JLP takes aim at youths

Jamaica Labour Party Leader and Prime Minister Andrew Holness has charged the party's young professional arm, Generation 2000 (G2K), to target young Jamaicans.

"It's not enough to go to your political meetings and say 'Shower! Shower! Shower!' because young people want to hear more than just the common political talk," Holness declared on Saturday.

He also warned members that it cannot be business as usual.

"When they come to political meetings, we have to feed them and they must leave feeling fulfilled. The new executive going forward can't be politics as usual. You who are coming in have to stop looking at the politics in the way in which it has been practised for many years," he said, noting that the JLP and the G2K must shift their philosophy more towards economic independence.

This is unlike the opposing People's National Party, which has, over the years, been striving more for political independence, he claimed.

Holness was speaking at the G2K's annual general meeting at the JLP's Belmont Road headquarters in New Kingston on Saturday, where the young professional arm welcomed a new president and executive.

"Our politics is about our economic independence and we will be espousing, developing and executing systems that support that. Our policies are equally pro-care as they are business friendly. Our policy is about prosperity for all," said Holness, who described the JLP as doing "fairly well", and in "full control" of the country's governance having won the recent local government elections.

GROWING DISENCHANTMENT

"We recognise that there is a growing disenchantment in politics, and it is right across all the demographics. There is just this high level of disinterest and pessimism in the future of the country," he said. "This generation must change that. This generation must say we will never again make Jamaica so indebted. We will never again make Jamaica captured by criminals."

Meanwhile, newly elected president Stephen Edwards said he intends to bring a change to how G2K goes about its responsibilities, especially since the JLP is in power.

"G2K has taken on different roles under different presidents, which is understandable because the party has been in different positions at different times," he said. "But now that the Jamaica Labour Party is in power, our mission will change. And the core of that mission is to provide solutions to the common challenges that the people face.

"The purpose of G2K is to bring professional politics where it is not just about tribalism. It is about providing solutions, providing what is better for Jamaica. The G2K tagline is 'It's more than just politics', and that speaks for itself," he said.