Tweet
BY AL EDWARDS
Sunday, June 13, 2010
1/1
WHEN Audley Shaw was appointed Minister of Finance and Planning back in 2007, many questioned whether he had the ability, aptitude and acumen for the position. There were those who said he couldn't hold a candle to his predecessor, Dr Omar Davies, and that he would prove to be a laughing stock in the international financial community.
The more astute observed that his performance in the televised debate with Dr Davies in 2007 was a portent of things to come and that he acquitted himself well and by no means could be dismissed as a lightweight incapable of formulating and implementing the necessary financial policies needed to get Jamaica on track.
Even the Prime Minister Bruce Golding seemed to have bought into this perception appointing two other ministers in that portfolio, Don Wehby from GraceKennedy and trade unionist Dwight Nelson, a clear signal that Shaw would "have adequate help to lighten the load". This earned Shaw the unflattering sobriquet "One-Third" -- in other words, it would take Shaw and two other ministers in Heroes' Circle, to do what Davies had done alone for the better part of two decades. Shaw maintained that he could access funding from multilateral agencies at cheaper rates than Davies was able to obtain from the capital markets. He was ridiculed and the idea was dismissed as unfeasible. All the while Jamaica's debt mountain continued to grow as it neared the J$1-trillion mark in the Government's first year in office.
.... More at ..
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/busin...he-man_7701525
Sunday, June 13, 2010
1/1 WHEN Audley Shaw was appointed Minister of Finance and Planning back in 2007, many questioned whether he had the ability, aptitude and acumen for the position. There were those who said he couldn't hold a candle to his predecessor, Dr Omar Davies, and that he would prove to be a laughing stock in the international financial community.
The more astute observed that his performance in the televised debate with Dr Davies in 2007 was a portent of things to come and that he acquitted himself well and by no means could be dismissed as a lightweight incapable of formulating and implementing the necessary financial policies needed to get Jamaica on track.
Even the Prime Minister Bruce Golding seemed to have bought into this perception appointing two other ministers in that portfolio, Don Wehby from GraceKennedy and trade unionist Dwight Nelson, a clear signal that Shaw would "have adequate help to lighten the load". This earned Shaw the unflattering sobriquet "One-Third" -- in other words, it would take Shaw and two other ministers in Heroes' Circle, to do what Davies had done alone for the better part of two decades. Shaw maintained that he could access funding from multilateral agencies at cheaper rates than Davies was able to obtain from the capital markets. He was ridiculed and the idea was dismissed as unfeasible. All the while Jamaica's debt mountain continued to grow as it neared the J$1-trillion mark in the Government's first year in office.
.... More at ..
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/busin...he-man_7701525
Comment