JLP manifesto bereft of targets

Robert Wynter, Contributor

The main purpose of a political party is to gain power, while its secondary role is the general direction and control of government in the furtherance of national development. With different objectives, it is natural to expect different plans to achieve the respective purpose. A party's plan to gain (or regain) power is never shared with the public, while the Government's plan is usually embodied in the Budget presentation.

However, the party manifesto, which is intended to be a plan for governing, in reality tends to serve the purpose of ensuring victory at the polls. Party manifestos are, therefore, very attractively packaged, full of good news, highly operational rather than strategic, and have broad goals to which the respective party cannot be held accountable. These are the common threads in the manifestos of both of Jamaica's major political parties. Having assessed the PNP's manifesto last week, I will attempt to do the same for the JLP's.

JLP manifesto

1. The manifesto was finally launched last Monday with signs clearly pointing to the rushed manner in which it was prepared. First, there was the unnecessary release of the 'Achievements' document less than a week before the launch of the manifesto. I can only conclude this was done to pre-empt the PNP's launch of its manifesto only two hours later.

Second, the fact that the document was as long as 132 pages indicated that there was inadequate time and effort to distil and prioritise the myriads of ideas.

Third, the reappearance of the pre-2007 proposal to merge JAMPRO, the Development Bank of Jamaica and the EXIM Bank indicates that inadequate care was taken in updating the previous manifesto.

2. The manifesto does confirm the party's alignment to Vision 2030, the National Development Plan and the PIOJ's Growth-Inducement Strategy; however, there is no stated 2016 Vision or targets (aligned to Vision 2030) to which we should hold a future JLP administration accountable.

At the launch, Prime Minister Holness and the manifesto chair, Dr Chris Tufton, defended the absence of targets, claiming the party has no control over external variables. What the goodly gentlemen fail to adequately grasp is that it is because there is no control over the variables that targets must be set and a plan developed to achieve the targets.

Without targets, we cannot know if we are off-track and what is needed to get back on track. In other words, if we do not know where we are going (performance targets), any plan, or for that matter any manifesto, will get us there!

3. To the party's credit, the manifesto listed 10 broad goals to which the party is committed to achieving: grow the economy; empower our youth; support growth in awareness and understanding of our history and vibrant culture; further reduce crime; protect the vulnerable; restore trust in the political system; remove tribalism and garrison culture from our politics; improve the efficiency of our public sector; make our tax system equitable; and make public-sector pension schemes adequate and equitable. However, while there are many, many proposed activities and ideas, there are no clear and coherent strategies to make the quantum leap from where we are to where we need to go.

4. While the achievements in all areas listed provide a creditable case for another term in office, they were a rehash of those highlighted in the 'Achievements' document released the previous week, confirming the irrelevance of the latter document. Most significant achievements appeared to be in the areas of macroeconomic stability, tourism, agriculture and governance.

The manifesto also clearly stated the difficult environment within which the administration operated, which partly explained the anaemic performance of the economy over the last four years.

5. While the manifesto stated that aspects of the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme's (JDIP) management have been found wanting, the manifesto has not adequately acknowledged the administration's shortcomings and fails to outline steps to address these shortcomings. For example, there were no stated corrective actions for JDIP's mismanagement.

6. There are a few additional comments:

a. In his opening message, the party leader stated: "We must and we will restore trust in the political system ... ." However, Prime Minster Holness failed to commit to restoring our trust in the party.

b. Under economic policy - "With Europe threatening to put the world economy back into recession ... the second term will be characterised by reforms designed to speed up growth and employment." While the International Monetary Fund programme, tax, public-sector and pension reform and central Treasury management are all necessary, I am not convinced they are sufficient to "speed up growth and employment".

c. Also under economic policy: "... We intend to reduce the cost of the public sector to below 10 per cent of GDP." The Public Sector Transformation Unit's report, with potential savings of $45 billion over five years, has been approved by Cabinet but implementation has been slow.

d. Under transport and works: "Among the major achievements ... have been the ... return of the rail service." This does not square with the recent report of major operational losses and the need to sell assets to shore up those losses.

As early as possible, the Opposition must make a major introspection and develop a plan to correct its shortcomings over the next five years to place it in a better position to retake the Government. The Opposition ought not to wait for the next election period to inform the country of its plans; rather, it should be open, transparent and continually report to the public on its progress.

Civil society must shift gears after the election. A vote once every five years is not sufficient for democracy. We must hold the Government to transparency and accountability by demanding targets and initiatives, as well as extent of achievement of targets and initiatives. If targets are not being met, we must ensure that changes are made to achieve the targets.

With good governance, strategy, leadership, accountability, transparency and civil society involvement, Jamaica will become the place of choice to live, work, raise a family and do business.

Robert Wynter is the managing director of Strategic Alignment Limited, which facilitates organisational realignment and leadership development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and rob.wyn@hotmail.com.

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  What needs to happen after December 29?
  

1. Articulate national five-year performance targets aligned to the four major goals of Vision 2030: Jamaicans are empowered to achieve their fullest potential; Jamaican society is secure, cohesive and just; Jamaican's economy is prosperous; and Jamaica has a healthy natural environment.

2. Prepare a five-year strategic plan for the Government to enable the achievement of the national five-year performance targets. Included in the plan should be: the key issues that will hinder the achievement of the performance targets; strategies and initiatives to address these issues; and a plan to organise the Government to effectively execute the strategies and initiatives.

3. Align the Medium Term Framework and the 2012-2013 Budget to the Government's five-year strategic plan.

4. Determine the major five-year and 2012-2013 performance targets for each ministry (e.g. total agricultural output and output per worker for the Ministry of Agriculture; number of arrivals, average days' stay and net tourism earnings for the Ministry of Tourism) and have each ministry develop strategic plans to achieve the targets. Each department and agency within the ministries must do the same, including aligning their respective budgets to the strategic plans.

5. Government, ministry, department and agency strategic plans are all to be laid in Parliament during this year's annual Budget Debate.

6. Each quarter, the extent of achievement of quarterly targets for all the above is to be reported to the general public via the Parliament.