OPPOSITION and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Leader Andrew Holness’ campaign team said yesterday that it is alarmed that the opposing Team Shaw has claimed ownership of a five-point development plan Holness has been promoting for the past two years.

“This five-point plan has been promulgated by Mr Holness for the last two years, in various fora, including the Salises 50/50 Conference held between August 24 and 26, 2012 on the way forward for Jamaica,” the team, dubbed Team JLP, said in a release late yesterday.

The release came hours after leadership aspirant Audley Shaw outlined at a press conference five key areas — education, energy, economy, employment and empowerment — which he said will receive priority focus if he succeeds as JLP leader in next month’s internal election.

But Team JLP has accused Shaw of plagiarism.

“Team JLP is of the view that this gross act of plagiarism could either be a sloppy mistake or a calculated attempt by Team Shaw to hijack the platform of Mr Holness and make it their own,” the release stated.

“Team JLP maintains that the 5 Es of Development — Education, Energy, Economy, Environment and Efficiency — remain the cornerstone of the Holness’ platform, and has been developed through consultations within and outside of the JLP, maturing into a comprehensive development framework for Jamaica,” it stated.

Team JLP said it hopes that Team Shaw will “correct its error and formulate its own innovative plan for the development of Jamaica, without expropriating the ideas and stated policies of incumbent party leader Andrew Holness.

Team JLP also expressed hopes that Team Shaw will apologise to the JLP leader for “this blatant act of plagiarism”.

The Team JLP release also included an audio clip from the Salises 50/50 conference held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston in August 2012 in which Holness is recorded stating:

“I think there are five areas that Jamaica must focus on, I call it the five ‘Es’. For the next 50 years we must focus on education. We must focus on our economy

We must focus on our energy problems. We must focus on our environment, an area which is often ignored but will become increasingly important in the next 50 years, as we continue to degrade our resources on which economic progress is built.

“We must also focus on efficiency. Jamaica is inefficient and, on this I will say a few words because, there is a new thrust towards anti-corruption, and that is good, because wherever there is corruption there is inefficiency.”

Holness is currently facing a challenge to his leadership of the JLP from deputy leader Audley Shaw. The two will square off at the party’s annual conference on November 10.