‘My mind is not on elections’

WESTERN BUREAU:

PRIME MINISTER Andrew Holness is hitting back at critics of his administration’s activities ahead of Jamaica’s scheduled election period, declaring that he is more concerned about sustaining the management of the country’s good governance than about scoring votes.

Addressing a town hall meeting on housing and land at the Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay, St James, last evening, Holness described as “power-mongers” those who bring up the upcoming elections as part of criticising his administration’s work.

General elections are due by December 2025, while local government elections are due by February 2024.

“We are a democracy, and when elections are due, they are due, but we must not postpone and defer and interrupt our progress for elections. Elections must be a routine. They must be very short, orderly, and seamless, and then you get back to business, but there are those who want to use the elections to disrupt progress,” said Holness.

“My mind is not on elections. My mind is on ensuring that those who are at the base of society, who still have not yet felt the change that is happening, that you will get the chance because your government is not taking its eyes off managing your business and your affairs,” Holness added.

“There are those who are power-mongers. They just want power, and they don’t necessarily believe in your progress, and the truth is that when they get power, they don’t know what to do with it.”

Over the past few months, the Opposition People’s National Party [PNP] has blasted the ruling Jamaica Labour Party’s [JLP] management of the country on several political platforms. Among the chief criticisms by the PNP are the current controversy regarding six as-yet-unnamed parliamentarians under investigation for alleged illicit enrichment and the state of Jamaica’s healthcare system to include the problem-plagued Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James.

But during Thursday evening’s meeting, Holness urged the attendees not to give in to pessimism despite the lingering issues affecting the country, to include salary disputes, which he said his critics will take advantage of for their own benefit.

“Inasmuch as people are employed, we still have many people who are considered to be working but relatively poor. It is a reality of the Jamaican experience, but tonight, I want to engage you, those of you, my Jamaican brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, who for decades, have not seen the prospects of changing your circumstances, and I ask you not to give up hope,” said Holness.

“What they [critics] do is feed upon your frustration, and there are many things to be frustrated about. But what you don’t want is to disrupt the good governances, the good processes, the good management that is delivering the things that will make your life better,” Holness added.