Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller (right) makes a point at a press conference at the People's National Party Headquarters on Old Hope Road in Kingston yesterday. At centre is PNP chairman Robert Pickersgill, and at left is finance spokesman Dr Omar Davies. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)

OPPOSITION Leader Portia Simpson Miller yesterday gave the Jamaica Labour Party Government a 'failing grade' for its performance in its first 100 days in office.

"We find this Government guilty of failure in a number of areas; they failed miserably in the first 100 days. Those promises they did not break, they changed. They have spent the first two months trying to cast blame on the former administration," said Simpson Miller.

"For this exam there can be no resit, the 100 days are gone," she quipped.

The opposition leader was speaking at a press conference at the People's National Party (PNP) headquarters on Old Hope Road in Kingston.

"The Government continues to major in minor matters and they are failing seriously to deal with critical and important issues of the day," Simpson Miller told reporters.

"We are calling on the Government to answer to the promises made to the Jamaican people for the first 100 days in office," she urged.

She said signs of the new Government's failure were evident in the increased levels of crime and violence seen in the country since it took office on September 11; the continued devaluation of the Jamaican dollar and spiralling interest rates and food prices, among other things.

Furthermore, she said, instead of the creation of employment as promised during the political campaign leading up to the September 3 polls the JLP had axed several persons from various posts.

"There were promises of jobs, jobs, jobs and we found that the first thing they did was to ensure the jobs of people who were on their political platform during the election and at the same time quietly victimising people and sending people home or putting people on leave without any assurance that they would be called back to work and creating uncertainty and serious challenges for families," Simpson Miller said.

"I'm not into personalities, when I took over at Jamaica House I never sent one person home, I never checked people's political affiliation.," she added.

It was not clear if her reference to people being sent on leave was about workers at the National Solid Waste Management Authority who were sacked after the uncovering of several irregularities.

In the meantime, the opposition leader described the economy as "out of control", which, she said, was further confused by the appointment of three Cabinet ministers in the Ministry of Finance and Planning. It was unclear, she said, who was "responsible for the economy".

"No one now knows who speaks on economic matters. We do not know who is really in charge of the economy of the country," Simpson Miller said.

She also criticised the administration for the dismissal of members of the Public Service Commission, and said that she would this week respond to Prime Minister Golding's correspondence regarding the appointment of new members.

At the same time, Opposition MP Peter Bunting said the expectations of the new Government were far from unreasonable.

"Studies have shown that no administration can succeed in its first term what they don't start to do in the first few days," Bunting said.

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