KINGSTON, Jamaica--Opposition spokesman on finance Mark Golding said on Thursday that there is nothing in the Government's economic policy that would make real changes in the condition of poor Jamaicans.
Golding, responding to Finance and Public Service Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke’s commitment on Tuesday to increase social protection and focus on “vulnerable Jamaicans without social protection,” suggested that the policy would only “worsen the division of the Jamaican society.”
The Opposition spokesman questioned the “fairness and effectiveness” of the Government's tax break policy, announced by Dr. Clarke on Tuesday.
“We would like to see much more done to ease the burden of the cost of living on ordinary Jamaicans, especially the elderly, the single mothers, the low wage earners and the unemployed,” he told the House of Representatives, as the 2020/21 the debate continued at Gordon House.
“Use the hard-won fiscal space to increase their disposable income, stimulate spending and drive economic growth,” Golding suggested.
“The Government's approach will only worsen the division of Jamaican society into the haves and the have-nots,” he predicted.
He said that it is a relative few who are reaping profits from investments in the stock market and real estate, and who are seen “enjoying life at the restaurants and entertainment spots uptown.”
“On the other hand, the working poor, pensioners and unemployed are increasingly left behind by a development that marginalises the majority,” said Golding, an attorney-at-law, whose area of practice specialises in corporate finance, capital markets and mergers and acquisitions.
He said that there was nothing in the Government's approach to economic management that recognises the “inequality” as a serious problem.
“It is tacitly accepted as the status quo, papered over by sick public relations, in the era of fake news and misinformation,” he stated.
“That is why Jamaicans feel that ‘a so di ting set,’ and that the system has nothing for them,” he added.
He said that under this approach to national development, the “haunting refrain” of the Bob Marley lyrics ‘wi no have no friend inna high society’ still echoes northwards from Cross Roads.
In his opening contribution to the budget debate on Tuesday, Dr. Clarke, a former company director and businessman, admitted that there is a significant number of vulnerable persons in the Jamaican society without social protection.
“This is a challenge that this Government has been giving active thought to, and that this Government is prepared to address [in 2020/21],” Dr. Clarke told the House.
The debate continues next Tuesday, with Leader of the Opposition Dr. Peter Phillips making his presentation. ~Jamaica Observer ~
