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'Dem tek me fe eediot'
Published: Thursday | September 3, 2009
Devon Dick
"You tek me fe eediot" was a sentiment expressed by Robert Montague, minister of state with responsibility for local government when he found the excuses and explanations of a matron inadequate, concerning the appalling state of an infirmary.
I also feel that the Bruce Golding-led government 'tek me fi eediot' based on the 2009/2010 Budget. On May 7, I wrote, "Where are the taxes to come from to pay for the largest tax package in the history of the country when the economy has declined and is projected to decline further? This can be likened to the situation in which the Egyptian Pharaoh gave the enslaved children of Israel straws to make bricks and then decided not to give them straw but rather that they should gather the straws themselves while making the same number of bricks ... . Mr PM it cannot come from the people. The Government's Budget has to change course." Recently, the prime minister agreed with me and has instructed that the Budget be cut by 20 per cent.
It is surprising that four months ago the honourables Bruce Golding, Audley Shaw, Don Wehby and other Cabinet members could not perceive that this Budget could not work. Was it due to incompetence, naïvety or an attempt to "tek we fe eediot"? How come the then president of the PSOJ Chris Zacca could say that the tax package was "extremely tough but very necessary"? How come people trained in finance such as members of the Bankers' Association, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association could not perceive that the Budget was not sustainable?
This is not a three per cent off target; this is one fifth! Twenty per cent!
Peter Bunting, a successful businessman and People's National Party general secretary in his Budget presentation called for state support of political parties. Where is the money to come from to fund political parties? Andrew Holness
Holness, minister of education, knows finance, but in his sectoral debate presentation he was proposing 100 new schools in this economic environment. Dem tek we fe eediot!
Each man for himself
There were different interest groups arguing for removal of taxes on salt, books and computers, etc, while failing to understand that the major problem was attempting to get more taxes in a severely declining economy. There was no national interest but rather an attitude of each man for himself.
Pastor Al Miller on his television programme said that the Government's stimulus package was excellent. This suggests that ministers of the gospel understand economic matters. How come not one denomination or church council uttered a word about this onerous tax package and that the Budget could not work? As The Gleaner editorial said on Saturday, the church is neither 'provocative' nor 'proactive'. The church has lost its saltiness and the people are perishing.
Credibility problem
The prime minister handled the finance portfolio poorly by appointing Wehby for two years as minister of finance number two, thereby undermining confidence in Shaw and establishing a very bad precedence ('Change Course Cabinet' September 18, 2007). Gleaner editorials of October 7, 2008 and August 31, 2009 raised questions about Shaw's credibility and competence. In addition, one editorial suggested that Shaw be removed. Holness has correctly admitted that the Government has a credibility problem. The PM's unilateral decisions concerning the public-sector wage negotiations might be illegal and smacks of immorality have led to protracted wrangling. And now the PM has charged permanent secretaries to cut budget by 20 per cent, which ought to be the role of the ministry of finance. Every ministry should not be cut by the same amount and a central body ought to ensure that adjustments are consistent with a vision!
I am afraid that if we do not change course, many more Jamaicans are going end up at the inadequately funded and poorly operated infirmaries because "dem tek we fe eediot".
Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of Rebellion to Riot: The Church in Nation Building. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.
Published: Thursday | September 3, 2009
Devon Dick
"You tek me fe eediot" was a sentiment expressed by Robert Montague, minister of state with responsibility for local government when he found the excuses and explanations of a matron inadequate, concerning the appalling state of an infirmary.
I also feel that the Bruce Golding-led government 'tek me fi eediot' based on the 2009/2010 Budget. On May 7, I wrote, "Where are the taxes to come from to pay for the largest tax package in the history of the country when the economy has declined and is projected to decline further? This can be likened to the situation in which the Egyptian Pharaoh gave the enslaved children of Israel straws to make bricks and then decided not to give them straw but rather that they should gather the straws themselves while making the same number of bricks ... . Mr PM it cannot come from the people. The Government's Budget has to change course." Recently, the prime minister agreed with me and has instructed that the Budget be cut by 20 per cent.
It is surprising that four months ago the honourables Bruce Golding, Audley Shaw, Don Wehby and other Cabinet members could not perceive that this Budget could not work. Was it due to incompetence, naïvety or an attempt to "tek we fe eediot"? How come the then president of the PSOJ Chris Zacca could say that the tax package was "extremely tough but very necessary"? How come people trained in finance such as members of the Bankers' Association, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association could not perceive that the Budget was not sustainable?
This is not a three per cent off target; this is one fifth! Twenty per cent!
Peter Bunting, a successful businessman and People's National Party general secretary in his Budget presentation called for state support of political parties. Where is the money to come from to fund political parties? Andrew Holness
Holness, minister of education, knows finance, but in his sectoral debate presentation he was proposing 100 new schools in this economic environment. Dem tek we fe eediot!
Each man for himself
There were different interest groups arguing for removal of taxes on salt, books and computers, etc, while failing to understand that the major problem was attempting to get more taxes in a severely declining economy. There was no national interest but rather an attitude of each man for himself.
Pastor Al Miller on his television programme said that the Government's stimulus package was excellent. This suggests that ministers of the gospel understand economic matters. How come not one denomination or church council uttered a word about this onerous tax package and that the Budget could not work? As The Gleaner editorial said on Saturday, the church is neither 'provocative' nor 'proactive'. The church has lost its saltiness and the people are perishing.
Credibility problem
The prime minister handled the finance portfolio poorly by appointing Wehby for two years as minister of finance number two, thereby undermining confidence in Shaw and establishing a very bad precedence ('Change Course Cabinet' September 18, 2007). Gleaner editorials of October 7, 2008 and August 31, 2009 raised questions about Shaw's credibility and competence. In addition, one editorial suggested that Shaw be removed. Holness has correctly admitted that the Government has a credibility problem. The PM's unilateral decisions concerning the public-sector wage negotiations might be illegal and smacks of immorality have led to protracted wrangling. And now the PM has charged permanent secretaries to cut budget by 20 per cent, which ought to be the role of the ministry of finance. Every ministry should not be cut by the same amount and a central body ought to ensure that adjustments are consistent with a vision!
I am afraid that if we do not change course, many more Jamaicans are going end up at the inadequately funded and poorly operated infirmaries because "dem tek we fe eediot".
Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of Rebellion to Riot: The Church in Nation Building. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.
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