OPPOSITION Leader Andrew Holness has accused the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) of what he calls a culture of misinformation and deflection regarding murders and the country’s crime problem in general.

“The data clearly shows that under the PNP in 2005, Jamaica was ranked the most murderous country in the world based on population size. This did not happen overnight, and it did not happen under our watch. The statistics also show that under the PNP you are more likely to be a victim of murder than under the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). The fact that the PNP is uncomfortable with these facts is no surprise, as they have always failed to effectively manage the crime problem and always try to dodge the truth about it,”Holness said in a release issued Tuesday.

“What is surprising is that now, when the facts have begun to bite, the PNP is calling for bipartisanship. The JLP keenly embraces its role in the development of this country, and always does right by Jamaica.The nation needs to be reminded that in 2010, when the JLP Government had the criminals against the ropes, the PNP resisted continuing the state of emergency. In fact, the then PNP spokesperson, now minster of national security (Peter Bunting), voted against continuing the state of emergency. But, despite their uncooperativeness and recalcitrance, we were able to reduce murders by 36 per cent,” Holness said.

He also noted that, while the JLP was in Government, Bunting had positioned himself as one who had all the solutions, but now seems to be at a loss for words and solutions.

“They presented the nation with a nightmare where the scourge of murders is concerned over their 18-and-a-half years in office. And, while the JLP was in office, they made attempts to frustrate our efforts at crime fighting. The PNP knows it is a failure on crime, and now can only do what it does best – try to blame us for their failures,” Holness said.