Will JLP 'dream team' solve economic nightmare?

Delano Franklyn, Guest Colunmist

While the Brazilian football team kept the nation glued to the television as it danced around the team from Cameroon, delivering a 4-1 victory in the process, Andrew Holness sought to launch an Economic Advisory Council (EAC).

The chairman of the EAC, and the person whom Holness and the JLP will be depending on as the point man for economic advice, is Aubyn Hill. The other persons named to the council so far are Patrick Casserly, Fayval Williams and Colin Williams.

The only one among them, up to the time of the launch, who had openly and publicly displayed an affiliation with the JLP was Fayval Williams.

The others must be congratulated for stepping forward and getting involved. It will not be easy because from here on, they will be viewed as sympathisers of the JLP. They ought not be daunted by this label, however, as change only comes about when persons are prepared to put their words into action.

Hill, based on his 'acceptance speech' at the launch, where he kept referring to Holness as 'the leader', seems to have grabbed his latest engagement with open arms. Apparently, he has now found a vehicle through which he will be able to put into practice some of the ideas he has been promoting by way of his opinion pieces in the newspaper.

The launch of the EAC took place at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, not at Belmont Road where the JLP is headquartered.

The Office of the Leader of the Opposition is funded by the Government, with staff drawn from the official civil service. Persons will recall that only recently, members of the Opposition, led by Derrick Smith, demanded that the Government pay outstanding telephone bills for that office.

At the launch of the EAC, there was on display for all to see a banner which hung over the heads of Holness, Hill and the others with the words, 'Towards a New Economy - JLP for Jamaica' It was a banner promoting the JLP.

It ought not to have been displayed in the middle of an office paid for by the taxpayers of the country. Such a banner would have been appropriately displayed at the office of the JLP, not at the Office of the Leader of Opposition.

I hope the misuse of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition does not have the support of either Holness, Hill or the other members of the EAC.

Even if Holness does not realise that the JLP banner, because he may still be learning the craft of being the leader of Opposition, ought not to have been placed in that office, I do not expect this of Hill, who is a bit older and, therefore, should be a little wiser. Hill must be able to recognise the difference between what is best suited for the office of the JLP as against that which is suited for the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.

I do hope that Mr Holness will, upon realising the error, apologise for the inappropriate use of the Office of the Opposition, and also to Mr Hill and the others for having caused them to be placed in such an awkward position.

EACs NOT NEW

The establishment of an EAC is not new. It's a creation of the People's National Party (PNP). It's known by a different name - Economic Commission. It also consists, in most instances, of non-party persons who are able to provide the party and the party's leader with independent economic advice. Former prime ministers Michael Manley and P.J. Patterson, as well as the incumbent, Portia Simpson Miller, have all benefited from the counsel of differently comprised Economic Commissions.

Although the PNP introduced the idea of the establishment of an Economic Commission, as well as commissions to address other areas of governance, the PNP cannot claim a monopoly on the creation of these bodies. The JLP is free to try to shore up its operations and relevance among the Jamaican people.

The establishment of an Economic Commission or council gives persons who are not involved in mainstream party political activism and who have economic experience and skills an opportunity to contribute to the development of the economic policies of the party which they hope will one day form the Government.

The expectation of Hill, Casserly and other members of the EAC is that one day the JLP will form the Government. No doubt, they are prepared by way of the EAC to do what they can to achieve that outcome.

The challenge they will be faced with is to convince the Jamaican electorate that what they are proposing is better than what is being pursued by the PNP. Also, that the person to promote and implement their proposals is Holness.

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

There is no doubt that the country faces serious economic challenges.

The most debilitating economic challenge is that of the debt, which stands at a ratio of 140 per cent to gross domestic product. This must be drastically reduced. Its reduction forms a critical component of the current agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

It must be recalled that the Government had to rescue the country's relationship with the IMF that had been derailed by Holness and Shaw. A manifestation of its fallout with the IMF was the breach of basic targets regarding the primary surplus and fiscal deficits, which are necessary to help reduce the debt.

Shaw's failure to abide by the 2010 agreement with the IMF resulted in Jamaica being locked out of the global capital markets. As a consequence, multilateral institutions and critical bilateral partners withheld their support. Hill's advisory council must determine how different, this time around, the JLP's relationship with the IMF will be.

In keeping with the Government's economic reform programme, growth - albeit small - has returned. The country has thus far had three consecutive quarters of increasing growth. This is different from the 11 quarters of negative growth that the country experienced between 2008 and 2011.

As the Government seeks to correct the economic ills in the society, it cannot back off from the process of fiscal consolidation. It must continue to keep a very tight lid on expenditure and do everything to reduce our debt burden.

Cutting costs and paying down the debt are good measures, but what is even more important is putting in place the measures necessary to achieve sustainable economic growth, with equity, while creating job opportunities. This is what, in the long run, will allow the country to grow itself out of debt.

Within this context, it will be very interesting to hear the ideas emanating from Holness' and Hill's EAC, apart from Hill's often-promoted mantra of installing a czar to solve our economic woes.

Delano Franklyn is an attorney-at-law and adviser to the Office of the Prime Minister. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and delanofranklyn@gmail.com.