Issue: Political debate on country's economic future critical

The national debates will certainly be very interesting.

We need to hear from Finance Minister Audley Shaw whether he is willing to renegotiate the current International Monetary Fund (IMF) standby agreement and reset the fiscal and economic targets with the IMF.

There is the urgent need for the comprehensive reform of the country's taxation and pension systems; rationalisation of the public sector, which is massively overstaffed; the public-sector wage bill needs modification, and another wage freeze must be implemented forthwith for it not to have a huge negative effect and impact on the country's debt-to-GDP ratio and concomitant reform of the economic model that is currently in operation.

What are the PNP's plans?

On the other hand, we need to hear from Opposition Spokesman on Finance Dr Peter Phillips on what specific alternative economic policies he would put into place if the People's National Party's (PNP) were to form the next government. What aspect of the IMF's standby agreement would he alter and renegotiate, and the germane reasons for that modification? What are the details concerning the PNP's JEEP job programme, and contemporaneously, what policies would the PNP judiciously implement to create widespread jobs in the country and widely encourage foreign direct investment into the country?

So far, the PNP has been rather silent on what are the detailed alternative economic plans, projects and programmes that it would put into place as Government to expand and grow the Jamaican economy.

ROBERT DALLEY

robertdalley1@hotmail.com

Montego Bay, St James