March 24, 2007
Portia has delivered and will do more in second term, says Franklyn
Although her first year in office has placed challenging demands on her time, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has met the social and infrastructrual needs of many Jamaicans while laying the foundation for greater transparency, accountability and probity in the conduct of the Government, says junior foreign minister Delano Franklyn.
In a review of the prime minister’s first term in office, Franklyn also lists a number of the Government’s economic measures which, he insists, were “encouraged and facilitated by the very same prime minister who some thought would have been on a collision course with the private sector”.
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Following is the full text of minister Franklyn’s review.
March 30, 2007 marks the first anniversary of the Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller’s appointment to the high office of Prime Minister.
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Her election to office was greeted with high expectation. Her popularity at the time, as measured by opinion polls, placed her at the start of her term of office, at a higher level than all previous Prime Ministers – Michael Manley and Alexander Bustamante included.
Not surprisingly, her popularity rating has been reduced from 72 per cent and has tapered off to the more realistic 55 per cent. Only a ‘political dunce’, or persons with an ‘axe to grind’, would have expected her to maintain the same level of support in office as she did during her campaign for office.
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What is of interest, and which her detractors, are unable to explain, is the insignificant movement, as measured by the polls, in the popularity of Bruce Golding, the leader of the opposition. The support which the prime minister has lost has not shifted to Golding or the JLP, despite the fact that he and his party spent from June to December of 2006 campaigning throughout the island.
In her swearing-in speech delivered on March 30, 2006, the prime minister said that her approach to governance would be influenced by the fact that: “We will have to find the way while balancing the books to balance people’s lives.”
In essence, what she said was that while she had no intention of abandoning the economic direction of the Government, she would be paying careful attention to the quality of life of our people, with special emphasis on persons drawn from the lower socio-economic stratum of the society.
For this she came in for some flak as the purely ‘economistic’ opinion makers immediately concluded that she would be fiscally irresponsible. No such thing has happened.
Prime Minister Simpson Miller reiterated her commitment to the economic policies of the Government when at the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF) Convention on May 14, 2006 she said: “‘We have gone past the ideological debates of the past and we are agreed on a market-driven, private sector-led path. We have accepted the central role that business must play in the transformation of our economy.”
This economic direction has allowed the Government to continue to implement a platform without which there will be no economic growth. This platform has manifested itself in:
. single-digit inflation last year, under her watch;
. interest rates decline four times during the course of last year, under her watch;
. the debt to GDP ratio also declined, under her watch;
. the Net International Reserves now stands at US$2217.86 million (February 2007), under her watch.
The Government’s commitment, under the leadership of Prime Minister Simpson Miller, to facilitate the development of the productive sector is reflected in measures and legislation that address the needs of investors in this area of the economy. These include, among other things:
. a modernisation fund for exporters;
. duty exemption on equipment for research and development;
. zero duty on imports;
. a special loan fund for exporters, facilitated through the EXIM Bank, at a low interest rate;
. widening the Export Industry Encouragement Act to include the service sector;
. an incentive measure of allowing accelerated depreciation for those companies meeting the criteria and;
. tax and duty incentives for tourist attractions.
All these measures were encouraged and facilitated by the prime minister, the very same prime minister who some thought would have been on a collision course with the private sector.
Prime Minister Simpson Miller has become even more convinced, however, that economic growth will ring hollow if there is no concurrent improvement in the quality of life of the majority of our people. This is one of the experiences which we ought to learn from the 1960s. The economy during that period grew at an average of 4-5 per cent annually, yet the social conditions of the vast majority of our people got worse.
Prime Minister Simpson Miller is mindful of this lesson, hence her mantra ‘balancing books while balancing lives’.
As a result, the prime minister has not ignored the moral and social issues, and their impact on the country. This was what led her to say on June 7, 2006 while speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Jamaica Council of Churches on June 7, 2006 that: “I make bold to say that unless we fix the moral and social problems in the society, we will not generate sustainable economic growth and the level of foreign investments needed. You cannot build a sound economy on a rotten moral foundation.”
To demonstrate the seriousness of her conviction, on January 25, 2007, while addressing the 10th Annual Caribbean Leadership Conference of the Church of God of Prophecy in Jamaica and the Cayman Island, she firmly argued: “The Government recognises the importance of a strong macro-economy, of a strong productive sector and a vibrant private sector. We recognise the importance of having an inclusive policy which engages the energy and passion of the people. But I insist, the lubricant to all of this, and the fuel which will be able to sustain it, are our spiritual and moral foundations.”
