JAMAICA– Opposition leader says Jamaicans are “suffering.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC- Leader of the main Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), Mark Golding, has blamed the current administration for failing to take the necessary steps in the fight against crime and violence.

In his contribution to Tuesday’s 2023/2024 Budget Debate in Parliament, Golding said Jamaicans are living in fear.

“Police and soldiers we hear fighting in the streets, bandits breaking into ATMs, the corner shop, and the community bar are no longer safe places to hold a vibe; not even the armed guards in an armored courier service are safe in today’s Jamaica.”

According to Golding, Jamaican society is unraveling.

“Disorder is the new order. People are fed up with the conditions in the country,” said Golding, who added that many, like teachers and nurses, are forced to migrate “at alarming rates” and others to become “asylum seekers crossing the Mexico-US border.”

Concerning the States of Emergency (SOE), implemented in sections of the country, Golding said the opposition had sought a declaration from the courts on the constitutionality of the SOEs that have been repeatedly declared since 2017 to deal with the effects of criminality.

Golding maintained that using the state of emergency as a continuous crime-fighting tool violates the Charter of Rights and is unconstitutional.

Golding told legislators that a future PNP administration would prioritize education to ensure the country achieves higher economic growth as the education system needs a new direction.

He also said that the party would prioritize early childhood development.

“This will be supported by a comprehensive policy to address the broader needs of children from birth onwards,” he noted. He added that a PNP government would focus on struggling primary schools.

“Many are closing under the weight of high operating costs. We will make the investments required to raise the standard of our early childhood education system and provide support so that teachers at primary schools can earn a reasonable salary. The time comes to repair the foundation of our education system and set it in the right direction, a new direction.”

The opposition leader also said the new direction would focus on transforming the first 11 years of every Jamaican child’s life as the country must achieve the outcome that “all our children can read, write and do basic arithmetic by Grade 4”.

The Opposition leader said that in primary schools, teaching would be supported by proper nutrition and deepening the use of educational technology. He expressed particular attention and emphasis will be placed on under-achieving primary schools to raise standards across the board.

Golding also said several of the school-based social development interventions abandoned by the current Government “will be re-evaluated, updated and returned to schools across the island.

As it relates to the first trillion-dollar budget that Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke tabled last month, Golding said the expenditure estimates for the upcoming fiscal year are “not a budget for the people.”

According to Golding, the budget “reflects the character and interests of those who this government primarily serves.”

He pointed to the contentious wage negotiations with public sector groups and the failure to set aside funds for local government elections last held in November 2016.

“Why wouldn’t the government find a way to extend the period for the public sector salary negotiations to continue to fruition to allow the groups to make their measured, well-informed, and transparent decisions on the government’s wage offer instead of being bullied and cajoled by take it or leave it,” said Golding.

And why is there no budget for the overdue, constitutionally required local government elections? Why?” he questioned.

The opposition leader said Jamaicans are suffering.

“I will stand in defense of every Jamaican who is now languishing on a hospital bench or chair when they should be resting in a hospital bed, every Jamaican who has to be making hard choices every morning between having breakfast or giving the children lunch money to go to school,” he said.

Golding stressed that the budget should speak to those realities faced by “real people with real lives, real families, and real hopes and dreams.”