JLP hosts conference today amid growing political heat
Holness to address policy, bread-and-butter issues as general election looms
Published:Sunday | November 24, 2024 | 12:10 AMErica Virtue - Senior Gleaner Writer
Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Chairman Robert Montague says the ruling party remains upbeat as thousands of party delegates and supporters will gather at the National Arena today to celebrate the party’s achievements, hear plans for the future, and prepare for a rigorous campaign to secure a new term in office.
The party’s conference comes on the heels of two municipal by-election defeats to the opposition People’s National Party (PNP) in Aenon Town, Clarendon, and Morant Bay, St Thomas, on Friday. The JLP also restored its 49-seat majority in the House in two parliamentary races uncontested by the PNP but featuring independent candidates.
Outlining several achievements of his administration in an address last week, Prime Minister Andrew Holness – who is also the leader of the JLP – touted six pillars that he believes will be critical for transforming Jamaica into a modern, peaceful, productive prosperous society through the acronym ASPIRE. They include access to economic opportunity for all, safety and security of the people, infrastructure development, reform of bureaucracy, and economic diversification.
Montague told The Sunday Gleaner that today’s public session of the JLP’s annual conference is all about Holness, with the first order of business being his re-election as leader of the 81-year-old party.
“Conference day is the leader’s day,” he told The Sunday Gleaner yesterday. “But there are other individuals who will speak to other aspects of the party. So you will hear from the secretariat in terms of [election] readiness – the financial and administrative side, [and] candidates-wise.
“The leader’s address will include a policy statement to lay out new policies and programmes in light of his stated objective that the Government is going to pivot for growth,” he added.
Montague said it is important for Jamaicans to know how much the country has progressed under the Holness administration.
“We intend to lay out the foundations of a campaign [for the general election] which is due within the year. We also will lay out the programmes and policy message to capture the imagination and the aspirations of the general public. We will be speaking not only to our delegates and supporters; the party leader will use the opportunity to lay out some programmes that will address the bread-and-butter issues that concern the people both here in Jamaica and in the diaspora,” Montague told The Sunday Gleaner.
Holness’ address today also comes amid snowballing industrial action in the critical tourism sector – the island’s highest foreign exchange earner raking in some US$4 billion annually – as hotel workers clamour for better wages and improved working conditions.
Montague said that among the speakers today will be Senator Kavan Gayle, the president general of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union.
“The comments of Senator Kavan Gayle are going to be very important against the background of what has been happening to workers in general and the party’s vision for workers’ upliftment. ... We are the party that was born out of the struggles of the workers, as this is a party built on the foundation of councillors,” he said.
The JLP chairman added that Holness is well aware of the discontent across the island, including concerns about the underperformance of political representatives.
“The party leader, who tours Jamaica extensively and who has heard the cries of the people, has been warning persons about arrogance and their lack of performance. If you listened to him, you would have heard his comments on the issue. So ‘pivoting’ is a loaded expression. He will speak more to the next chapter, so they can share the vision and also benefit from it,” Montague said.
Publisher and talk show host Franklin McKnight said the results of last Friday’s by-elections in the PNP-contested races must indicate to the prime minister that the road to a potential third term is becoming increasingly more difficult, but he believes there is time to smooth things over.
“Friday’s results show that the road is more difficult. The only good thing is that he has time, and he is the one who determines the time [to call the election]. Whether the time will be enough, we will see, but it is better that he sees the realities and difficulties now than whenever he calls the election,” McKnight told The Sunday Gleaner.
He noted that Friday’s blows were more severe than those in February as despite the JLP’s efforts to mobilise resources, with the political machinery and party leadership focused on St Thomas and Clarendon, its efforts were unsuccessful.
The Morant Bay defeat also occurred against the backdrop of a multibillion-dollar investment in the Morant Bay Urban Centre.
McKnight added that the parliamentary races held little weight in testing the political temperature, given that victories for the JLP were anticipated as the PNP did not put forward candidates.
He emphasised that the level of mobilisation at the divisional level underscored the intensity of the political battle facing Holness and the JLP, especially against a resurgent PNP buoyed by favourable poll results and outcomes from the local government elections.