It was this position which led her to find ways to bring the church more forcefully into the fold of governance. She moved from mere talk to action when on April 2, 2006, while speaking at the University of Allied Workers Union’s 35th Anniversary, she told the nation that: “I will appoint a member of the religious community to every public sector board. I believe that the church has an integral role to play in helping the state to bring about greater transparency, accountability and probity to the conduct of the business of government.”
I do not believe any objective person would wish to disagree with the prime minister’s drive to help in the recalibration of Jamaica’s spiritual and moral compass. Her aim is to highlight the evil in our society – the carnal abuse of our children; the violent and callous behaviour of many; how we relate to and treat each other; the recklessness demonstrated by many of our drivers; the abuse of public and private property are matters which ‘growth in the economy’ cannot cure.
On the contrary, as the prime minister noted in that same speech on January 25, 2007: “It is from our deep spiritual and moral base that we can develop the strong economy, the vibrant, enriching culture and the enabling politics.”
Social issues and additional infrastructural development have also come in for attention by the prime minister during her year in office:
Under the Inner-city Housing Programme, 486 units were handed out in Trench Town and another 600 units are under construction in Denham Town and another section of Spanish Town Road.
The National Housing Trust (NHT) loan terms have been revised to provide up to 100 per cent in the amounts contributors can borrow.
Workers on the sugar estates are now being provided with 2,754 housing solutions.
By April of this year, under the administration management programme, over 4,000 new titles will be handed out.
Some 12,000 persons in the Huddersfield, Mango Valley, Fellowship Hall and surrounding areas in Western St Mary now have water in their pipes.
There was also the installation of the water supply system to serve over 15,000 people in Cotterwood, Content, Fyffes Pen, Shrewsbury and Fellington in St Elizabeth.
Over $3.5 billion are being spent on road repairs and another $1 billion being spent on routine road maintenance.
Contracts of over $2.5 billion have been awarded for the repair of 43 bridges and the construction of seven new ones.
Since July last year, over 24,000 pieces of furniture have been delivered to schools and 160 new posts have been granted for special education.
The National Youth Service has been expanded, providing training for over 5,000 youths – a 100 per cent increase over the 2005 figure.
The PATH programme helped over 183,000 persons.
72,000 persons are now covered under the National Health Fund, while 123,000 are covered under the Jamaica Drugs for the Elderly Programme.
As Prime Minister Simpson Miller awaits her own personal mandate from the people, which she will get sometime before October this year, she has been giving hints of what her vision for Jamaica will be during her next term in office.
Speaking at the Mona School of Business Think Tank 2006 on November 17 of the same year, she was quoted as saying: “‘I see a Jamaica in 2012 in which our communities are vibrant, empowered, engaged models of democratic action. I see a Jamaica in which the physical environment is respected, nurtured, cared for and put in the forefront of any development plan. I see a Jamaica whose family structure promotes stability, integrity, dignity and fosters a sense of nurturing, love and compassion, and a family structure which prepares ethically responsible citizens and workers for a globally competitive world. I see a Jamaica in which corruption is abhorred and despised, not just in rhetoric but in practice. In 2012, when we say Jamaica is a meritocracy, no one must scoff or find that funny.”
Prime Minister Simpson Miller’s first year in office has been an extremely challenging one. She has had an average of two speaking engagements per day, separate and apart from all the formal and informal meetings which come with being a prime minister. We must also remember that she is the minister of defence and the minister of sports and her engagement in the specific areas also took up much of her time. She has also had a very hectic regional and international schedule.
Those who criticise her for travelling overseas do not understand that, to a very large extent, the domestic agenda of most countries, including Jamaica, are determined by regional and international developments. These developments can only be influenced by the countries affected if they are represented at the negotiating table, and there is no better person to do so than the prime minister.
Secondly, she is a newly elected prime minister and other heads would like to meet her, and it is also important for her to know and meet other heads of government. This is only natural – close, personal relationships can make a big difference in international affairs.
Thirdly, Jamaica has a large diasporic community. She is also the prime minister of Jamaicans living outside of Jamaica and she has a duty to meet with them, up front and close, every opportunity she gets. Her travel schedule will be no less hectic in her second term.
Prime Minister Simpson Miller did not have the luxury of a ‘honeymoon’ period after she took office on March 30, 2006. She hit the ground running. She has taken some decisions and made some comments which have evoked national debate. That is the nature of political life.
Her commitment to improve the lives of the people of Jamaica is unquestionable. She has already defied the odds by becoming the first female prime minister of Jamaica. The experience she has gained during her first year in office will redound to her benefit as she prepares to serve her first full term in office.
Delano Franklyn is minister of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade
