MANDEVILLE, Manchester — With a general election due two years away, Opposition leader and president of the People’s National Party Mark Golding says the party has not yet put in place all its candidates, but it is well on the way.

When asked about the party’s pace in having representatives in place for constituencies, including Manchester Central, Golding said “the party is in a good place”.

“Most of our candidates are settled. There are one or two divisions where we are still sorting those out but for the most part, we are ready,” he said while on a tour of Manchester.

Golding, who on Monday said the democracy of the country is being undermined by the Government due to its decision to push back the local government elections, said people are frustrated with the Andrew Holness-led Administration.

“The local Government elections have been postponed three times and the Government doesn’t want to face the people, because they know the people are angry and frustrated with them,” claimed Golding.

He further accused the Government of failing to manage the country’s affairs.

“… There are too many things going wrong. There is too much corruption and there is too much frustration amongst the people, because when they [Government] are implementing things that should make sense, they do it in a way that makes people very angry, so people are tired of it now. They [people] want a Government that can run the country properly with principle [and] integrity,” said Golding.

Golding also accused Finance Minister Nigel Clarke of “bullying” public sector groups to sign revised wage offers.

“…Telling that if they don’t sign to what is there on the table now, they are going to lose their back money for years and don’t get paid it for years… That’s not the way to conduct respectful negotiations with the public servants,” he said.

Golding suggested that the Government has options to facilitate the payment of retroactive compensation.

“There are things that can be done. The money is in the budget for this year to cover the back pay. Pay that into escrow. Expense it this year, so that next year when it is settled and hopefully we reach a good agreement, money can be paid then without even going through next year’s budget, so there is no point bullying the people and telling them that they have to sign now,” said Golding.

“… Some of the things have not been clear, some of the things have not been fair, and that is the problem. They need to sort out aspects of it which are unfair and make sure there is equity in the system, so people are comfortable to sign on to it,” added Golding.

He said the PNP is ramping up its road tours to engage the public.

“We are continuing on our road programme. Meet and greet. Go to different parts of the island, so people see us. We get to hear from them. They get to see us and talk to us and hear from us as well,” said Golding.

“It is just part of engaging the public and letting them know that the [party] is together and we are ready to come back to our rightful place in Government in the country,” he added.