PNP Rally | PNP's Janice Allen vows to restore Montego Bay’s middle class, to revitalise local economy

People’s National Party (PNP) candidate for St James Central, Janice Allen, has pledged to restore Montego Bay’s middle class and create opportunities for small business operators, including street vendors, to thrive in a fairer economy in the next term of the PNP administration.

Speaking at a PNP mass rally in Sam Sharpe Square on Sunday night, Allen argued that Montego Bay has lost its economic balance.

“The middle class here in Montego Bay, the middle class that once anchored the city, now feels alienated. The business class feels ignored. Our middle-income communities have been swallowed up by endless strips of our commercial spaces, and in fact, many of our working communities have been left derelict, neglected, and forgotten,” she told a sea of PNP supporters.

Jamaicans go to the polls on September 3, and Allen said her mission, if elected, will be to advocate for affordable housing and equal opportunities across income levels while revitalising the city.

“When I become your Member of Parliament, I will ensure that we build affordable housing for all income levels, that we include dwelling spaces for every category of professionals in this constituency, because Montego Bay must facilitate everyone,” she declared.

Highlighting her plan for entrepreneurs and informal workers, Allen promised to support young people and small business operators.

“I have a plan for the youths as well. I have a plan to ensure that we provide hands-on, job-ready training, create the opportunities that will facilitate growth for our small businesses and entrepreneurs, and we will work to integrate the street vendors into the formal economy so that you can live in dignity and be treated fairly,” she said.

Allen stressed that Montego Bay requires urgent investment in infrastructure, particularly roads and water.

She underscored that rebuilding the middle class and integrating vendors into the economy would be central to restoring the city’s strength.

“Comrades, we must revitalise our city. And I tell you this tonight, it is not just talk. This is what I have, and I am ready to deliver for Montego Bay,” she declared to rousing applause.

- Albert Ferguson

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