Opposition Leader Bruce Golding (foreground), making his contribution to the 2007-2008 Budget Debate in Gordon House, on April 26. He is being listened to by colleagues Audley Shaw (second left) and Dr. Ken Baugh. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

The People's National Party Youth Organisation (PNPYO) is describing the Jamaica Labour Party's contribution to the 2007-08 Budget Debate as lacking the economic vigour the country needs at this point in time.

According to the PNP youth arm, both the presentations of Opposition Leader Bruce Golding and Shadow Spokesman on Finance, Audley Shaw, were "highly descriptive and focused extensively on the existing state of the economy without putting forward credibl to address Jamaica's development challenges in light of the new global economy that the country is a part of and operates in."

Attacking Shaw's ideas first, the group said Jamaica's vulnerable, open economy could not be narrowed down to domestic macro-economic management. They suggested that his main debt-reduction strategies were not realistic and could actually harm the country.

The shadow minister's idea to put a constitutional limit on debt, for example, the forum said, was not viable because of Jamaica's vulnerability to external shocks such as price fluctuations and natural disasters.

"What Shaw is saying here is that if we have a natural disaster and we have already budgeted X dollars for this, ifthat limit is exceeded, then, because we have a constitutional limit on borrowing, we must allow bridges to remain non-functional, families to remain in tents, etc., because if we borrow we will be breaking the law," the PNPYO argued.

gross oversimplification

They also stuck pins into Shaw's proposal to use the Venezuelan-based PetroCaribe low-interest funds to pay down on the debt. The PNPYO countered that this would delay the intended purpose of the fund which was to finance social projects.

"If you use these funds for this purpose, when will the original aims for the funds be achieved?" the young comrades asked. "This is quite disingenuous."

"You cannot borrow for one purpose and then ignore that cause entirely. This is morally wrong," they chided. They added that the savings from retiring expensive debt would not accrue immediately and so would leave the Government bankrupt to finance poverty-reduction programmes.

"If it were left to the verbal attacks by Shaw, then one would believe that all of Jamaica's economic problems are as a result of Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies' handling of the economy," they said. "This, we submit, is a gross oversimplification of the serious challenges we face as a nation."

unworkable solutions

The group opined that Jamaica's real development challenges lie in its ability to create real internationally competitive enterprises, which could not be left up to the Government alone, as it is merely a facilitator for this development.

"It is the private sector that trades and not national governments. Therefore, if our enterprises are not internationally competitive, they will be shut down and people will lose their jobs."

They argued that the country's woes are as a result of its inability to collect taxes and generate revenue.

"Shaw's presentation failed to identify this fundamental problem and address ways to solve it. Instead, he has proposed a raft of unworkable solutions to deal with Jamaica's development challenges," the group continued.

The political youth organisation was no less vitriolic in its criticism of the Opposition leader's proposals to turn around the economy. They posited that his ideas lacked analysis of the present challenges faced by Jamaica and a clear indication as to how they would be financed.

"We were surprised that Golding talks about jobs, jobs and more jobs but has not sufficiently shown how his administration would generate these jobs," the group chided. "In fact, what Golding has shown is how a Jamaica Labour Party government would lay off more people," they charged.

They argued that his intention to increase technology in agriculture, for example, would in reality displace jobs because a large segment of the unskilled labour force still depends on traditional methods of farming.

"Golding needs to address the real issue which is to do as the HEART/NTA is undertaking, that is, upscale our labour force rather than telling people about jobs and more jobs without saying how he will achieve this," the PNPYO commented.

"It is insincere to talk about government's growthless strategies being responsible for job creation when Golding should know that jobless growth is a phenomenon of globalisation," said the group.

According to them, jobs would be better created by attempts to attract direct foreign investment while creating the demand for services and facilitating capital for small and macroenterprises.