Golding says government failing to deliver prosperity to Jamaicans

President of the People's National Party (PNP) Mark Golding has accused the Andrew Holness Government of failing to deliver real prosperity to Jamaicans.

Speaking at a South St Andrew Constituency Conference on Sunday night at the Tony Spaulding Complex, Golding argued that the administration has not fulfilled its 2016 poverty-to-prosperity plan. 

In February 2016, Holness presented to Jamaica a 10-plank programme he promised would catapult the nation from “poverty to prosperity”. 

Back then, Holness promised a rewarding package if elected to office on February 25, 2016. 

In an effort to prove the downfalls of Holness, Golding touched on points to explain why he accused Holness of falling short in his promises to the nation.

For example, Golding stated that on the verge of this new academic year, the education system is in crisis with teachers leaving in droves over the last two years and that the public sector wage adjustment did not do enough for people who needed it most.

“The primary school system is not delivering. Over 30 per cent of the youths leaving primary school can't read and write. How can we build a country like that?” Golding questioned. 

He said people, and more specifically youths, have to be invested in and that the country has to build the best early childhood system. 

With that, he said the country “would have a workforce that can support investment that generates high-paying jobs that can build wealth for our people [and] real prosperity.”

“Not the bogus prosperity the Andrew Holness and his gang have been spreading on the land. People, we have to do better than this Jamaica,” he said.

Golding also noted that as the theme of the PNP's annual conference states “Time Come for Empowering Change”, he has been feeling the energy of Jamaicans becoming more confident in the party and that it will win future elections. 

“For the last year, I've been feeling the wind of change blowing over the land. I've seen the People's National Party coming together as one team. I've seen the people of Jamaica recognising the progress we have been making and rewarding us but showing that they have confidence and trust in us again,” Golding said.

“And I can see the Jamaica Labour Party starting to panic and get bummy when they see what is happening, so all of you, all of my comrades and friends, please pay attention to what we say, listen keenly to what we say, beware of the fake news and the misinformation and the distorted information that you're going to hear coming more and more because they know they have a track record that the Jamaican people don't rate because they haven't done enough to deal with the real issues facing our country,” he said.

- Ainsworth Morris 

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