THE area reserved at National Heroes’ Park in downtown Kingston for interring Jamaicans making outstanding contributions to the country is to receive a facelift that transforms the historic site into a space better reflecting the nation’s appreciation for these people.

This was disclosed by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who indicated that, “Very soon this park will be quite different; very soon this park will be befitting of the heroes we have laid to rest here.”

He was addressing a floral tribute ceremony at the facility Saturday to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of the birth of Jamaica’s fifth prime minister, the late Edward Seaga.

Among the people interred at the park are national heroes and former prime ministers.

Holness noted that no Jamaican could be satisfied to see the facility in its current state, “dotted with garbage piles all around”.

“So, in short order, I’m sure Mr Seaga [would] be very happy, so, too, all the other heroes, prime ministers, and great Jamaicans who we have [been] laid to rest here, that this will truly be a symbol of accomplishment of their desires for this nation,” he said.

The Government previously announced plans for the redevelopment of the wider National Heroes’ Park, which involves the construction of a new Parliament building on a section of the 50-acre property. This forms part of a master plan to redevelop downtown Kingston.

Meanwhile, Holness, in reflecting on Seaga’s life and work, hailed him as a leader “who truly believed in democracy and the institutions of democracy”.

He noted that this was exemplified in the 1980s when, for a period, there was no parliamentary Opposition, pointing out that “there could never be a question that any of our democratic institutions were undermined during this period”.

“Mr Seaga went overboard… in many instances to make it… clear that his Administration, during that time, would do everything to preserve democracy, including making innovations in the appointment of the Senate and other such innovations in Government to protect our democracy,” the prime minister stated.

Seaga, who died at age 89 on May 28, 2019, represented the constituency of West Kingston from 1962 until his retirement from active politics in 2005.

He had the distinction, then, of being the longest-serving Member Parliament in the history of Jamaica and the Caribbean.