SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Friday appealed to the Jamaican people to bear the pain of external shocks now battering the economy even as his Administration does its best to keep the country afloat.

“Let us ride out this period of exogenous shocks to the economy — external shocks, not shocks created by the Government. When you go out in the market and you hear people say nutten nah gwaan, Government nuh pay mi, run them with dat argument,” Holness encouraged.

The best way for the Government to show that it cares is to manage the economy well, the prime minister said, “so that we do not collapse and we do not end up like other countries in the world.”

Holness, who was addressing a Youth Summer Employment Programme (YSEP) 2022 launch ceremony at the Manning’s School in Westmoreland on Friday, noted that it is because of the Government’s admirable handling of the crisis that there are resources available for programmes such as YSEP.

In an obvious swipe at the Opposition People’s National Party which has called on the Government to provide hefty relief packages, the prime minister encouraged the large gathering of youngsters to research, learn from the past and avoid the errors of past generations.

“You will be surprised to see that the prescriptions that are being proposed by others [are] about spending and removal of tax. When they were at the wicket, they never removed any taxes and they never pay not even one dollar of cushioning support to any vulnerable groups in the society,” he said.

The Russia/Ukraine conflict, coming on the heels of the novel coronavirus pandemic has sent shock waves across the globe as prices skyrocket. On Friday, Holness hammered home the point that his Government should not be saddled with the blame for the pain now being felt by everyone.

“If you are paying a higher electricity bill, it is the impact of the prices. If you are paying more for transportation, it is the impact of these exogenous shocks. If you are feeling a greater sense of pessimism, negativism, an unexplainable sense of depression, it is as a result of these shocks. A change in your routine which has shifted your outlook on life, it is a result of these shocks,” the prime minister said.

Holness told those gathered that his Administration frequently uses social media to take the nation’s temperature and they have noted recent negative comments about initiatives that the Government views as steps in the right direction.

He cited the example of a comment on the topic of Jamaica potentially attracting investment from Saudi Arabia.

“One of the comments [was], ‘Saudi investment cyaah nyam’. It is a reality but it shows the level of pessimism in the society,” he said.

The Government was also bashed for its testing of electric vehicles to provide important data that will guide its policy decisions, the prime minster added.

“We launched that event and the comments were, ‘Wrong focus. That’s not a priority. We can’t afford di car’,” said Holness who noted that he can empathise with those making the comments. The interaction, he said, is useful.

“That helps us. It gives us feedback and understanding as to what people are thinking,” the prime minister said.

He reassured the country that the Government is aware of citizens’ concerns and it will steer the country through the current stormy weather.

“This time, we are going to deal with these exogenous shocks and crises much differently. In fact, we are dealing with it much more differently and that is why we continue to recover much faster than other countries in this region,” the prime minister said. “We had shocks in the 70s — oil prices, commodity shocks. We had shocks in the 80s. We had financial shocks in the 90s. In the 2000s we had a massive recession, and it took us 10 years to recover.”