Headlines:
| Opposition reserves comments on government’s fiscal plans |
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| Thursday, 27 March 2008 | |
Opposition Spokesman on Finance Dr. Omar Davies said it is
still too early to determine the direction of the fiscal policies that are
being pursued by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Administration. Speaking with RJR News after the Throne Speech on Thursday morning Dr. Davies said he would withhold any assessment of the government's plans until Finance Minister Audley Shaw makes his presentation. While acknowledging that it would be a difficult task for any government to prepare a budget in the face of the present economic situation, Dr. Davies said these challenges are not new as his administration faced similar hurdles. "The government has sought to paint a picture about this environment, I can't recall a year in my 14 years, or my 14 budgets, that wasn't challenging," The movement in oil prices between 2003 and 2007 is far more significant than that which has taken place now and we have had to cope with that. I don't want us to believe to swallow the notion that the challenges have just recently arisen," In making his assessment, the Opposition Spokesman said the greatest challenge for the new administration lies in the number of promises they have made and how it will set out to achieve them. "One of the difficulties which Minister Shaw faces, and I warned him about, is that if you seek to build expectations or seek to trivialize the actual problems then when you have to face them they become more difficult. But Minister Shaw deserves his chance to put out his budget," he said. |