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| Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller |
The fact that the People’s National Party was given a
"bucket to carry water" (when on the 28th of
December 2011, they swept to victory at the polls) wasn't much of a secret. The truth is, there was never any real doubt in our minds,
that amidst all the prophecies that a vote for Mamma would guarantee ox
tail instead of chicken back for
Sunday dinner, as one die-hard Comrade convincingly declared in a television interview; those of us who had
one ear to the ground and one eye on the facts
very much knew that we were indeed
gearing up for challenging times.
Whether in the sweet jubilation of victory or the
bitter sorrow of defeat, depending
on if orange or green blood runs through his veins; John Public more than likely missed when the
incoming Prime Minister herself
admitted this by saying there was no honeymoon period ahead for her administration. Her poetic inaugural
address littered with the usual
signature Portia-style of twice as much fluff than substance went on to note that “In the Global Trade
Winds of change, we are not always
at liberty to direct these winds but we must set our sails to pilot the good ship Jamaica through these
turbulent economic waters to safe
harbour.”
A statement like that would give the most doubting
of Thomas's the distinct
impression that this new administration meant business and was ready, able and poised to take charge of the
country's affairs. Albeit, no one
genuinely believes all campaign promises, however, we do expect them to come with some amount of sincere
possibility, for want of a better
coined term. Country people would say “if it nuh guh suh it
near guh suh”. In keeping with
tradition, at the height of the campaign, Team PNP in true form made a host of promises to a host of people,
and whiles one is quite aware that
twelve months from five years is a merely the tip of the iceberg, it cannot be overlooked that there were many things
that we were definitively told
would be resolved before the dawning
of 2013. Needless to say, none of these
have been forthcoming.
The PNP in its 2011 manifesto entitled ‘Leading the Agenda for Progressive Change’ chastised the previous administration for not signing a deal with the International Monetary Fund. It was evident by October that the IMF deal would not be signed by year end even though Dr. Phillips insisted that it was possible. What is even more concerning is the seemingly lack of a plan post an IMF deal. The US $400million that we will receive cannot solve the problem. Our major challenge is our balance of payment which is our monetary transaction with the world. We are spending a lot more on imports than we spend on exports and this creates a huge trade deficit. We must solve our energy crisis and eat more of what we produce hence reducing our food cost.
The Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP) was a major election promise and after much confusion it was finally launched. However, we are yet to see any results highlighting the major impact of this Emergency Employment Programme. We have however seen a dip in the unemployment rate from 14 per cent to 12.8 per cent. This credit can arguably be given to JEEP, however there is no sustainability as JEEP does not provide permanent employment. This reduction in unemployment can easily halt if there is no plan to keep the people employed. The government must get serious about job creation; we need jobs that will woo our graduates and reduce the number who leave and reduce the number who leave the country each year.
The administration also promised the Jamaican people to remove GCT from electricity but instead the threshold was raised to 300kWh of electricity consumed, up from 200kWh. Customers are now charged GCT on any consumption over 300 KWH. The tax moved from 10 to 16.5 per cent.
The Net International Reserve (NIR) is currently below the international bench mark. In January 2011 the NIR was at US$1.961 billion and in December it stood at $1.078billion. If we should have a crisis we have little money to buy
supplies. The international standard stipulates that we should have enough money to buy 12 weeks of imports. Just before Christmas we were at a value equivalent to 11.5weeks of imports. The dollar also lost 7.4 percent of its value moving from $86 in January to $93.1 in December.
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| Cabinet of Jamaica |
Many of the ministers who are a part of the
Simpson-Miller 20 member cabinet
have been dismal while a few seems like they are trying. Minister of Technology Phillip Paulwell hit the ground
running; we got some encouraging signs when the Telecommunications
(Amendment) Act 2012 was passed.
We have already seen some positive spin offs with LIME reducing its rates and forcing Digicel to follow
suit. However, there are concerns that the minister has been too quiet
for the last quarter of the
calendar year. He promised to implement the number portability policy of which the country should get an
update on this issue. Much was expected from Robert Pickersgill
Minister of Water, Land,
Environment & Climate Change however very little was seen coming
from that ministry. Derrick Kellier who
was Minister of Labour under the
last PNP government was once again given the portfolio and his performance remains unsatisfactory. It is time
we have a strong labour minister
who will fix some fundamental issues especially as it relates to the treatment of employees by their
employers. Peter Bunting the
security minister has a seemly laid back approach however based on my political history almost every security
minister from as far back as KD
Knight have received a failing grade. It therefore shows that the problem is beyond the minister and it
will take collective support to
lower crime. The Minister however must be commended for significant gains made with the lottery
scam.
Using the words of Prime Minister Portia Simpson
Miller I think it is safe to say
‘time come’ for a cabinet reshuffle. It is time for the government to get a jump start; we need to hear more
from the Prime Minister. This will give the Jamaican people the
idea that she is in charge of the
government and playing an active role. To whom much is given much is expected and the People’s National Party
must make some changes as they
enter the second year as government. The country is at a cross roads and we need strong leadership to
steer this ship call Jamaica
through the rough seas.
