PNP President Mark Golding – file photo
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PNP President Mark Golding and Manchester North Western MP Mikael Phillips
By Clinton McGregor
People’s National Party President Mark Golding is again calling for the Andrew Holness-led administration to announce the date for the local government election.
Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie is expected to announce the date of the election.
Speaking at a party meeting in Hanover on Sunday night, Mr. Golding again warned that the parliamentary opposition will not accept any further delay in the holding of the election, last held in November 2016.
“When we pass the three strategic laws to reform local government, introduce fixed election date for local government elections every four years after the last election, it is this government that has breached that year after year and I want to see what they’re going to do this time, because the people will not stand for another bogus extension of this election.
“There are councils which don’t have councillors because councillors have passed on or migrated. The people want to have the opportunity to exercise their right or their franchise and select the councillors of their choice. They want to reconfigure local government, to put the People’s National Party in the driver’s seat,” he declared.
The local government election is due to be held by the end of February.
Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie spoke at a party meeting in Papine, St. Andrew on Sunday but did not indicate when the election would be held.
Mr. Golding called for supporters of the People’s National Party to put aside their differences and work together to ensure the party returns to government.
He told his supporters that the opposition has the momentum and nothing should be done to hinder the positive trajectory.
“So each and everyone I beg of you, any likkle friction, any likke issues between us, we done wid dat now. Dem ting deh nuh matter. We haffi see di big picture and the big picture is one united Jamaica with a PNP government,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, Manchester North Western Member of Parliament Mikael Phillips has accused Prime Minister Andrew Holness of travelling around the country, ahead of the election, making a number of promises in a bid to swing the voters.
But he argued that the Prime Minister has a history of broken promises to the people.
“You remember the ‘five in four’? It’s eight years now and him still at two. Him seh sleep with your windows and doors open. Is 1,400 people get murdered last year. Him say him going to build more schools; in eight years he has not built one school. Him seh better health care, but yet still people still a sleep in the passageway pon the benches, on the floor. It is worse under his administration,” Mr. Phillips contended.
He was also speaking at the PNP meeting in Hanover on Sunday night.