'Jamaica must practise fiscal discipline'
Published:Thursday | December 22, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Angelo Laurence, Gleaner Writer
MANDEVILLE, Manchester:
FORMER PRIME Minister P.J. Patterson has dismissed suggestions that the People's National Party (PNP) did nothing to improve the well-being of the country during its 18-year reign.
Patterson was speaking with residents of Central Manchester where former Commissioner of Customs Danville Walker is vying to capture the seat for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) from the PNP's Peter Bunting, who is seeking a second term.
The former prime minister said Walker's claim that "he joined the JLP because of their performance" is without substance. He noted that Walker needs to apprise himself of the facts. Patterson said under the PNP, Jamaica was named as a top-ranked country for investments.
The 2011/12 Global Competitiveness report ranked Jamaica 107 out of 142 countries, coming from 95 of 139 countries in the previous report.
Patterson said the JLP's government tried to build on the many achievements and foundations left by the PNP without much success.
Notable achievements
He reeled off a number of what he said were achievements under the PNP, including the Petro Caribe agreement, establishment of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund, the National Health Fund, the building of Highway 2000 and the solidifying of a relationship with the Chinese government.
According to Patterson, his government was harshly criticised by the JLP when it established an embassy in China. "Now the stone the builder refused is now the corner stone," he said, adding that the JLP now has a caravan to China seeking assistance.
Proclaiming that Jamaica cannot continue to borrow its way out of its economic problems, Patterson said the efficient use of resources, people participation, a focus on education and the protection of health, must become key elements of our governance.
"I don't know what the JLP calls good management," Patterson said, noting that under their four-year reign, the country's poverty level has almost doubled. He said we are at a level where persons are now buying a squeeze of toothpaste instead of the whole tube. "There must be a better way to reach our destination of economic growth and well-being instead of the precipice we are stepping towards," said Patterson. Contending that Jamaica must practise fiscal discipline, he said this must be done in a way that restores hope and addresses the needs of the poor.