KINGSTON, Jamaica — Government members voted solidly with Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, to pass the 2017/18 budget, after an Opposition walkout.

Opposition members of Parliament walked out of the chamber after it was apparent that they would not be able to muster the numbers needed to carry a divide and defeat the motion for approval of the estimates.

Two Opposition MPs — Dr Omar Davis (Southern St Andrew) and Ian Hayles (Western Hanover) — were absent from the sitting.

All 32 Government MPs were present at Gordon House, including the ailing House Leader, Derrick Smith, who stayed on call in Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ office while Shaw closed the debate and eventually called for the vote.

Opposition spokesmen told the media that Dr Davies’ absence was due to his wife’s illness. There was no explanation for the absence of the controversial Hayles, who is currently battling the Contractor General in court over the release of a report citing him for misbehaviour.

 Opposition spokesman on finance, Peter Phillips, said that the tax package was a big deficit in the lives of the people, which the Opposition could not support. However, he said that the Opposition was not prepared to vote against the Appropriations Bill.

“We are conscious also that we could have voted no, but winning the vote would have had implications for Jamaica’s reputation in the international financial and the constitutional stability of the country, Phillips explained.

But, Government MP Daryl Vaz said that it all came down to the management of the numbers, and showed that the administration’s one-seat majority can work if properly managed.

“It is simply that we managed our numbers properly, and they couldn’t,” Vaz told OBSERVER ONLINE after the meeting.

Balford Henry