PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller has vowed that her administration will continue to partner with the church community despite harsh criticisms over her decision to appoint a pastor to every public board.

“As I embark on my second year as prime minister, the administration will continue to build and strengthen the partnership with the church community, never mind the criticisms,” Simpson Miller told the 21st convention of the Word of Life Ministries at the Hilton Kingston Hotel on Sunday.

“Any government that cannot call on the church in particular, something is wrong with that country… and I declared from early and I will continue to proclaim and declare God is the captain of my ship,” the prime minister said amidst cheers and applause.

“I remember the criticisms when I announced that pastors should serve on boards and chair boards… I wonder if we have forgotten our history,” said the prime minister, pointing out that several of Jamaica’s national heroes were themselves members of the church.

“If we feel public servants and government officials are corrupt and if we cannot include the men and women who lead the moral institutions in Jamaica, then I do not know who to appeal to,” she added.

According to the prime minister, “those who criticise seem to forget that there are a number of churches with a number of pastors who

are professionals in their own right”.

The prime minister’s press secretary Lincoln Robinson told the Observer that some members of the clergy have already been appointed to public boards, but was unable to provide details as to the number of boards for which this was in effect.

General secretary of the Jamaica Council of Churches Gary Harriott said several ministers were sitting on various boards even before the prime minister gave the order. He was, however, uncertain as to whether appointments made after the announcement were as a result of the prime minister’s directive.

On Sunday, Simpson Miller reiterated her calls for the church to take the “lead role in promoting sterling family values”. She said while the “breakdown of the family and family life” remained one of the root causes of the “serious challenges of crime and violence”, the society could not – with divine guidance – “successfully tackle many of the social ills which are cause for concern”.

“We need a breakthrough in crime and violence. I am praying for a breakthrough for Jamaica for the desired growth and development for our young people, and the transformation of the few who feel they should engage in the negative. Together with God’s help we must save and rescue the nation’s children, join with me in a crusade,” Simpson Miller said.