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The Jamaica Labour Party says it will respond to allegations that it was reckless in its handling of public finances while in office and that this contributed to a break down of trust between Jamaica and its international partners. The accusation was made on Thursday by Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips.
Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Audley Shaw, told RJR News late Thursday that he will examine the full text of Dr. Phillips' remarks and respond in due course.A response could come today.
According to Dr Phillips, the former Government's fiscal imprudence extended to the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme, (JDIP).This resulted in massive spending overruns ahead of last month's General Election.
The reported 7 billion dollar overspending on JDIP projects means that very little is left for the PNP administration to finance its Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme, (JEEP).
Dr Phillips also highlighted 11 billion dollars not budgeted for the purchase of new buses as another example of the fiscal recklessness by the former Government.
He says the breaches occurred even with the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Framework legislation to prevent the abuse of public finances.
And the man who had responsibility for JDIP former Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry says there was nothing untoward in the financial management of the multi-billion dollar project.
In questioning the Finance Minister's claim of significant overruns, the former Minister insists that the disbursement of JDIP funds was done in a transparent manner.
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