Govt response to global financial crisis inadequate - PNP

The Opposition Peoples National Party (PNP) has described as inadequate the measures outlined by the Prime Minister Bruce Golding to deal with the likely impact of the global financial crisis on Jamaica.



At a meeting of the Jamaica Manufacturers Association last night Mr. Golding among other things announced the establishment of a top level team to monitor the global crisis and make recommendations on how to address the likely impact on Jamaica.



Opposition Spokesman on Finance Dr. Omar Davies said Mr. Golding’s statement failed to address fundamental questions about the country’s economy.



Meanwhile, Financial Analyst Dennis Chung is welcoming the move by the government to set up a Task Force to analyse the developments in the global financial sector.



The Bruce-Golding led administration has been widely criticised over its response to the US economical woes and its likely impact on Jamaica.



Although commending the government for the initiative Mr. Chung says it could have responded earlier.



The Opposition further said it notes that the prime minister for the first time has belatedly acknowledged the potential negative effects of the global financial crisis on Jamaica.



According to the Opposition the problem goes far beyond the potential difficulty in accessing loans from the international capital markets.



It claims the Golding administration has an obligation to the Jamaican public to provide clear and immediate answers to legitimate concerns.



Among the questions raised is that of the specific precautionary actions to ensure that the global liquidity crunch does not spread to local institutions.



In addition the opposition claims there were many warning signals even before the presentation of the Budget for the 2008/09 financial year.



It further seeks to determine what explanation can be offered by the Administration for what it says is the unrealistic set of assumptions on which the Budget and the macro-economic progamme were based.



The opposition also wants to know specifically the new parameters within which the Administrations economic programme is cast and what factors have guided the chopping of the Capital Budget to date.



It also questions the cause for the steep increase in domestic interest rates and the additional cost to the budget.



The Opposition wants the government to facilitate a full debate in Parliament on the country’s economic status and readiness to meet the challenges brought about by both domestic and external conditions.