JAMAICA Observer online readers have heaped criticisms on Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller over her pronouncement that she will remain champion of the poor. Addressing party faithfuls at a People’s National Party Region Six banquet on the weekend, Simpson Miller vowed to protect the legacy of former leaders of the party by doing “everything that is possible to ensure that we protect the interest of the poor and the oppressed”. Here are some edited comments:

Sondon

Yes, she will continue to “talk about” the poor. For PSM, it is all about winning an election. She has resided in the fact that such a mantra will give her a win every time, and once she is in, then you don’t hear much from her because she has nothing to offer. A classic career politician of over 30 years who is still stuck on failed ideologies.

Mark Chue

How long can she say the same untruth about loving poor, when she is, in fact, presiding over record unemployment, high inflation, taxes, corruption, reckless spending and a sliding dollar? Too deceptive and out of touch with the poor.

Arlene Graham

Poverty should never be a hailed destination. Tell us how many you have successfully removed from poverty instead of holding and nurturing them there.

Paul A Warren

I agree with you, Madam Prime Minister. U have protected the legacy of your PNP predecessors of high unemployment, massive flight of capital and talent from the island, declining standard of living and GDP and increasing debt to GDP ratio. You are a true protector of the legacy and continuation of it.

clirey

These people have no shame.

C Brown

A who Portia a try fool? Champion of which poor? Poor people starving, being murdered every day, and can’t send their children to school, and all you’ve done is remained silent. The cause you champion is that of the elite and anything foreign. It’s been 75 years of pure hell. Look at the country now!

wayne_L

Can you just imagine if she wasn’t a champion of the poor? Greenwich Farm, what say you? To answer Derrick Kellier, maybe there wouldn’t be so much poverty. If there was no PNP, the people of Jamaica might be more progressive than they are right now. At this time, maybe we would have achieved first-world status or be really close to it. Your party has destroyed the fabric of this country and continues to do so. The people have taken so much beating they have now

given up.

bobo

‘She urged the large gathering to uphold the founding principles of the party, which she said seeks to protect the poor, which constitutes the masses of the society.’

This paragraph says it all really. Most of the country is poor. To be honest, I would prefer a PM that made it their priority to reduce the number of poor people instead of helping the same number of poor people. I could be wrong.

Patrick Greenwood

Portia and her gang love poor people because we keep electing them into office. We do this because they keep throwing us table scraps for which we bow and scrape to thank the big men and women for their generosity. This keeps us in our place and keeps them in office. However, if they really loved us they would give us hope for the future, to become self-sufficient, but then we might not love them back so much!

islandtechfan

Backslapping in the face of failure… mediocrity, it seems, is the new standard.

Guest

By not being straightforward to your people and finding true solutions to our underemployment, you and the former leaders of your party ensure a payday while the country dithers and the rest of the populace sink further and further into poverty. Guess you will have a lot more poor to love and to care for. It’s a pity the burden is not being shouldered by certain retirement funds and party-hack savings.

indecom

Is Portia still the prime minister of Jamaica, and why is she claiming to be champion of the poor and downtrodden? Portia’s been missing in action since she was sworn in and now she is for the poor again. I wonder if people believe her anancy story.