Ordinario del Ecuador Necesaria Reforma.
DE LA SUSTANCIACIÓN DE LOS JUICIOS Sección 1 da.
Jamaica has experienced a deteriorating economic environment and performance in the 1990s, resulting in a negligible change in GDP over the course of the decade and five years of per capita GDP decline from 1996 to 2000. Among factors obstructing growth were high domestic interest rates, which were linked to
persistent budget deficits, and a spiral of domestic debt accumulation. Public debt now represents about 143% of GDP.
We face many development challenges in Jamaica, but it is no good tackling them piecemeal. Each of them affects all the others. We need to tackle them all together, with a common strategy, a clear timetable, and measurable targets.
I note with serious concern for sometime now the policy of government owned entities to invest their revenue surpluses in Government Securities (Government Paper, Repos and other similar financial instruments) and other market securities, rather than in the people of Jamaica for development. Theses surpluses range from a low of 30 billion dollars to high of approximately 100 billion dollars. This policy concerns me for the following reasons:
1) Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies. It undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life, and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish.
This evil phenomenon is found in all countries -– big and small, rich and poor –- but it is in the developing world that its effects are most destructive. Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately –- by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a government’s ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality
and injustice, and discouraging foreign aid and investment. Corruption is a key element in economic
underperformance, and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development.
2) Jamaica, based on the last Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from Transparency International, has a score of 4, which is less than acceptable. 3) This attempt by government policy makers to play STOCK BROKER has it serious downsides for example, even well intentioned policymakers are not qualified to invest funds and manage money. Simply stated, they do not face the bottom-line pressures that force private businesses and investors to allocate
resources wisely. Such approaches pose very far-reaching potential dangers for the Jamaican economy.
Under a system of government-controlled investing, the government would be able to purchase a significant percentage of publicly traded companies. Once it is a dominant shareholder, the government could use its power to insist, for example, that companies place politicians on their boards of directors. Even if they were not placed in positions of direct power, they could use their voting power to impose control. And when politicians control business decisions, political incentives become more important than economic ones. Invariably, this leads to less prosperity.
Consider the experience of other countries. Much of Western Europe suffers from stagnation and high rates of unemployment. High tax rates and excessive welfare benefits certainly deserve part of the blame, but the widespread direct and indirect control of business has had severe consequences. Countries in the former Soviet Bloc suffered decades of deprivation and poverty under a system that allowed politicians, rather than the marketplace, to allocate resources. Without the guidance of competitive prices and lacking proper incentives, the centralized planning
created an economic catastrophe from which these countries will need years to recover.
4) The managers of private pension funds have the legal obligation to make
investments that are in the best interest of workers. In other words, they must try to get the highest possible return, adjusted for risk. Would such a standard apply under a system of government-controlled investing, and could it even be enforced? This is a significant concern because legislators sometimes believe that the
marketplace is not producing the right results; they try to help or punish certain industries or companies through spending programs, tax breaks, and regulatory exemptions. They also can do this by providing special access to capital, another risk that would arise if politicians controlled how retirement funds were invested. The recent downturn in Asia illustrates the danger of this approach. Decades of industrial policy, or crony capitalism, left these countries with debt-laden banking systems, inefficient industries, and companies that cannot compete. Unlike the Europeans, the Asians largely avoided direct government ownership, but widespread political manipulation of lending decisions and investment choices produced the same result.
Politicians frequently use the levers of power to counteract markets by steering resources in certain directions. These same levers of power could be used for more narrow political purposes as politicians provide favors or steer resources to
constituents and allies. A large pot of government-controlled money, creates the opportunity to divert money for special interests. This is what has happened in many countries in the developing world. Would Jamaica be any different?
6) When operating private pre-funded systems, fund managers pick well-balanced portfolios designed to maximize long-term returns. This is a legal requirement largely because it is the best way to ensure that workers will have a comfortable and secure retirement. Fund managers may or may not approve of the goods and
services produced by the companies in which they invest, but their fiduciary responsibility is clear: They must invest with the workers' interests in mind. Unfortunately, it is not clear that managers in a system of government-controlled investment would have the same incentives. Politicians routinely go after certain industries and/or companies, and withdrawing investment funds would be one way to show their displeasure. Conversely, some causes are politically popular.
Allocating investments to these ventures, even if they are expected to lose money, could be advantageous for politicians.
Although advocates of the present Government Companies investing policy may argue that the concerns outlined above are overstated, arguments against political control are supported by historical evidence. For example, pension funds for state and local government employees in the United States frequently are subjected to political manipulation. Moreover, other countries that set up social security systems using government-controlled investment have had lackluster or even negative results.
