My late grandmother told me a long time ago that if you “fool me once, shame on you, [but if you] fool me twice, shame on me”. The Jamaican public, in general, and members of the public service in particular should be guided by those wise words as they contemplate where to place their X on the 25th of February.

A general election is upon us and the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) strategy is clear; promise everything and if that fails, promise some more.

This boorish election strategy reminds me of the lead-up to the 2007 election, where potential voters were bombarded with promises, many of which remained unfulfilled at the end of the JLP’s term.

This time around is no different, though the People’s National Party (PNP) is flattered that our management of the economy over the last four years has been so remarkable that Andrew has changed his tune from bitter medicine. Is it because in his quiet moments he has been forced to reflect on how palatable the necessary medicine has been made by a caring PNP Administration? Making promises that sound good, but lack feasibility, is a key part of JLP election strategy.

Who remembers the promise to turn around Jamaica’s economy in the first 100 days and grow the economy in the first year? What about the promise of doubling the salaries of public sector workers? Not only did Shaw fail to grow the economy, he presided over the Ministry of Finance when the economy experienced 11 consecutive quarters of decline with a negative growth on average of -0.9 per cent for the period of 2007-2011.

This was exacerbated by his arrogant comment that Jamaica would benefit from the recession that was creating havoc in the US. It is safe to assume that Shaw hardly understand economics. He inherited an economy that exported US$2.8 billion worth of goods and services in 2007. By 2011, when he demitted office, exports fell to US$1.8 billion.

The JLP campaign of 2007 promised jobs, but by the time they left office in 2011 over 120,000 jobs were lost and our unemployment rate fell from 9.6 per cent under the PNP in 2006 to 13 per cent under the JLP in 2011.

His record shows that his promise to create 250,000 jobs is an insult to the Jamaican people. Like this time around, some of the JLP’s 2007 promises bordered on the ridiculous. One newspaper article of April 18, 2007 screamed ‘JLP promises 10% growth’. 

claimed that a JLP Administration would redirect resources to grow the economy between six per cent and 10 per cent per annum, reduce the fiscal deficit by earning incremental taxation of $10 billion and $20 billion annually.

The reality was much different, as in 2012 the PNP Administration inherited an economy that was smaller than when we left office in 2007. As finance minister, Shaw presided over the growth of the country’s debt $713.35 billion (US$1.6 billion), with very little to show.

How much would the current promises add to our national debt? Here is a newspaper’s account of Shaw’s promise to nurses while seeking votes ahead of the 2007 election: “… while doubling the nurses’ salary might appear to be ambitious, I don’t believe it is overly ambitious… this is something that I would like to give the commitment that, as minister of finance, this would have to be just the starting position, just the starting position, doubling the salary of nurses!” When nurses tried to hold the minister accountable for this commitment, his response was the now famous “not another red cent”.

This time around is no different.

The JLP’s 10 point plan is riddled with flaws and if implemented will return Jamaica to the days of runaway inflation, high interest rates, and the cold shoulder treatment by the international community. The points, when taken together, are not economically feasible, given our current realities.

The JLP’s 10-point plan is ill-advised and ill-conceived and if implemented will lead to a rapid increase in our debt stock, something that this Government has painstakingly corrected with the tremendous sacrifice of the Jamaican people.

This plan would be catastrophic for the budget because it would add over $100 billion to the deficit. With regard to the JLP’s plan to remove income tax liability from people earning up to $1.5 million, our position remains that this item will cost north of $30 billion and will erode the progress made in managing our affairs over the past four years. Another major plank of the JLP’s 10-point plan is the removal of the auxiliary fees for schools and doubling of minimum wage for public sector workers.

If implemented, this would result in a loss of income to schools and an increase in government spending of $3 billion to $5 billion. As for the 60-year mortgage proposal, Howard Mitchell, who chaired the National Housing Trust from 2008 to 2012, has done a good job responding.

I will only add that wise people learn from the experiences of others. This has been attempted in other jurisdictions without success.

The JLP’s 10-point plan should only be viewed as what it is: a half-baked blueprint with absolutely no foundation.

Omar Newell is the general secretary of The Patriots, a young professional caucus of the People’s National Party. Send comments to the Observer or twitter.com/OmarNewell or omar.newell@gmail.com.