ST JAMES, Jamaica – Senate President Tom Tavares-Finson says former Prime Minister PJ Patterson should maintain his silence about the government’s handling of the country.
“If Patterson is the best that the PNP has to offer, this confirms that the Mark Golding-led PNP is bankrupt in terms of ideas [to] move Jamaica forward. Quite frankly, given the devastating and painful impact his administration on the quality of life of most Jamaicans, PJ Patterson would be best advised to resume his silence on the issues of gains made in several areas,” suggested Tavares-Finson in an audio note.
With a general election constitutionally due later this year, Patterson who came out swinging has made it clear that the time has come for a change in government.
“We have to change course. We are moving in the wrong direction. The moral order is under siege, and the social order in decay. We have to come to the rescue of the Jamaica land we love. Time to restore the precepts of transparency and accountability,” stated Patterson, who served as three- term prime minister between 1992 to 2006.
Patterson was addressing a People’s National Party (PNP) region six symposium in St James recently.
Among the areas of criticism that Patterson identified are roads, health, and poverty.
“Not even before the days of asphalt when it was rock stone road have I seen the roads in Jamaica in such a state of dilapidation and disrepair,” he said.
The government is currently addressing the issue under a $45 billion Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement to Our Road Network (SPARK) project.
In response, the senate president reminded Patterson of a promise made during his administration.
“It is unfortunate that he appears to think that Jamaica will forget that it was his administration that promised that Jamaica would be pothole-free by 2003 and failed to deliver.”
“Patterson must be made to recall that his government stewardship was so wretched that it contributed heavily to the meltdown of the financial sector and one of his own cabinet members confessed that the Patterson administration had presided over the greatest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich since slavery was abolished,” stated Tavares-Finson.
Regarding healthcare, the former prime minister pointed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital rehabilitation project, which has experienced an increase in costs and completion delays, as an example of what he described as a sector bordering on complete failure.
“Starting with $1.2 billion and it is now $21.5 billion and mounting. And the hospital is still incomplete. Now where else in the world but Jamaica could you have a project like that and not even one head roll?” questioned Patterson.
In the past, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton argued that there was no cost overrun and the delays were a result of years of inadequate maintenance, which led to a failed and sick building being rescoped into a new facility.
The senate president claimed this was during what he termed “the PNP destructive era, when the management of the economy was so poor that there was no room to invest in upgrades to key sectors without borrowing from multilaterals and rocking and national debt.”
Patterson also delved into the government’s claims of prosperity.
“Despite all the boasts about prosperity, and despite the economic indexes, there are too many families which simply cannot make ends meet,” argued Patterson, who added, “There is a recent report which shows that hunger and malnutrition in Jamaica are at an alarming level.”
The senator said Patterson should be reminded that while he was prime minister, the unemployment rate was at a record high of 16.5 per cent and murders spiraled from 414 to 1674 per calendar year. He said Patterson presided over an era when Jamaica was officially branded by the international media as the murder capital of the world.
Tavares-Finson noted that the government of Prime Minister Andrew Holness has recognised that there is much to be done.
However, he argued that “it cannot be disputed that we are steadily making gains in the area of improving the standard of living for most Jamaicans. Indeed, it is no coincidence that the poverty rate is projected to decline by approximately 12 per cent. Murders are significantly trending down and unemployment levels are at a record low of 3.5 per cent. Additionally, the government has made unprecedented investments in improving the road network, the healthcare system, and the results are beginning to emerge.”
– Anthony Lewis.