McKenzie defends Holness admin's support for the poor amid poll findings

Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Deputy Leader Desmond McKenzie says the Holness administration's social programmes for the poor are the most "outstanding" ever implemented in the country.

Speaking at a party meeting in St Andrew West Rural on Thursday, McKenzie insisted that significant care is being provided for Jamaicans benefiting from poor relief assistance.

“We build infirmaries, drop-in centres, and night shelters. We provide substantial support for the homeless and for persons living on the street. But ask the other party what they have done to improve the conditions for the poor and the destitute, especially the street people,” he said.

His comments follow the release of the latest RJRGLEANER-commissioned Don Anderson poll, which found that more Jamaicans believe the governing JLP is better at providing jobs when compared to the Opposition People's National Party (PNP). However, the poll also indicated that more people think the PNP does a better job of looking after the poor.

When asked which party would do a better job providing jobs, 35 per cent of respondents said the JLP, while 32 per cent said the PNP. Twenty per cent were unsure, and 13 per cent said neither. The poll was conducted between January 30 and February 12 among 1,201 registered voters aged 18 and over across all parishes, with a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent at the 95 per cent confidence level.

McKenzie went back into what he said is the history books, telling Labourites that it was the PNP that used trucks to “scrape up” the homeless and then “dumped” them in a mud lake in “Manchester or St Elizabeth”.

“That is the current achievement of the PNP for poor people in this country. So, they can’t talk to us about that. We build transitional centres for them. We build night shelters; almost every parish in Jamaica has a shelter to house the homeless. Are you going to replace a caring, understanding, considerate, and progressive government with a backward party that doesn’t know whether it’s coming or going?” the local government minister asked.

His sentiments were echoed by St Catherine North Eastern Member of Parliament Kerensia Morrison, who argued that the party creating more jobs is also best positioned to care for the poor.

“This is the party that is taking people from poverty to prosperity,” she said, adding that the same sentiments are reflected on social platforms.

- Kimone Francis

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