By Leslie McLean, Freelance WriterCLAREMONT, St. Ann
OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN on Finance, Audley Shaw, is predicting that the state of the economy will force the Patterson administration to call another general election soon.
"The general election is just around the corner, literally," he said Sunday at a meeting of the Jamaica Labour Party's Area Council 3 held in Ocho Rios.
"This government will not serve its full term, the economy is in free fall, the debt is rising out of control phenomenally with interest charges over shooting its target by 32 percent."
FINANCIAL RESOURCES
The opposition spokesman said that 47 per cent of the expenditure budget, had gone to pay interest, and that 57 per cent of revenues was also going to pay interest. He added that with interest charges taking up so much of Government's financial resources, they have been forced to cut back the capital budget by 43 per cent.
Touching on the recent announcement by Bear Stern on the economy, Shaw said: "They are running for cover, the explosion is coming, they are issuing warning signals as $80 billion has been added to the stock of debt, moving from $600 billion to $680 billion since April."
The most recent figures on the debt indicate that the debt moved from $601 billion at the end of March to $639.8 billion at the end of August.
The opposition spokesman described the debt situation as a "runaway train", adding at the same time that utility bills were unpaid, and that over $1 billion was owed to contractors.
BLAME
Dealing with the recent arbitration ruling, to compensate Ezroy Millwood's National Transport Cooperative Society, Shaw declared that: "$12 billion is bigger than the capital budget for one year. It will come from someone's pocket, some heads will have to roll." He blamed Minister Peter Phillips, Minister Robert Pickersgill and former Minister of State in the Ministry of Transport Collin Campbell for aborting the franchise.
He called for a halt to waste, inefficiency and recklessness by the government.
"This government cannot last its full term because of the financial crisis in which it finds itself. We can't float bonds in the USA easily again and we are keeping interest rates high and crowding out the private sector, preventing jobs and causing a social boiling point to develop."
He blamed the government for borrowing at such high interest rates, reminding his audience that he had suggested to the government that it go to Japan and borrow at 3 per cent.
