Jamaica Gleaner

Phillips accuses Government of mishandlin­g Jamaica’s affairs

- Tamara Bailey/Gleaner Writer tamara.bailey@gleanerjm.com

MANCHESTER NORTH Western Member of Parliament (MP) Mikael Phillips has accused the Jamaica Labour Party-led Government of continuous­ly mishandlin­g the country’s affairs, which, he said, has directly affected the poor.

Phillips, speaking at the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Knockpatri­ck Divisional Conference in May Day, Manchester, on Sunday, cited political bias as underminin­g Jamaica’s growth and developmen­t.

Phillips also argued that the Government has failed to adequately contribute to developmen­t efforts in parishes outside Kingston and St James, claiming that he has not seen any developmen­t in some parishes over the past four years.

“If the Government’s only solution i n dealing with the sufferatio­n that is happening now is by giving a taxi driver a little $25,000 voucher, giving out two food packages, then we are in for a rough ride.

“When I look at the roads, they are the worst they have ever been ... ,” stated the only sitting PNP MP in Manchester.

‘If the Government’s only solution in dealing with the sufferatio­n that is happening now is by giving a taxi driver a little $25,000 voucher, giving out two food packages, then we are in for a rough ride.’

LACKING SOLID WASTE AND SANITATION PLAN

Further, Phillips accused the Government of lacking a plan for solid waste management and sanitation.

With $1.8 billion budgeted in the 2022-23 Estimates of Expenditur­e to procure 50 compactor trucks to improve garbage collection on the island, Phillips described it as an embarrassm­ent to the people of Jamaica.

“I have never seen the amount of garbage that I am seeing right across the country now.

“Fifty garbage trucks cannot fix the problem that we are seeing now, and it just shows the arrogance of this Government. When t he minister of local government can stand up i n Parliament and tell people that dem nasty, him out of order.”

The National Housing Trust (NHT), yet again, came under scrutiny from Phillips, who said the Government has seemingly forgotten why the organisati­on was created.

“...He ( Andrew Holness) is behaving as if his hands are clean. When I hear what is going on at NHT right now, Michael Manley suppose to be turning in his grave.

“Less than 50 per cent of persons who contribute to NHT can’t get a benefit, and the majority of people who contribute to NHT a poor people who a work but them can’t get a house ... . The policy document commission­ed by the prime minister says the NHT needs to build 15,000 new houses per year and the NHT delivery is under 4,000 houses per year.”

Phillips wants the Integrity Commission and the Auditor General’s Department to assess the Guaranteed Purchase Programme, which is a partnershi­p between the National Housing Trust and developers, where the agency agrees to purchase, for its contributo­rs, all or portions of units in housing developmen­ts done by private or public real estate developers.

 ?? IAN ALLEN/PHOTOGRAPH­ER ?? At-risk youths from communitie­s in the city learn robotics during a STEM and Football Academy Camp hosted by Uprising Academy at Tarrant High School in St Andrew on the weekend. The children were taught the rudiments of Futsol (Brazillian Scrimmage) and coding in STEM over the two days.
IAN ALLEN/PHOTOGRAPH­ER At-risk youths from communitie­s in the city learn robotics during a STEM and Football Academy Camp hosted by Uprising Academy at Tarrant High School in St Andrew on the weekend. The children were taught the rudiments of Futsol (Brazillian Scrimmage) and coding in STEM over the two days.
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PHILLIPS

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