substance (not just the form) of the Budget Debate should continue. During this debate which ended with the presentation by the Minister of Finance in Parliament last Wednesday, a number of issues arose which could be illuminated by debates in the wider public arena. As we watch our top leaders perform in the Parliament and before the cameras, civil society members get some insights into the policies and programmes of both Government and Opposition. The debate allows for insights into the personalities themselves in terms of their delivery and how they react, on their feet, to the expected parliamentary heckling. It is also interesting to take note of how the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance react to suggestions or proposals from the Opposition as well as how the Opposition presents these proposals to the Government.
UPCOMING GENERAL ELECTION
Paying attention to the issues as they arose in the Budget Debate assumes enormous importance at this time, within the context of what many believe will be early elections, perhaps as early as July, 2006. Already, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller made it clear that a fundamental area of disagreement between herself and the Leader of the Opposition was her view that surplus funds should be used to "balance people's lives". To quote the Prime Minister: " ... If we must maintain prudent fiscal policies, reduce our borrowings, while at the same time expand employment, what is wrong with creatively looking to see where we can find the funds to do so without affecting the budget?" This is another area that civil society can debate beyond the Budget.
One of the highlights of the Opposition Leader's presentation was to do with the transformation of garrison constituencies. He called on parliamentarians to begin by identifying the characteristics that define a garrison constituency and to then "decide on measures that must be taken to degarrisonise these constituencies, to cut the umbilical cord between the politics and criminality."
In responding to Mr. Golding, the Minister of Finance, in closing the debate, stated that he had listened carefully to Mr. Golding and he was ready to work with him to 'degarrisonise' the whole region. He reminded Mr. Golding that "this takes courage, resilience and com-mitment. It takes the will to allow the security forces to carry out their tasks in a professional manner, regardless of the political affiliation of the criminals not for one moment supporting abuse of human rights but even as we 'talk the talk' we must be prepared to 'walk the walk' even if we have to take a stance against some who support us." The Minister of Finance speaks from experience.
This is the second area arising out of the Budget Debate that can be taken up in discussion by civil society. Here we have two of our leaders, both of whom represent garrison constituencies stating that they are ready for a process that will result in the "degarrisonisation" of these areas.
LOW-COST FUNDS
The third and final area is to related to the debt and the proposal by the Shadow Minister of Finance, Audley Shaw, that the Government should borrow a block of low-cost funds from a consortium of multi-lateral institutions to replace existing expensive instruments. The Finance Minister is unequivocal on this one: "Let's get real ... No such funds of that magnitude are available."
Mr. Shaw is confident that this can be done, based on his discussions with these agencies. It is time for Mr. Shaw to present his proposal in some detail so it can be discussed with both Government and civil society.
Jamaicans face many challenges and it is time that we get out of our comfortable routines and get involved in strategic discussions that can help to solve our problems across political administrations.
Beverley Anderson Manley is a political scientist and transformation trainer/coach. Email: BManley@kasnet.com
