A political analyst has affixed an average rating to the People’s National Party’s (PNP) term in office, while saying that the Portia Simpson Miller Administration has taken credit for economic gains it never really worked for.

The analyst, Kevin O’Brien Chang, said these positives were in fact derived from external factors, the overriding one being the plummeting global oil price.

Simpson Miller, in her address to PNP supporters Sunday night, again trumpeted a host of “achievements”, including jobs created, lower electricity bills and lower prices at the pumps, among other things, as she asked electors for a second term in office.

“One good term deserves another,” Simpson Miller said, as she hinted at things to come, moments before announcing February 25 as the date for the island’s 17th General Election.

But Chang told the Jamaica Observer Monday that the PNP merely benefited from the luck of the draw, a US$30-per-barrel oil price, which has benefited non oil-producing countries across the globe.

“It brings huge savings to the country. Jamaica’s oil import bill was $2.4 billion in 2012. At the current price, we are saving $1.5 billion,” Chang said. “That is why inflation is so low. That is why our current account deficit is so low. That is why JPS bills have fallen. That is why gas prices have fallen. That is why aeroplane fares have fallen, leading to more tourists. That is why fertiliser has fallen. It has been a gigantic economic boost for the country. That is why the PNP has gone up in the polls if those polls are accurate,” Chang argued.

“The question can be posed, how many IMF (International Monetary Fund) tests would we have passed if we had $100 per barrel oil?” he asked.

He said the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), on the other hand, came to power in 2007 at the onset of the global economic meltdown, the effects of which were still being felt in 2011 when the Andrew Holness-led party was voted out of power. Remittances fell by some $200 million and only climbed significantly in 2014.

“The JLP went batting on a wicket that was helping the bowlers,” Chang said. “On this pitch now, the PNP got a lovely batting pitch — flat like a pancake with $30 oil to lick shots all over the place.”

Chang said the JLP has faltered in not reminding voters enough about the factors at play when it was in office and of its own achievements. He said the JLP had some positives during its four-year term, despite the PNP lamenting that it was a disaster.

Chang reminded that the dollar was stable when the JLP left office, that crime had dropped significantly, that interest rates were low and that the last five quarters of JLP rule saw positive growth.

“They didn’t leave them with negative growth. The JLP’s problem is that they are not doing enough to remind voters of these facts. The JLP is lazy. They do not work as hard as the PNP in trying to shift people’s minds.

“They had a bad batting pitch and the PNP had a good batting pitch but the JLP isn’t saying that. You can’t blame the PNP for doing its job,” Chang added.