The governing People’s National Party (PNP) yesterday launched its long-awaited manifesto in which it lists “21 further steps” it promises to take to move the country forward, under what Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips labelled “a programme of development that is credible, achievable and growth-oriented”.

At the same time, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller described the 68-page document as a tangible basis for hope, and said her party has laid the foundation for sustainable and substantial economic growth.

“We’re not putting forward a 10-point sound bite,” she said, poking fun at the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP’s) 10-point plan for economic growth, which has generated lively debate since it was presented by Opposition Leader Andrew Holness in a national broadcast earlier this month.

Yesterday, Phillips, who is also the PNP’s campaign director, told guests at the manifesto launch at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston that the document is “a comprehensive, well-thought-out road map which will guide us in our journey to achieve increased levels of sustainable economic growth and build a more equitable and prosperous Jamaica”.

He said the plans and programmes are based on a “realistic assessment of economic growth” fuelled by both foreign and local investments.

Chief among the plans outlined in the manifesto is a proposal to reduce personal income tax and general consumption tax rates, which form part of the party’s tax reform measures. Phillips, however, declined to specify by how much the taxes would be adjusted, neither would he give implementation timelines.

“I think the point to be made is that we have raised the [income tax] threshold three times in the past. We will continue to do this. We also intend, over time, to reduce the rates. I am not going to give here a commitment as to pace of doing so precisely, because our intention is ultimately to continue to maintain a balanced budget and to reduce our debt,” Phillips said, adding that this was the prudent thing to do.

“Economic growth, as our manifesto shows, will first of all rest on fiscal restraint and the reduction of the still high levels of public debt, which constitute the main fetter to investment in our physical infrastructure and our social institutions,” Phillips said.

The party, he said, has committed to providing, at minimum, 100,000 jobs over the next five years, 30,000 of which will be generated in the tourism sector through the construction of hotel rooms, and another 20,000 would come from the business process outsourcing sector. The party also said it would continue to grow the overseas employment programme.

The PNP also touted its brainchild Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme as another source for job creation, outlining that it has provided employment for approximately 61,407 people since it was launched with an estimated expenditure of $9.2 billion.

Phillips added the party was committed to easing the task of doing business in the country, fiscal consolidation, price stability, maintenance of low inflation, and public/private partnerships.

Simpson Miller reiterated some of the points made by Phillips and said the plans are drawn and refined.

“We’re not just building an economy,“ she said, “we’re moulding and shaping a nation”.

In a swift response, the JLP criticised the PNP’s manifesto, insisting that it is cliché and repetitive.

“Behind the glossy pages and stock photos of a Jamaica that does not exist under the PNP’s Government, there is more of the same promises that have been made time and time again. The one difference is the fact that every new election their promises get more expensive,” the JLP said in a news release.

The Opposition party said the manifesto “comes with a huge a price tag, but little State resources to fund this extravagant expenditure”.

“Our people can no longer afford this Government. For far too long the PNP has used the Jamaican people as an ATM. Jamaica deserves a new Government with fresh ideas that will modernise and grow our economy, not the Government. We cannot continue to increase government spending while people struggle to feed their family,” the JLP release said, adding that it has already outlined a Partnership for Prosperity with the Jamaican people in its 10-point plan.