NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
JDC 2020 FINANCE AND ECONOMICS DEBATE COVERS WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES
Kingston, Jamaica. August 27, 2020. A wide range of issues were examined by the Jamaica Labour Party, JLP and the People’s National Party, PNP in the Finance and Economics debate hosted under the auspices of the Jamaica Debates Commission, JDC in Kingston on Thursday evening.
Finance Minister and JLP representative Dr. Nigel Clarke and his opposite number the PNP’s Mark Golding faced fourteen questions from the panel of two journalists and a selection of questions drawn from social media and electronically mailed in ones. There were also four follow up questions, as the journalists tried to get specific answers to their questions.
When the debaters got to pose questions, they each went to questioning whether or not the electorate can trust the other’s party and their leadership to take the country out of the Coronavirus pandemic.
More than ten (10) areas were explored by the questioners as the journalists including how the parties planned to fund the promises made in their respective manifestoes. There were also questions on plans for rebuilding the economy after COVID-19, economic growth, investment, managing devaluation, tax policy, economic growth, provision of housing and reducing dependency on the COVID-hit tourism industry.
The debate covered a wide range of topics, to include curtailing waste and breaches in government contract procurement, problems with roads, water, education, crime and violence as well as constitutional issues such as replacing the monarchy.
The questioners in the debate were Dashan Hendricks and Kalilah Reynolds, while Marjorie Gordon pulled questions from social media, including from the Diaspora. It was moderated by Damion Mitchell.
The next and final debate in the series will be on Saturday August 29, 2020 when JLP Leader and Prime Minister Andrew Holness will be challenged by PNP President and Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Pater Phillips. That debates can be viewed globally via the JDC’s website www.jamaicadebatescommission.org, and the Commission’s YouTube channel.
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