Opposition Leader Bruce Golding is calling for a new regime under which Members of Parliament and political party officials will be required to fully disclose their income and assets.

This, he says, must be an integral component of a system to govern the financing of political parties in Jamaica.

Making his contribution yesterday to the 2007/2008 Budget Debate, at Gordon House, Mr. Golding insisted that any requirement for public disclosure of sources of party financing must include similar requirements for elected officials and those running the political parties.

"We can't demand to know what funds are in the accounts of political parties and who put them there unless we are also willing to publish what funds are in our own personal accounts and how they got there," he said.

Members of Parliament are required under existing laws to disclose their assets, but there is no requirement to make these reports public.

Regulatory framework

Mr. Golding reiterated the commitment of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to the establishment of a regulatory framework "to govern the funding and expenditure practices of political parties".

Included in a possible legislative regime, he acknowledged, might be a requirement for public disclosure of their sources of financing. If the Electoral Commission makes that recommendation, the JLP will accept it "without question", he said.

At the same time, however, the Opposition Leader is cautioning that public disclosure of contributors to the political parties should be discussed with representatives of the private sector, in order that their views might be taken into account.

Demands for political party financing reforms have grown in recent years, following a number of issues affecting the two main political parties.

The PNP has, more than once, challenged the JLP to disclose its source of political funding, noting that it was willing to go public if the Opposition agreed to do the same.