Increased fees could cancel out SLB interest-rate reduction

OPPOSITION LEADER Portia Simpson Miller has argued that the reduction of interest rates on loans provided by the Students' Loan Bureau (SLB) announced last week by the Government could be wiped out by an increase in fees to students.

Making her presentation to the Budget Debate in Gordon House yesterday, Simpson Miller said the cut in interest rates from 12 per cent to nine per cent was a move supported by the Opposition.

However, she raised concerns about an announcement made by Education Minister Andrew Holness who had indicated that the subvention to tertiary institutions would be reduced.

Holness had also said that the savings from the subvention would be pumped into the lending institution.

"So on the one hand, we have one minister giving a break to our tertiary students while, on the other hand, a different minister from the same Government is taking it back," Simpson Miller complained.

The opposition leader also wanted to know whether the prime minister would be fulfilling his commitment to provide a special interest rate of four per cent for loans from the bureau to students pursuing disciplines linked to national priorities.

Establish national council on energy

FACED WITH the burdensome costs of increasing oil prices on the global market, the parliamentary Opposition is recommending the establishment of a national council on energy.

In a three-hour presentation to the 2011-2012 Budget Debate in Gordon House yesterday, Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller suggested that some key sectors should comprise the council.

The players recommended to sit on the council include Government, Opposition, petroleum dealers and marketing companies, power-generation companies, academia and consumers.

Simpson Miller wants the council to take charge of the implementation of Jamaica's energy policy.

The council's mandate, according to the opposition leader, should include the short-, medium- and long-term energy projections for energy security.

Another critical issue which Simpson Miller felt the council could address was the renegotiation of the licence governing the operation of the Jamaica Public Service.

"This demands bold and transformational leadership," she said.

She called on the administration to use its 20 per cent holding in the JPS as "leverage to protect the consumers".

Proposed issues that the council should address

• The upgrade and expansion of the Petrojam refinery
• Resolving the outstanding issues with respect to the LNG project and other fuel sources
• Liberalisation of the electricity grid
• The exploration and exploitation of all types of renewable energy
• Fostering a culture of efficient use and conservation of energy among the population starting in basic schools