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EDITORIAL - A more constructive approach, please
published: Wednesday | March 14, 2007
Audley Shaw has hopes of becoming Jamaica's Finance Minister if his party wins the general election that will be held sometime before the end of this year.
That is an important job, demanding of public confidence and trust as well as a capacity for formulating the kinds of policies which will deliver macroeconomic stability and sustained growth. It is the kind of things which Mr. Shaw and the Jamaica Labour Party say that the incumbent, Dr. Omar Davies, has not been good at. They point to the meagre growth that Jamaica has enjoyed in the 14 years that Dr. Davies has been on the job. Criticising Dr. Davies is one thing, but kicking over everything and belittling data in order to do so is something else. And coming from the Shadow Finance Minister, he runs the risk of undermining the very confidence he will need to be effective if he gets the job.
That is why we would suggest to Mr. Shaw that he reflect on his recent utterances on several issues, which could give the impression that the aim is more narrow and banal political point-scoring than serious debate. That is a pity.First, there was the issue, triggered by the David Smith and Olint affair, over the regulatory responsibilities of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), which insists that Mr. Smith andhis foreign exchange trading club should be registered and licensed. That matter is now before the courts.
However, in recent remarks in Parliament on the issue, Mr. Shaw essentially launched a broadside against the FSC, stopping just short of insisting on an end to financial sector regulation. Agencies like the FSC, with their aggressive demand for the licensing of financial sector dealers, he implied, undermined creativity and investment, thus hindering growth. He did not raise the issue of the role of financial intermediaries in managing a country's wealth and the dangers for national economies when financial markets go awry.
For Mr. Shaw, it was more important to play to the gallery and to populist sentiment than get to the hard stuff. It is the same approach we discern in his more recent comment on the draft IMF report on its Article IV Consultation on the Jamaican economy.
That document suggests that Jamaica's economy is likely to achieve growth of three per cent in the current fiscal year and that things are improving. Mr. Shaw's response was to seek to belittle the document as premature, lacking the imprimatur of senior people. While the draft report unveiled by Dr. Davies had not yet been debated by the IMF board, Mr. Shaw would be aware that the interpretation is unlikely to change much. It is a fact that the economy will return its best growth performance in over a decade.
If Mr. Shaw gets beyond his pain of the news in the IMF report, there is much else in the document about which he should be leading a debate. For example, the IMF technicians have called for a more aggressive debt management strategy and robust efforts to reduce the public sector deficit. They also suggest the closing of Air Jamaica. Significantly, too, the technicians believe that whoever wins the general election should slash public sector jobs, which could fall to the purview of Mr. Shaw.
Open the debate, Mr. Shaw.
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The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of TheGleaner. 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.
published: Wednesday | March 14, 2007
Audley Shaw has hopes of becoming Jamaica's Finance Minister if his party wins the general election that will be held sometime before the end of this year.
That is an important job, demanding of public confidence and trust as well as a capacity for formulating the kinds of policies which will deliver macroeconomic stability and sustained growth. It is the kind of things which Mr. Shaw and the Jamaica Labour Party say that the incumbent, Dr. Omar Davies, has not been good at. They point to the meagre growth that Jamaica has enjoyed in the 14 years that Dr. Davies has been on the job. Criticising Dr. Davies is one thing, but kicking over everything and belittling data in order to do so is something else. And coming from the Shadow Finance Minister, he runs the risk of undermining the very confidence he will need to be effective if he gets the job.
That is why we would suggest to Mr. Shaw that he reflect on his recent utterances on several issues, which could give the impression that the aim is more narrow and banal political point-scoring than serious debate. That is a pity.First, there was the issue, triggered by the David Smith and Olint affair, over the regulatory responsibilities of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), which insists that Mr. Smith andhis foreign exchange trading club should be registered and licensed. That matter is now before the courts.
However, in recent remarks in Parliament on the issue, Mr. Shaw essentially launched a broadside against the FSC, stopping just short of insisting on an end to financial sector regulation. Agencies like the FSC, with their aggressive demand for the licensing of financial sector dealers, he implied, undermined creativity and investment, thus hindering growth. He did not raise the issue of the role of financial intermediaries in managing a country's wealth and the dangers for national economies when financial markets go awry.
For Mr. Shaw, it was more important to play to the gallery and to populist sentiment than get to the hard stuff. It is the same approach we discern in his more recent comment on the draft IMF report on its Article IV Consultation on the Jamaican economy.
That document suggests that Jamaica's economy is likely to achieve growth of three per cent in the current fiscal year and that things are improving. Mr. Shaw's response was to seek to belittle the document as premature, lacking the imprimatur of senior people. While the draft report unveiled by Dr. Davies had not yet been debated by the IMF board, Mr. Shaw would be aware that the interpretation is unlikely to change much. It is a fact that the economy will return its best growth performance in over a decade.
If Mr. Shaw gets beyond his pain of the news in the IMF report, there is much else in the document about which he should be leading a debate. For example, the IMF technicians have called for a more aggressive debt management strategy and robust efforts to reduce the public sector deficit. They also suggest the closing of Air Jamaica. Significantly, too, the technicians believe that whoever wins the general election should slash public sector jobs, which could fall to the purview of Mr. Shaw.
Open the debate, Mr. Shaw.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of TheGleaner. 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.
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