Dawn Ritch, Columnist

One newspaper says the Jamaica Labour Party has no money, and the other that it is awash in it.

This is what I call useless information, except to those involved in raising political contributions, and even then it's useless.

Now, we have a survey commissioned by the Electoral Office of Jamaica to find out what people think of party funding, and who or what should be in charge of disbursing it. This is the solicitation of more useless information, this time by an arm of government.

The people being interviewed in this representative sample are not the financial contributors to the two major political parties. Only the very rich give financial contributions to the parties. Traditionally, nobody's given money to either party that they couldn't afford to lose. These people don't bet on the outcome of a general election therefore, unless they're prepared to lose.

And most of them would rather look like a fool any day of the week, than waste a single dollar. They don't get emotionally involved. When objectivity flies out the window, so does cash. When promises are made and undertakings given, donors know that political treachery cannot be far behind.

I'm not remotely interested in who funds either of the two political parties, just as long as it's not me, or any taxpayers in Jamaica. We have enough to pay for, just supporting the Government. To have to turn around now and give the two major political parties funds with no upper limit would be cruel and unusual punishment.

Should be forbidden

I say let them get their money themselves, and spend it the way they see fit. Not another bureaucracy or public expense should belaid upon the backs of the people. State funding for political parties ought to be forbidden in the national interest.

There are only two types of people in favour of the state funding of political parties: Those who have never given serious money to them, and those who hope to get it. In my books, those who have not given serious money need not think about funding at all. These views do not count, and should not even be entertained.

Political parties are a product like everything else, and if this one can't support itself, nobody else should be asked to support it. The only result would be additional guaranteed and unlimited public expenditure. Not even the fact that political parties are now funded at private expense has put the slightest restraint upon their expenditure. This is reason enough to let it remain where it is.

State funding of political parties is nothing but a can of worms - worse than even what now obtains. First would be a raft of consultants hired by the State to bleed money by trying to understand the political field. Once that starts, no amount of money will ever be enough.

At least it's currently spent on transportation, curry goat and rice. And I'd rather those priorities than any consultant or adviser wasting both vast amounts of money and time trying to figure it all out. Next, they would try to regulate it and tax it, and it's already a big enough tax on those who actually fund political parties.

Bear in mind that the internal election for the presidency of the People's National Party cost upwards of J$400 million, mainly because there were four candidates. All this money was sucked out of the Jamaican economy last year. But I'm glad somebody got curry goat out of it.

General election costs

A general election costs each party J$800 million and there are two of them. This does not include the vast treasure spent setting up and keeping the Electoral Office of Jamaica in a state of election readiness.

It takes J$5 million per annum to maintain a political constituencythat is not in a state of election readiness. That's J$300 million a year just for the pleasure of their company. That's the money they must raise privately, in addition to what they get from the Government's Social and Economic Support Programme for Members of Parliament.

They also get money from the Employment Generation Fund and the Special Employment Fund. It all amounts to $210 million per annum from the taxpayers for political representation. This should not, however, be used for electioneering, but for assistance to the impoverished in constituencies islandwide.

Ironically, the People's National Party is strangely absent from the scene, even though many people are talking about a general election to be held in July. With the exception of its president, Madam Prime Minister, nobody else is on the ground, and representation for a couple of seats is still under review.

This leisurely approach to an imminent election can only mean that it will be next year instead, or that Mrs. Simpson Miller's party is not awash in funds.

This is no bad thing. She won the internal election without either a team or money. It's fair to say, therefore, that Mrs. Simpson Miller is still in no one's pocket. Her life would be much simpler if she just jumped into somebody's pocket. But she's having none of that. British Prime Minister Tony Blair did that as well. Somebody else in the Labour Party had to raise the party financing. It all ended in tears in the cash-for-honours scandal.

I understand the principle that no current or prospective prime minister should be in any one's back pocket. The mere asking for money by such an individual, therefore, tears away the veil.

But, there must be somebody in the PNP, or who supports the PNP, who can write a cheque or two to the party. Eighteen years in office, and flat broke is a record unlike any other.

JLP awash in funds

On the other hand, after 18 years in the wilderness, the Opposition JLP is awash in funds. They have video cameras, T-shirts, their advertising campaign is probably in the can already, and they have foreign-image consultants working for them. All this before an election is even announced. The JLP has been on a hop, skip and a jump, up and down the island, and across every subject area.

Their advisers have told them that when they speak, they must find resonance with the people. This is like trying to teach an old dog new tricks. It's just a useless exercise. A statistical dead heat in the opinion polls after 10 months of monumental effort and expenditure by the JLP, is hardly any