Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Sunday described former prime minister and Jamaica Labour Party Leader Edward Seaga as one who saw Jamaica’s economic and social potential and wanted a quick and efficient development of its citizens.

“He saw potential in this country, and he saw what the country could achieve if only it would settle down and realise this potential,” Holness told guests attending a floral tribute to Seaga to mark the 93rd anniversary of his birth at National Heroes’ Park in Kingston.

“If only it would not be distracted by meaningless debate that carries us around in a circle, and carries us right back to the point where we started, only to realise that we missed the point and missed the time,” said Holness.

In the meantime, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie, who now represents the Kingston Western constituency which Seaga held for 43 years, and Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport Olivia “Babsy” Grange, both remembered with passion the political leader who was their mentor.

Grange said that Seaga’s influence on Jamaican culture led to the creation of more than 60 national institutions which her ministry continues to nurture.

McKenzie hailed Seaga as, “The man whom we consider to be the most outstanding political figure for the last 50 years in Jamaican politics”.

He urged Jamaicans to remember Seaga’s contributions to the country’s development, which he said has benefited every single institution in Jamaica.

Seaga, Jamaica’s fifth prime minister, served as the head of Government from 1980 to 1989.

He also served as Opposition leader from 1974 to 1980 and again from 1989 to January 2005 when he retired from representational politics.

The former prime minister died on May 28, 2019 at age 89.