PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson should fire Finance Minister, Dr. Omar Davies, and Governor of the Bank of Jamaica, Derick Latibeaudiere, G2K, a group of young professionals affiliated to the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), demanded yesterday.
Speaking to reporters at the JLP's Belmont Road headquarters in Kingston, the group said the country had lost confidence in the abilities of both individuals and that the Prime Minister now had an obligation to relieve them of their positions.
"We at G2K deliberately decided not to make any statements on the recently concluded Budget presentation before conducting our own thorough analysis," Dr. Ronald Robinson, president of G2K said.
"The budget, characterised by contradictions, has created a crisis of confidence within the economy as evidenced by the continuous depreciation of the Jamaican dollar against the United States currency."
He added: "We are now saying to the Prime Minister that he has a duty to restore confidence and hope in the future of the country. We believe the people, and quite rightly so, have lost confidence in the Minister of Finance, and the Governor of the Bank of Jamaica. The Prime Minister should now do the honourable thing and replace them both."
And dismissing the budget as one that "lacks credibility and offers very little hope for economic growth", Dr. Robinson said the Prime Minister and his Cabinet also had an obligation to withdraw and re-issue a properly thought out budget.
"They must take into consideration the need to cut Government spending rather than taxing an already over-taxed productive sector," he said. "We believe that the budget is contradictory as it is unlikely that tax revenues will increase with a suppression of consumption and no growth in the economy."
