PM stands by Omar
WITH the embattled Omar Davies seated at his right, Prime Minister P J Patterson yesterday declared confidence in his finance minister and dismissed as unfounded what Davies himself appeared to have told a PNP constituency party — that he maintained spending on Government projects during last year’s election campaign even though he knew it would hurt the economy.
“The minister of finance retains my full confidence,” Patterson told reporters after the weekly meeting of the Cabinet.
“… Any suggestion or misinterpretation of what was said, that the minister of finance in any way failed to provide resources to deal with the ravages of the flood disaster in order to advance other projects for political purposes is untrue and without any foundation whatsoever,” the prime minister added.
Davies has soaked up heavy flak for much of the past week, and was forced into issuing an apology on Saturday, after it emerged that he had told the North West St Andrew constituency of the People’s National Party that despite having to contend with unscheduled spending because of floods, he maintained several other projects because of the imminent election.
“I wouldn’t lie to you, Comrades,” Davies told PNP supporters. “Last year, on the road to the fourth term, there was no way I was going to stop any projects which we had on the ground.”
At another time, he might have pulled back on the projects — mostly big roadworks — but not last year. “No government anywhere fighting campaign (is) going (to) help the Opposition by cutting back on critical projects.”
This happened against the backdrop of the budget deficit for the fiscal year, originally projected at four per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), doubling to eight per cent; the national debt rising by $70 billion and expected to end the fiscal year at 140 per cent of GDP, a hike of about 10 percentage points.
Davies, in his remarks, first broadcast on Power 106 FM days after they were made, acknowledged that people might deem his action as “kind of irresponsible”, but argued that it was better for his party to have won the election to be in a position to work to straighten out the problems rather than being on the “outside” wondering how Opposition Leader Edward Seaga was coping with them.
In his apology, reported on Sunday and published as press advertisements yesterday, Davies insisted that none of the projects to which he referred were new and were therefore not created as part of an “election budget”. And he suggested that it would have been costly to stop then restart these projects, in which Jamaica had external partners.
Adamant that he always operated in the interest of Jamaica, Davies apologised for the tone of his speech and the perception that it left.
“Despite placing my statements in context, it is clear that the manner in which they were delivered has caused concern amongst some well-thinking citizens, given the position that I hold in the country,” Davies said. “On reflection, I think the tone and manner in which I addressed the conference was regrettable and for this I unreservedly apologise.”
As part of its damage control efforts, the PNP not only told Davies he had to apologise, but the party’s general secretary, Maxine Henry Wilson, publicly rebuked the finance minister for his comments, even though she said they were “out of character”.
Yesterday Patterson sought to take the heat off his finance minister by agreeing that there was a problem with the “tone and manner” of the remarks, for which Davies had apologised, but suggesting that his Cabinet colleague was misinterpreted.
He, incorrectly, pitched the debate as a claim that Davies had held back on flood relief spending so that he could go ahead with other projects and on that basis said that any such argument would be “disingenuous and calculated political stupidity” as “every politician wants to focus on problems affecting their communities”.
Patterson added that the minister of finance had taken “a lead role” in the provision of relief supplies and rehabilitation work made necessary by a series of floods which affected the island in 2002.
“(I am in) no doubt that in the conduct of his duties he (Davies) will always operate in a manner that does not subordinate the national interests of Jamaica to partisan considerations,” Patterson.
In response to calls from the Opposition and other groups for Davies’ resignation, Patterson said: “If I was to publicly respond in the same intemperate and exaggerated manner (as those statements), then we would be engaged in a perpetual interchange of constant barrages of accusations and counter-accusations against each other that would not promote harmony and peace.”