The Editor, Sir:

"He who pays the piper calls the tune". In fact, the piper, if not directed, will play the tune that he believes his sponsors wish to hear. Currently corruption seems to be deeply embedded in our political system because in order for candidates and ultimately the party to win an election they have to be good at 'shaking down' big money interests for cash locally and internationally.

A system that forces candidates to seek their funding from private interests is seriously exposed to having economic and regulatory policies being crafted in response to demands from these large donors or being drafted by the donors themselves. It is campaign contributions going in and the state becoming beholden for a candidate or a party's indiscretions.

According to a study done by Sarah Anderson and John Cavanagh of the Institute for Policy Studies, which was embargoed until December 4, 2000, of the 100 largest organisations in the world, 51 are corporations. Some corporations are now larger than countries or regions. This growing private power has enormous economic consequences.

However, it seems that the greatest impact may be political, as corporations transform economic clout into political power.

A country's privatisation policy, its health policy, and its energy policy, its food security policy, ICT, everything could be taken over by special interests.

As unrelated as it may seem higher prices, double payment for services, rapacious interest rates, the inability to institute mandatory labelling of experimental foods, the lack of a biodiversity policy could all be connected to inappropriate campaign financing. Remove the private financing interest from the system and significantly reduce the incentive for corruption.

We are calling for regulation of political parties and public financing of elections. We believe that these extravagant conferences and massive advertising campaigns are not only unnecessary and a waste of money, but also put us deeper in debt to the special interests.

Under public financing, these would disappear and candidates would have to debate issues and plans, and establish social contracts with the people they seek to represent. Like free education it's not whether it is affordable, rather it's that we cannot afford not to have it.

I am, etc.,

CARLTON STEWART

President, National Consumers' League

natconle@cwjamaica.com

29 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5

Via Go-Jamaica