Politics and banking dominate Jamaica’s headlines as silly season begins early
In Jamaica, the month of July before the normal August holidays was extremely busy, with the headlines dominated by news in politics. The kick off for the current political near-frenzy was actually the end of June, when an opinion poll released by the Opposition Peoples National Party (PNP) claimed that if an election were held now, 30.2 per cent would vote for the PNP, while just 25 per cent would vote for the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP.) Previous major polls of, say, 6 months ago would have had the JLP with a small lead, although the gap has apparently been narrowing over the past 12 months.
But even before the poll, the political temperature had been rising. Recent developments post the budget are probably the real reason for the JLP’s recent popularity decline. Jamaica is now in its second (and most expensive and important) year of a radical restructuring of public sector pay and benefits, which involved large increases in public sector pay combined with a collapsing of numerous pay bands and a sharp reduction in very complex allowances. A sharp rise in political directorate salaries has also created a political firestorm.
In this report, we review Jamaica’s recent developments and their impact on the country’s political outlook, as well as reviewing recent macro and fiscal developments and trends.
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