THE GOVERNMENT has promised to take the budget debate out of the Parliament and into the constituencies in order to tell Jamaicans "the full story" about the new tax measures announced last week.

Speaking at the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, Mrs. Henry-Wilson said the decision to impose the tax increase on gasolene was not taken easily, but was necessary to maintain budget deficit, inflation and other targets. She also dismissed the view that Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies, was callous and uncaring in presenting the new taxes last week.

"The Government will survive this round of protest...we believe the people of Jamaica are sufficiently aware that we can go and speak with them (about the budget)," she said.

The Minister said the Government would be holding meetings within various constituencies to mitigate the worst fears of the population by "presenting the budget in its totality".

She also called on journalists to tell "the full story" with respect to the budget, and not only about the increase in gas prices. "There are many other things in the budget which include the fact that we are spending more on road repairs than we have in the past, and other things which will be of benefit to the population," she said.

Mrs. Henry-Wilson said the Government will also be using regulatory bodies such as the Consumer Affairs Commission to prevent price gouging as a result of the increase in gas prices.

The Minister said while the Government was not against lawful demonstrations, she noted that some protests were marked with "criminal acts of looting" while others were characterised by political opportunism. She said she was satisfied with the performance of the security forces in upholding the law during the protests.

Mrs. Henry-Wilson restated that $700 million was not allocated in the budget to build a new Parliament building, but $9.3 million for preliminary work.