'Flat and without substance'...PNP on Holness' presentation at annual conference

The People's National Party (PNP) has described the presentation by the Jamaica Labour Party leader and Prime Minister at their party’s annual conference was a bunch of optics without substance.

The presentation by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, the PNP said, fell flat and amounted to nothing more than a series of old announcements repackaged.

The PNP said the continued re-announcement of closed-circuit cameras in public spaces and the reliance on the failed ZOSO again signal the lack of any real plan of action to stem the violent crime crisis plaguing the nation. 

According to the PNP, there was a deliberate attempt to gloss over the fact that Jamaicans are being murdered in large numbers and there was no acknowledgement of the government's inability to address the issue.

“Prime Minister Holness was particularly silent on the fact that 54 Jamaicans were killed last week alone, which was almost 8 per day,” a spokesperson said in a statement.  

On the state of the economy, the PNP stated that Holness’ presentation offered no explanation for his administration's missed economic targets such as the much-vaunted 5% growth in four years and the fall in the Doing Business Index.

The party also took the JLP to task on corruption.

Full Statement

The People's National Party (PNP) said the presentation by the Jamaica Labour Party leader and Prime Minister at their party’s Annual Conference was a bunch of optics without substance.

The presentation by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, the PNP said, fell flat and amounted to nothing more than a series of old announcements repackaged.

The PNP said the continued re-announcement of CC cameras in public spaces and the reliance on the failed ZOSO again signal the lack of any real plan of action to stem the violent crime crisis plaguing the nation. 

The PNP noted that there was a deliberate attempt to gloss over the fact that Jamaicans are being murdered in large numbers and there was no acknowledgement of the government's inability to address the issue. In fact, there was no mention of the murder statistics. More Jamaicans today are murdered now than last year this time, and more than in 2016 when the JLP took office.  Prime Minister Holness was particularly silent on the fact that 54 Jamaicans were killed last week alone, which was almost 8 per day.

On the state of the economy, the Prime Minister's presentation offered no explanation for his Administration's missed economic targets, such as the much-vaunted 5% growth in 4 years (5 in 4) and the fall in the Doing Business Index. There was no clear plan to get the country back on the right track

After four years in office, the evidence has confirmed that the Holness-led Administration has squandered the opportunity for economic growth and improvement in the lives of hard-working Jamaicans, after the successful recovery of the economy led by Dr. Peter Phillips in the previous PNP administration.  

The PNP is disappointed that despite the improved fiscal space only an additional four communities are to be earmarked for development. 

Indeed, the PNP has called for the government to instead use the improved fiscal space to reduce GCT by 2% to alleviate the burden facing Jamaicans across the country.

The PNP also rejects the Prime Minister's excuse for the cancer of corruption, which is robbing the public purse of millions of dollars on a daily basis. This, the Prime Minister called a "learning curve".

By treating corruption as a necessary part of learning, the Prime Minister has given his stamp of approval to the pilferage and wanton misuse of taxpayers’ money. He has tried to make light of the high levels of corrupt practices, which have plagued his administration and caused two Ministers to resign and one arrested in an early morning raid by MOCA and related security agencies.

This anti-climactic and incoherent presentation which was heavily hyped and promoted as a ground-breaking speech was sorely disappointing. This was evident on the faces of persons in attendance and those that opted to leave the Arena during the Prime Minister’s presentation.

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