Finance Minister, Dr. Omar Davies, sought to turn the tables on the parliamentary Opposition in the Budget Debate yesterday, accusing its leading members of engaging in a reckless plan for additional public expenditure, without the requisite accountability.

All told, Dr. Davies claimed that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) was bent on adding a further $14 billion to the annual budget, with no indication of how it would be sourced.

One key JLP proposal - the Constituency Development Fund - to be financed by 2.5 per cent of the budget, would cost $9.5 billion, he said. Another Opposition promise, abolition of all hospital fees, would require forgoing $1.7 billion. As for the promise to abolish all secondary school fees, immediately upon taking office, the Finance Minister said this would cost $2 billion.

Turning to the Opposition Leader's promise to provide a subsidy (last articulated at five US cents per pound) for each pound of sugar produced by local producers, Dr. Davies accused the JLP of seeking to "purchase voter support" with this proclamation.

"Is it that they do not understand the implications of these wild promises?" Dr. Davies asked rhetorically. "Or is it that they do understand but assume that John and Jane Brown will be taken in?" he continued.

Government decision

The Government has, itself, announced a decision to abolish fees for all public hospital and clinic visits for children 18 years and under, effective this month.

The Opposition has, in turn, accused the Portia Simpson Miller administration of recklessness on that score, saying it has not indicated how it will finance the plan.

This plan will cost $350 million per annum, and the Prime Minister, in her post-budget press conference yesterday, said that the money to cover the loss to the Health Ministry will be sourced from existing allocations to other ministries and departments.

Turning to the proposed sale of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) to Marubeni of Japan, Dr. Davies disclosed that Mirant Corporation, the current majority owner of the light and power company, will be paid approximately US$350 million, after the new owner assumes the company's debt portfolio and its power purchase obligations.

In an attempt to assure nervous JPS employees, he announced that the new owner will maintain their existing compensation package and related benefits.

The finance minister's presentation was the closing contribution to the 2007/2008 budget debate.

With that out of the way, the members, in keeping with the routine associated with the exercise, gave their approval for the $380.4 billion budget, which was, ostensibly, the issue on the table for the two-week debate.

With a general election very much in the minds of all the participants, however, his presentation was not all about facts and figures.

He praised his own government as "an administration cognizant of the challenges the needs of the people but even more cognizant of the requirement that we be credible in presenting solutions".

This wasmet with amused heckling from the Opposition members, apparently confident that they will shortly get the opportunity to implement their own budget proposals.