EDITORIAL -Put reforms beyond election pressures

Peter Phillips has, quite refreshingly, spoken a lot in recent years of the political and economic wrong turns that Jamaica has taken over the last half-century and of how we have squandered our Independence.

That he continues to do so is significant. For not only is Dr Phillips a member of the governing People's National Party - which has held government for about 55 per cent of the time - he is the finance minister who is to implement the economic reform programme that Jamaica has agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

That undertaking will be tough. There are many potential pitfalls, including the Government acquiescing to the dictates of politics rather than the logic and empiricism of economics.

It is a danger Dr Phillips recognises as well - as he indicated to journalists of this newspaper last week. It will loom larger as the country comes closer to a general election, given Jamaica's competitive politics and its history of patronage. Or, as he put it, "the political dynamics (of the) electoral cycle".

Indeed, we have seen it before. In the mid-1990s when Dr Phillips' party was also in government, Omar Davies, then the finance minister, led Jamaica through an IMF agreement. He has the distinction of 'passing' a dozen quarterly IMF tests.

But he squandered the fiscal gains by deciding, as he cynically put, "to run with it" in the lead-up to the 2002 general election. The upshot: a widened fiscal deficit and all that accompanies.

AUDLEY SHAW's FAILURES

Of more recent vintage are the failures of Audley Shaw, who served for four years as finance minister in the Jamaica Labour Party administration up to 18 months ago.

He negotiated an agreement with the IMF to deal with Jamaica's crisis of debt. The administration, however, couldn't bring itself to implement the bulk of its conditions.

Mustering to maintain an austerity programme is not easy in the normal circumstances. It's worse in the context of competitive, democratic politics, faced with the demands of voters and varied interests.

But it is unavoidable when you have a debt that is 150 per cent of the value of national output, with few people willing to lend you money at a rate you can afford and you intend to avoid national bankruptcy.

There, however, must be a strategy. In this regard, we agree with Dr Phillips' prescription.

First, he said, there must be communication, telling people what is at stake. The process has to be transparent.

Added Dr Phillips: "... The greatest proof of the maturation of our political system would be when we reach the point where incumbent governments, of whatever stripe, recognise that it doesn't make sense to destroy the fiscal foundations of the country in order to win an election."

We commend Dr Phillips' observation to his party and government leader, Portia Simpson Miller. Not because we question her embrace of the ideals espoused, but so that she can put the matter beyond doubt.

We propose that, in her twin capacities as head of government and party leader, she pledge to the Jamaican people that her administration will follow faithfully the terms of the economic reform programme on which it is now embarked, whatever the electoral consequences. The responsibility is rightly hers.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.