Finally, think about the following:
Suppose we used 3 billion dollars of these surpluses to set up a YOUTH DEVLOPMENT FUND for youth in Jamaica, what impact would this have? We have a persistent crime problem in Jamaica, suppose we were to invest 5 billion dollars in the needy communities of Mountainview, Canterbury, Flankers and the needy communities of Spanish Town (Ellerslie Pen, Tawes Pen, and others) what impact would this have on Jamaica?
I provoke your serious comments on these important Development issues. Remember it is not about you or me it is all about JAMAICA.
…The government intends to advance reforms in the public expenditure management system over the medium term. The plan for the current year is to extend modernization measures implemented in the pilot ministries to the rest of the central government. These measures aim at establishing output-based budgeting, and linking salary increases to performance by the end of this fiscal year, and moving toward accrual accounting over a three-year period. In addition, the authorities plan further to strengthen the cash management system.
Jamaica: 2004 Article IV Consultation
Overview
The Government of Jamaica is in the process of a phased shift from cash to full accrual budgeting. Historically cash accounting, with its embodiment in domestic legislation and international guidelines, has underpinned the production of public accounts. In recent times, however, the Government has given greater attention to developing more business-like reporting within the public sector. These changes do not affect the Government’s fiscal objectives or strategy, but they do require some changes in measurement and terminology.
The move from cash to accrual budgeting is an important step in the Government’s reform program to develop more business-like reporting for the public sector that accounts for the full cost of service delivery and incorporates a ‘whole of
government’ approach.
The fundamental distinction between the two forms of accounting centers on timing cash accounting records the transaction when cash is exchanged, whereas accrual indicators record a financial flow at the time economic value is created, transformed, exchanged, transferred or extinguished, whether or not cash is exchanged at the time.
liabilities and depreciation will now be regularly incorporated in the production of public accounts.
The transition to an accrual accounting framework does not change the objectives of fiscal policy. It will, however, be necessary to express the fiscal strategy and associated targets in accrual budgeting terms. The Government is pursuing a medium-term fiscal objective of achieving underlying cash balance on average over the economic cycle. Following the introduction of accrual accounting, the Government will aim to achieve fiscal balance the accrual counterpart of the underlying cash balance on average over the economic cycle. The fiscal
balance, like the underlying cash balance, measures the Government’s contribution to net lending (the national investment-saving imbalance) and hence to the external current account balance. The fiscal balance is an aggregate in the Government Finance Statistics (GFS) operating statement. It can also be derived from an accounting standard operating result by making two adjustments for economic revaluations and capital.
The main advantage of accrual measures (as opposed to cash) is that they provide a more comprehensive indication of the total activity of Government and the long- term effects of current policy. Cash measures do, however, have some advantages for tracking expenditures in a fiscal year and helping to identify the short-term effect of fiscal policy on the economy. Consequently, cash indicators for the headline and the underlying balance will continue to be produced.
The move to accrual budgeting will result in several presentational changes. First, budget reporting will adopt a consolidated framework by shifting from budget sector to general government reporting. Second, as part of the Budget process, consistent with both accounting and Government Finance Statistic and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) requirements, the Government will produce a complete set of accrual statements, including:
an operating statement;
a statement of assets and liabilities; and
a statement of cash flows.
Thirdly, to promote greater efficiency in the management of its assets, the Government will produce a capital budget statement that will account for all capital expenditure and funding.
Taken together, this series of reforms should contribute towards more transparent and informative public accounts and greater efficiency in the management of public resources.
While the fiscal balance is the accrual counterpart of the underlying cash balance, there will be differences as to when transactions are recorded on an accrual and a cash basis, with the result that the fiscal balance may differ from the underlying cash balance in a given period. Some company tax liabilities will be brought forward with the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) arrangements but certain tax installments (cash payments) will be deferred and paid in latter years. The bringing forward of tax liabilities will be reflected in accrual revenues , but they will not be recorded in cash revenues until the tax installments are paid. These timing differences will result in a sizeable divergence between the fiscal balance and underlying cash balance.
While unrelated to the movement to an accrual budget, another important change in the Budget is the treatment of Public Trading Enterprises (PTEs) superannuation liabilities. The Government still makes superannuation payments to current and
former employees of PTEs who were once employees within the general
government sector. These payments, have previously been treated as financing transactions and have therefore had no impact on the budget cash balances. However, consistent with changes to the National Accounts in line with international statistical standards, onwards, these payments will be effectively treated as budget outlays with the result that they will be recorded in (reduce) the underlying and headline cash balances.