PETERSFIELD, Westmoreland - People's National Party (PNP) president Portia Simpson Miller has urged National Executive Council (NEC) members to start preparing for general elections, in the event Prime Minister Bruce Golding call fresh polls.

"Since we cannot predict, we must be prepared for an awesome task," the party president told cheering NEC members here on Sunday.

"We must see that our supporters continue to be enumerated because that is key and important," she added.

Simpson Miller was speaking against the background of recent suggestion by Golding that he would call fresh general elections, rather than to allow PNP candidate for West Portland, Abe Dabdoub, to enter Parliament on the basis of a court ruling.

Chief Justice McCalla has ruled that a by-election be held in West Portland to decide on a new MP. However, Dabdoub, the defeated PNP candidate in last September's general election, who took the JLP's Daryl Vaz to court, has appealed this decision. He wants the seat to be handed to him by the courts.

Simpson Miller said there are far too many party representatives who have become complacent and she urged them to immediately resume their political activities.

"They're too many constituency caretakers, councillors and MP's who just relax and think that it's so winnings go. We need to get the people on the voters' list, if you do not have the vote you cannot win an election," she warned.

"We are to set weekly and monthly targets and we must see that we continue to organise our local party meetings, either in the form of cluster groups or divisional meetings," she added.
She told the enthusiastic comrades that the many national issues affecting Jamaicans must be discussed at the meetings.
"This is necessary so that our people can have a grasp of the issues and be able to understand and be able to articulate them in their communities and among the people," she emphasised.

"We must act now," she said, adding that caretakers must be installed in constituencies which are without representation.
Over the past few weeks, the party president has been addressing a number of political meetings across the island.

She said Sunday that the response at the meetings has been overwhelming and pledged to continue to "meet and greet" people across the island.

Earlier, the PNP leader blasted the Government for not keeping inflation in check and renewed her call for the Government to implement policies to ease the burden of rising food costs.

"PM (prime minister) I am begging you do something. I have been in communities, mothers are coming to me, fathers are coming to me. It's is getting worse and the people already cannot bear it anymore," the party president urged.

According to the Simpson Miller, since the JLP came to power last September, food prices have increased by 30 per cent.

"While food prices have more up by 30 per cent they have insulted the poor by increasing the minimum wage by 16 per cent," she said.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World