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ATTORNEY-AT-LAW and Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Ronald Thwaites has called for a government of national unity in Jamaica, for at least the next decade, to take on the serious challenges facing the country at this time.
Making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on Wednesday, Thwaites said the tendency to invite critical sector leaders and the Opposition in times of crisis to coalesce around issues of national import was a piecemeal approach to tackling the problems.
"Calling the Opposition and the labour movement into a meeting when there is a crisis is not sufficient," Thwaites said. "We need sustained and institutional cooperation to meet the problems of this time."
Need for action
The Central Kingston MP said his recommendation of a government of national unity was a personal one, making it clear that he was not reflecting the policy position of the People's National Party of which he is a member.
Thwaites argued that the time for talking had long expired and there was now a need for action.
Reminding Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who listened intently to his presentation about a comment he made some time ago, Thwaites said he was taking his cue from the government leader.
"I saw him point to his side and say 'We can't do it alone'. I saw him point over to our side and say 'You can't make headway without us'. Those are words of wisdom. The words have to be turned into action," Thwaites said to resounding applause.
Take a stand
The opposition MP questioned his colleagues, asking: "Who will confront our creditors with the honest situation that we cannot continue to bear the level of interest that we are paying and it is completely squashing our fiscal space and causing grave distress among our fellow Jamaican brothers and sisters?"
He insisted that the "political energy to conceive solutions" did not come from one political side.
Discussion necessary
On the controversial issue of public-sector retrenchment, Thwaites called for forthright discussion on the issue.
"If we are not going to adjust the terms of our debt and we are not going to do without some of our public servants, how on Earth are we going to have a compression of public expenditure?" he questioned.
As the country prepares to return to a borrowing relationship with the International Monetary Fund, Thwaites chided his parliamentary colleagues for not asking more searching questions of Finance and the Public Service Minister Audley Shaw after he made a statement on Tuesday in Gordon House.
Making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on Wednesday, Thwaites said the tendency to invite critical sector leaders and the Opposition in times of crisis to coalesce around issues of national import was a piecemeal approach to tackling the problems.
"Calling the Opposition and the labour movement into a meeting when there is a crisis is not sufficient," Thwaites said. "We need sustained and institutional cooperation to meet the problems of this time."
Need for action
The Central Kingston MP said his recommendation of a government of national unity was a personal one, making it clear that he was not reflecting the policy position of the People's National Party of which he is a member.
Thwaites argued that the time for talking had long expired and there was now a need for action.
Reminding Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who listened intently to his presentation about a comment he made some time ago, Thwaites said he was taking his cue from the government leader.
"I saw him point to his side and say 'We can't do it alone'. I saw him point over to our side and say 'You can't make headway without us'. Those are words of wisdom. The words have to be turned into action," Thwaites said to resounding applause.
Take a stand
The opposition MP questioned his colleagues, asking: "Who will confront our creditors with the honest situation that we cannot continue to bear the level of interest that we are paying and it is completely squashing our fiscal space and causing grave distress among our fellow Jamaican brothers and sisters?"
He insisted that the "political energy to conceive solutions" did not come from one political side.
Discussion necessary
On the controversial issue of public-sector retrenchment, Thwaites called for forthright discussion on the issue.
"If we are not going to adjust the terms of our debt and we are not going to do without some of our public servants, how on Earth are we going to have a compression of public expenditure?" he questioned.
As the country prepares to return to a borrowing relationship with the International Monetary Fund, Thwaites chided his parliamentary colleagues for not asking more searching questions of Finance and the Public Service Minister Audley Shaw after he made a statement on Tuesday in Gordon House.
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