By Vernon Daley and Lynford Simpson, Staff Reporters
Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies in a pensive mood during debate on a motion to censure him in the House of Representatives yesterday.
AFTER A heated debate that often threathened to descend into chaos, the government last night used its majority in the House to defeat a motion to censure Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies.
The 31 government members present voted against the motion while the 23 Opposition members voted in its favour.
The marathon debate which went into the early hours of this morning, saw many heated exchanges between members, forcing Speaker of the House Michael Peart to intervene repeatedly.
The censure motion was moved by Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Spokesman on Finance Audley Shaw, following Dr. Davies' recent public gaffe in which he admitted to making financial decisions before last year's general election aimed at giving the governing People's National Party (PNP) an advantage.
Opening the debate yesterday, Mr. Shaw launched a stinging attack on Dr. Davies, painting him as a reckless Minister who lied to Parliament and ignored his constitutional responsibility to protect the nation's purse.
"When a Minister is fiscally imprudent it could be regarded as incompetence. But when a Minister is deliberately imprudent to achieve raw political power, it is unquestionably corrupt," Mr. Shaw said.
He charged that in constructing the 2002/2003 Budget, Dr. Davies failed to disclose to Parliament the true level of the public sector wage increases which have been a major contributor to the widening of the Budget deficit from four per cent to 8.5 per cent.
According to Mr. Shaw, the Minister knew a full two months before the tabling of the Budget last April, that the public sector wage bill would amount to $10 billion but deliberately withheld the information from Parliament because of the impending election.
Coming to the defence of the embattled Minister, Dr. Peter Phillips, Leader of Government Business in the House, asserted that there was no election spending. He denied statements by Opposition leader Edward Seaga that the Budget was overspent by $15 billion suggesting that he had "confused the cost of financing with over-expenditure".
He explained that actual expenditure above the amounts budgeted was $5.5 billion. Of this amount, $3.5 billion represented wages and salaries.
Tempers flared when Mr. Shaw charged that last week the government released $172 million to the Parish Councils to deal with flood relief. He suggested that this was part of a strategy to rev up the PNP's "election machinery", for the upcoming Local Government poll.
Government members called on Mr. Shaw to withdraw the statement but the Opposition would not back down. In fact, Mr. Seaga, threatened that the Opposition members would walk out if the Speaker insisted that the statement be withdrawn.
This led to a brief recess after which Mr. Shaw rephrased his comments and put it in the form of a question.
A few weeks ago, Dr. Davies told a PNP constituency conference that before last October's General Election, the government made public spending decisions on some major projects at the expense of other pressing matters, including relief for flood victims. The Finance Minister afterwards apologised for the "tone and manner" in which he spoke.
However, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson subsequently threw his support behind the Minister, saying he had seen nothing to indicate Dr. Davies had sacrificed the national interest for partisan consideration.
Meanwhile, government MP Donald Buchanan drew the ire of the Opposition after he cited several alleged acts of corruption during the JLP Government of the 1980s. He was particularly hard on Mr. Seaga, pointing to the failed projects under his watch, such as the Spring Plains venture.
At this stage Opposition MP Mike Henry appealed to the Deputy Speaker O.T. Williams, who had assumed the chair, not to allow the debate to degenerate into an attack on any person. He was promptly reminded by Mr. Buchanan that Mr. Shaw had "savaged" the Finance Minister.
In his contribution, Opposition MP Abe Dabdoub said: "This admission (by Dr. Davies) clearly demonstrates an impairment of principle". He added that "it is undoubtedly a corrupt act, unworthy of one who holds the constitutional office of Minister of Finance ..."
