EDITORIAL - Lead by example, PM

That voluntary five per cent pay cut by United States President Barack Obama was one of the strong talking points in politics this week. Mr Obama is returning US$20,000 of his US$400,000 salary this year as an expression of solidarity with the roughly 700,000 government employees who have been forced to take an unpaid day off each week for up to 14 weeks, in the face of tough budgetary cuts.

Mr Obama's announcement came a day after his defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, indicated that he would slash his own salary. Since then, several senior officials and congressmen in America have pledged to take various share-the-pain actions in solidarity with furloughed workers.

Inevitably, the move by Mr Obama has caused societies, especially those crushed by public-sector employment commitments, to question whether their politicians are minded to make similar symbolic gestures. And the question was put to Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller on Thursday.

Although not commenting on Obama's gesture since she was "not in a press conference", Mrs Simpson Miller nonetheless took the opportunity to serve up some platitudes and to demonstrate how her Government has embraced the politics of self-sacrifice.

"I think we have been making a lot of sacrifices. If you check with my office, they will give you the number of requests I have gotten for travel, but I did not leave the shores of Jamaica, because I wanted to ensure savings. For example, I do not live at Vale Royal, because I do not want the taxpayers to be spending on Vale Royal with my living there to support my every movement at Vale Royal. I live at my private house," the prime minister told reporters.

TWICE THE BURDEN?

Wait a minute, Prime Minister. The fact that you live in your own home instead of the official residence at Vale Royal does not necessarily mean that the taxpayer escapes responsibility for your living expenses. In fact, in the absence of more specifics from the Office of the Prime Minister, some might reasonably argue that the taxpayer ends up paying for two homes, the official residence which has to be staffed and maintained and also her private living arrangements. The custom has been for the Government to pay a rental allowance to its members who live in their own homes.

Leaders around the world who have seen their country's finances crumbling around them have made this symbolic gesture from time to time. We can think of David Cameron of Britain, Jose Mufica of Uruguay, who gives away 90 per cent of his salary to charity, and Mario Monti of Italy. But we need not look so far for examples, for back in 2009, Prime Minister Bruce Golding took a 15 per cent pay cut and encouraged other parliamentarians to shave 10 per cent off theirs. Then Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller and her colleagues never budged, while Jamaica Labour Party MPs did take the cut.

Since her assumption of office, Mrs Simpson Miller has ignored all calls to reduce the size of her Cabinet or, at the very least, to freeze wages and benefits to her colleagues. Her finance minister, Dr Peter Phillips, has appealed to the "entire nation" to mobilise around the national objective of reducing Jamaica's debt.

But Dr Phillips has overlooked one major sector: his parliamentary colleagues. So we continue to have a bloated Cabinet which pulls $181 million in salaries and $700m in generous perks each year. If the Government is serious about tackling the dire economic challenges ahead, we demand that they lead by example and not leave the people to bear the brunt of the pain while they mouth platitudes.

A leaner, more efficient, and productive Government must begin with a leaner, more efficient, and productive Cabinet.

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