An appeal for Jamaicans to be careful of phoney leaders and regain their focus on morality as the country approaches its 60th anniversary of Independence was Wednesday made by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Holness, who was speaking at Wednesday’s National Day of Prayer at Power of Faith Ministries in Portmore, St Catherine, described 2021 as ‘the year of the bizarre’, as some strange things have happened in Jamaica which have disrupted daily routines.

The unusualness, he said, has resulted in people searching for answers because their mental health and wellness have been affected.

His reference seemed to be to that of late Montego Bay cult pastor Kevin Smith in whose church two people had been killed. Smith, days after his arrest, died in a motor vehicle crash while being transported to Kingston to face questioning by detectives.

Said Holness: “Now, you may not see the difference in your own life, but if you were to step back for a moment and look at the bigger landscape, you would realise that there is a shift in the mood of the population. There is a very pessimistic outlook on the future; [people are] very quick to attack, so there is an increase in violence. The greater uncertainty in the country has created a space in which false prophets can emerge,” he said.

Making reference to the Bible scriptures Matthew 24:11 and Timothy 4: 3-4, Holness said: “Have you seen what has been happening in Jamaica recently? Turning away from listening to the truth and wandering off into myths. We have seen this happen, I don’t have to go into the examples, as I speak they are flashing before your eyes. You see them on social media, you are bombarded with them every day. Nonsense being preached to you every single day, but some of you believe it. Some of you don’t know what to believe.”

He stressed that the constant exposure to false prophets on various social media platforms affects the mood of people and leads to a national problem.

“Then you get angry and say, ‘Chro mi nah follow nutten weh the Government tell mi.’ Then it becomes a constant struggle to get the society back on track as you accumulate teachings to suit your own passions. Beware of the false prophets!” Holness said.

He said false leaders are not people who randomly emerge on the scene, but are those who have been around for decades.

“Many of these people who you see coming up with all kinds of foolishness are mercenaries being paid to execute an agenda to mislead, misdirect, and disrupt. I am urging every Jamaican to refocus at this time as we look towards the celebration of our 60th, the country must be unified. The 60th year is an important year. We are in the decade when we should be achieving Vision 2030,” said Holness.