UNDETERRED BY PAST EXPERIENCES in recent weeks, a number of private sector leaders have once again called for greater involvement in the national budget process. In the latest instance, Noel DaCosta, president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, argued that the Chamber can help Government to plan its business more efficiently and avoid the confusion, and chopping and changing of policies that occurred in recent budgets.
The Chamber of Commerce president's comments come on the heels of similar sentiments by the chairman of the Jamaica Conference Board, Desmond Blades. Not to be outdone, the labour movement has also added its voice to the call for greater consultation in the strategies that will be entailed in the upcoming crucial budget presentation. President of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions, Senator Dwight Nelson, said that with the expected expiration of the MoU, these discussions were particularly critical.
In the past, while Government has always stated its commitment to consultation and actually initiated pre-budget discussion in parliamentary committees, in the final analysis, the finance ministry invariably implements tax measures that it deems necessary. While this may be linked to mere expediency, this practice has raised concerns that the Government may be committed to consultation but in practice its fiscal demands call the shots - not the consultative agreements.
This time around, however, the strident statements demanding consultation emanating from private sector interests suggest that the sector believes it is now batting on a better wicket. This new positive conviction could be attributed to the private sector's recent success in getting parliamentarians to sign the Political Code of Conduct even after initial protests by some MPs.
Additionally, no doubt the sector feels that with the leadership race in the PNP heating up - a race that includes the Minister of Finance - the aspirants and the party generally may be more amenable to calls for consultation. At an even deeper level, however, the private sector's call for consultation could be linked to its pragmatic position regarding the difficult option that the Government will face when the MoU expires next March. In short, the sector believes that Government will have no option but to cement relations with its social partners.
But whatever may be the real motive of the private sector, we support the call for consultation not as a cosmetic strategy, but as part of the strategic economic management policies that have to characterise modern market economies like ours. Consultation is no longer an option, it is simply mandatory.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
