MONTEGO BAY, St James – Announcing that Planning Institute of Jamaica data have shown estimated economic growth of between 2.6 and 2.9 per cent last year, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller told the Montego Bay business community on Saturday night that the forecast for the country’s economy was bright.

At the same time, Simpson Miller pleaded with the business leaders and the wider society to unite to defeat criminals whose actions pose a threat to further growth.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the projection for the economy of this country is looking very good, and we should not allow anything to destroy it,” Simpson Miller said at a dinner hosted by herself and P J Patterson, the man she succeeded as prime minister and president of the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) early last year.

“We are in the majority – the good and the decent and the disciplined. We should not allow the few criminals to be dictating what we do; when we do not go to work; when we sleep; when we do not sleep. We should unite. It is them against us. And we must deal with it. If we unite, we can get it right,” Simpson Miller said.

She used the forum to introduce six of the PNP’s nine candidates in Region Six and reiterated her view that the national crime fighting strategy should not be shared. However, she agreed to the sharing of the operational strategy.

“They (criminals) are not to know when squads are coming in or not coming in. They should wake up to find the squads,” said Simpson Miller.

The prime minister pleaded patience and understanding from law-abiding Jamaicans who might be inconvenienced during operations mounted by the security forces.

“What we should explain to Jamaicans is that. we are asking you for your support and understanding for any inconvenience as a result of our actions,” she said. “But we will have to do something to ensure that we save your lives and save ours. This is about Jamaica, it is about all of us. It is about a secure environment for our children.”