Major development projects, such as the logistics hub initiative, and Portland Bight/Goat Islands, were noticeably absent from the Throne Speech delivered by Governor General Sir Patrick Allen at Gordon House yesterday, to mark the start of the new parliamentary year.

Speaking with reporters outside Gordon House afterwards, Opposition Leader Andrew Holness shrugged off the speech, stating that it did not “match” the reality of the Jamaican people. “The yardstick for judging any government is when that government changes their lives, perceptively, and if Jamaicans are honest with themselves, they cannot say their lives have been changed meaningfully within the last three to four years,” he argued.

Holness dismissed claims that the Portia Simpson Miller-led Administration’s efforts have led to the current uptick in macroeconomic indicators. Instead, he said these were a spin-off of favourable conditions in the global economy.

“Most notably, the fall in oil prices dropped inflation a little bit and had an impact on the current account, but there are other issues. We see clouds gathering on the horizon,” he said.

The opposition leader also pointed to what he said was a “carefully crafted” response to the negotiations with public sector workers. “They said they are going to fulfil the obligations that they have — well, they can’t not fulfil the obligation they already have, but notice they haven’t said how much they intend to pay on the new wage agreement that is to come. The truth is, if it is not in keeping with inflation, then technically their wages would not just be frozen, but they would have, in real terms, lost,” he elaborated.

But Prime Minister Simpson Miller dismissed those criticisms as the Opposition getting ahead of itself, stating that, “this is a throne speech. They will have to wait on the budget presentation; their heads have gone somewhere else”.

Meanwhile, the governor general, in addition to highlighting initiatives carried out for 2014/16, briefly outlined a handful of programmes that will be pursued during the new fiscal period, including: the establishment of a Department of School Services (DSS) to provide stronger focus on school improvement and accountability; a review of the Child Care and Protection Act and the Adoption of the Children Act to give greater protection to children; furthering strengthening of land administration and management; and increased health care access to underserved and rural communities through the deployment of mobile units to offer general medicine and dental health care.

The governor general also indicated that the legislative year would be a busy one. Pieces of legislation to get attention include: the New Electricity Act, which is to replace the outdated 1890 statute; the Administrator General’s (amendment) Bill, which aims to make it easier for persons to pass on property to their next of kin; the Sexual Harassment Act, which will give legal protection to persons in the workplace and other institutions; and the Cybercrimes (amendment) Act, which seeks to strengthen investigative and prosecutorial capacity. On the agenda as well, is the long-in-the-making Fishing Industry (amendment) Act, to provide for better management of the industry.

He also said that the National Building Bill, to provide a modern framework for the regulation and management of building works and related activities; and legislation to establish a National DNA are to come before Parliament during the year. Legislators are also expected to deliberate on the Evidence Amendment Bill, which is intended to remove unnecessary delays in the justice system.

Legislators will also deliberate on the Local Governance Act; the Local Government (Unified Service and Employment) Act; and the Local Government (Financing and Financial Management) Act, the three strategic bills that provide for the strengthening of local government.