Robert Buddan
DR. OMAR Davies' announcement to contest for the presidency of the People's National Party has flown the gate open. Three PNP vice-presidents (and Paul Burke) might well be candidates. Few party contests for leadership in Jamaica have had such a widely competitive field as this promises to have.
The Finance Ministry has had a strong claim on party and governmental leadership in Jamaica. Sir Donald Sangster was first deputy leader of the JLP, Finance Minister and then Prime Minister. Edward Seaga was Opposition Spokesman on Finance and then Finance Minister and Prime Minister. Audley Shaw is now Spokesman on Finance, a deputy leader and is one of the potential successors to leadership in the JLP.
Noel Nethersole was the PNP's first vice-president under Norman Manley and the Finance Minister of the PNP between 1955 and his death in 1959. Had Norman Manley accepted the job as Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation (1958-62), Nethersole would have succeeded him as Premier of Jamaica. David Coore, P.J. Patterson and Seymour Mullings all served as finance ministers and deputy prime ministers. In most of Jamaica's administrations, the Finance Minister has been the most senior minister next to the Prime Minister.
THE WESTMINSTER
TRADITION
The association between the Finance Ministry and the prime ministership is also strong in the rest of the Caribbean. In as many as seven Caribbean countries, the current prime ministers are also the ministers of finance. This is the case in Barbados (Owen Arthur), Trinidad (Patrick Manning), Dominica (Roosevelt Skerrit), St. Lucia (Kenny Anthony), St. Vincent (Ralph Gonsalves), St. Kitts (Denzil Douglas) and the Bahamas (Perry Christie). In an era where sound financial and economic management is more important than ideology and personality, prime ministers and ministers of finance are the key representatives of governments in international political and economic diplomacy.
This duality of responsibility seems to be important in the Westminster tradition. The Jamaican Constitution requires that the Finance Minister and Prime Minister be elected members of the House. The Finance Minister cannot be appointed from the non-elected senate. The traditional Westminster countries have close associations between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance as well. In Britain, Tony Blair's Minister of Finance (Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer) has ambitions to be prime minister. Tony Blair's own title is Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury. In New Zealand the deputy prime minister is also Minister of Finance.
One study of the politics of financial control confirms the significance of the Finance Minister. It says, "Parliamentary control of the Purse is held to be a basic principle of the British Constitutions and a similar significance is claimed for it in many nations that have Constitutions modelled on Whitehall-Westminster relationships." Indeed, financial control (in Britain since 1713) has been a major constitutional principle and at the heart of the Westminster emphasis on strong Government. It is the linchpin of parliamentary supremacy in Britain.
In practice this formal parliamentary supremacy is breaking down. In Britain, the Chancellor of the Exchequer does not monopolise the budgetary process. In the Caribbean this too is happening. In Dominica, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has for the past three years undertaken pre-Budget consultations with trade unions, organisations of civil society and the private sector before presenting the annual Budget. In Jamaica after the gas riots of 1998, the Jamaican system has also been more consultative. Pre-Budget dialogue with the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) has led to the MoU and the private sector was also consulted.
POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Dr. Davies' interest in the Finance Ministry and the prime ministership has historical precedents in Jamaica and the Caribbean and stands within the Westminster tradition. Dr. Davies must match financial competence with political skill. Politically speaking, the Minister of Finance must have the confidence of the Prime Minister and the trust of his colleagues in Parliament. The fact that Dr. Davies has held this position continuously for 10 years through two terms indicates that he has these.
His low point must have been the 1998 gas riots and the associated period of financial fall-out between 1997 and 2000. Another low period would have been the period between December 2002 and the summer of 2003 when post-election statements, over-target Budget deficits, inflation and a slipping dollar hurt his credibility. Minister Davies presided over what the Prime Minister had said was probably the most important decision made by a Jamaican Cabinet since Independence, the FINSAC rescue plan. Questions of political judgment and financial management have arisen from these events and it is those questions that Dr. Davies needs to put to rest in proving his worth.
It could be argued that the Minister's high point is the present. The most important indicator of his view that the economy is stronger than ever is this decision to contest for the party leadership. He would have little chance to lead the party if there is no strong economy to bolster his campaign. At times popular talk has associated the name 'Omar' with economic problems. He needs to convert that into a positive association.
PARTY AND GOVERNMENT
Sensing the economic recovery, Dr. Davies ran for and won chairmanship of the party's powerful Region 3 made up of 15 Corporate Area constituencies.
Should he succeed to the party leadership he might consider whether it would be wise to combine party leadership, prime ministerial responsibility, and the Finance Ministry in one person. Prime Minister Owen Arthur of Barbados has already raised this issue
saying that it might be better to separate the party leadership from the office of the prime minister because of the responsibilities involved. But it might also suit the mood of the times if power and responsibility are not so centralised in the party president, the Prime Minister and minister of finance. Alternatively, such power and responsibility might be reorganised and shared through a system of checks and balances even if they ultimately reside in one person.
It might be a consideration for the wider Caribbean. The centralization of power in the personality of Mr. Seaga through the combination of leadership of the party, Government and Finance Ministry in the 1980s brought Jamaica closest to what British political scientists have called prime ministerial dictatorship. That combination is at odds with the current mood favouring decentralisation and stronger checks and balances.
PARTY ORGANISATION
Should the Minister (and any other candidate) hope to win the party leadership, he must prove his skills and commitment in the party organisation. The fact that Minister Davies has taken responsibility for Region 3 suggests that he is not about to shirk responsibility in a region that badly needs help.
In the 2002 general elections, the PNP won 7 and lost eight constituencies in Kingston and St. Andrew. It lost three that it previously held but won none over from the JLP. Voter turn-out for both parties was less in 14 out of 15 constituencies in the metropole. The PNP lost votes in 13 out of the 15 constituencies and had less votes in 2002 compared to 1997 in 13 out of 15 constituencies as well.
This was confirmed by the 2003 Local Government Elections. The PNP also lost the majority of constituencies in Kingston and St. Andrew. It won 18 compared to the JLP's 22. It lost 10 over to the JLP and won none from the JLP.
Much of this should matter to Dr. Davies and potential candidates like Dr. Phillips and Portia Simpson Miller who are also MPs for Region 3. The party's Annual Report (2003) on Region 3 cited some of the problems as absence of MPs and of functional party organisations in many communities. Some of the problems affecting local government elections in 2003 fell under Dr. Davies' ministry: manner and timing of parliamentary salary increases, additional taxation, the nature of items taxed, rapid devaluation of the dollar, price increases and inadequate information to the party about the budget.
As chairman of Region 3, Dr. Davies has much responsibility in rebuilding the PNP in that critical Region. Along with other potential aspirants, Peter Phillips and Portia Simpson Miller, the PNP must prove itself worthy regardless of who leads the party. It must deal with some of the worst problems of our political system - garrison politics, crime and the partisan allocation of jobs and Region 3 is a main centre of these long-standing problems.
Less than two years ago, Dr. Davies was considered a dark horse for the party's presidency. General secretary, Burchell Whiteman, had laid Dr. Davies credentials out: experience in government, management of his constituency and international experience. Aspirants should be reminded of Mr. Whiteman's statement that their chance of succession would be significantly enhanced by how they perform in the early period of the fourth term.
Robert Buddan lectures in the Department of Government, UWI, Mona. E-mail: Robert.Buddan@uwimona.edu.jm
