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EDITORIAL - Debating Mr Golding's record
Published: Monday | August 29, 2011 0 Comments
Mr Daryl [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Vaz[/COLOR][/COLOR], the minister with responsibility for information, made a useful suggestion last week when he urged an early start to debates between political leaders, rather than leaving such discourse to be drowned out in the cut and thrust of a fully fledged all-out election campaign. This, Mr Vaz told reporters at his weekly briefing of journalists on discussions by the Cabinet, would "give the people of [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Jamaica[/COLOR][/COLOR] the opportunity to evaluate the policies and performance outside the hysteria of an election campaign".
The implication is that despite the battering Prime Minister Bruce [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Golding[/COLOR][/COLOR] has taken for perceived weak leadership and for following, rather than dictating, events, the Government believes that it has a credible story to tell. In some respects, that may be true.
For instance, while the process may have been initially overhyped and badly bungled - including the collapse of an initial divestment deal - the Government this month completed the sale of its last sugar assets to the Chinese firm, COMPLANT. It had previously sold two sugar factories to domestic interests.
That divestment will remove well over $1 billion in losses from the Government's books. It also brings more than US$120 million in new capital to give the sugar industry a fighting chance of redevelopment and survival.
Releasing lovebird, embracing imf
Perhaps the bravest of the administration's initiatives was the sale of the national carrier, [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Air [COLOR=blue !important]Jamaica[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR], to Trinidad and Tobago's [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Caribbean[/COLOR][/COLOR] Airlines Limited, which also means the removal of the US$120 million a year Air Jamaica lost annually for many years. That divestment was emotionally wrenching for most Jamaicans.
In any debate, Mr Golding, even if the initiatives were forced by the International Monetary Fund and made possible, initially, by private-sector coaxing, can claim ownership of the restructuring of more than $700 billion of domestic debt that helped to moderate interest payments and stabilise the Jamaican dollar. The upshot: the economy has enjoyed relative low interest rates.
The Government may have prevaricated and stalled, at some substantial cost to the society, but it eventually relented and extradited Christopher Coke, the alleged west Kingston mobster, who was close to the ruling party. But that catastrophic event precipitated a sharp drop in crime, which happened on Mr Golding's watch.
Televised enquiry a good move
Reasonable arguments can be made about Mr Golding's choice of commissioners who probed the Coke affair, including his party's hiring of American lobbyists to get the United States to soften its position on the extradition.
But the fact that the enquiry was held and its hearings televised was positive for Jamaica. It showed that governments can be held to account. That was good for the administration.
Of course, there will be the counterarguments that Mr Golding and his Government misread the onrushing global economic crisis, which it felt would be of little consequence to Jamaica. This slow and, initially, inadequate response exacerbated Jamaica's problems and partially accounts, the argument goes, for the 13 quarters of economic decline, from which the country is now only tentatively emerging.
The interpretation of Mr Golding's record depends on political perspective. Jamaica, however, would benefit if his performance was subjected to dispassionate debate.
Published: Monday | August 29, 2011 0 Comments
Mr Daryl [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Vaz[/COLOR][/COLOR], the minister with responsibility for information, made a useful suggestion last week when he urged an early start to debates between political leaders, rather than leaving such discourse to be drowned out in the cut and thrust of a fully fledged all-out election campaign. This, Mr Vaz told reporters at his weekly briefing of journalists on discussions by the Cabinet, would "give the people of [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Jamaica[/COLOR][/COLOR] the opportunity to evaluate the policies and performance outside the hysteria of an election campaign".
The implication is that despite the battering Prime Minister Bruce [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Golding[/COLOR][/COLOR] has taken for perceived weak leadership and for following, rather than dictating, events, the Government believes that it has a credible story to tell. In some respects, that may be true.
For instance, while the process may have been initially overhyped and badly bungled - including the collapse of an initial divestment deal - the Government this month completed the sale of its last sugar assets to the Chinese firm, COMPLANT. It had previously sold two sugar factories to domestic interests.
That divestment will remove well over $1 billion in losses from the Government's books. It also brings more than US$120 million in new capital to give the sugar industry a fighting chance of redevelopment and survival.
Releasing lovebird, embracing imf
Perhaps the bravest of the administration's initiatives was the sale of the national carrier, [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Air [COLOR=blue !important]Jamaica[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR], to Trinidad and Tobago's [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]Caribbean[/COLOR][/COLOR] Airlines Limited, which also means the removal of the US$120 million a year Air Jamaica lost annually for many years. That divestment was emotionally wrenching for most Jamaicans.
In any debate, Mr Golding, even if the initiatives were forced by the International Monetary Fund and made possible, initially, by private-sector coaxing, can claim ownership of the restructuring of more than $700 billion of domestic debt that helped to moderate interest payments and stabilise the Jamaican dollar. The upshot: the economy has enjoyed relative low interest rates.
The Government may have prevaricated and stalled, at some substantial cost to the society, but it eventually relented and extradited Christopher Coke, the alleged west Kingston mobster, who was close to the ruling party. But that catastrophic event precipitated a sharp drop in crime, which happened on Mr Golding's watch.
Televised enquiry a good move
Reasonable arguments can be made about Mr Golding's choice of commissioners who probed the Coke affair, including his party's hiring of American lobbyists to get the United States to soften its position on the extradition.
But the fact that the enquiry was held and its hearings televised was positive for Jamaica. It showed that governments can be held to account. That was good for the administration.
Of course, there will be the counterarguments that Mr Golding and his Government misread the onrushing global economic crisis, which it felt would be of little consequence to Jamaica. This slow and, initially, inadequate response exacerbated Jamaica's problems and partially accounts, the argument goes, for the 13 quarters of economic decline, from which the country is now only tentatively emerging.
The interpretation of Mr Golding's record depends on political perspective. Jamaica, however, would benefit if his performance was subjected to dispassionate debate.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.