KINGSTON, Jamaica- Prime Minister Andrew Holness has cited what he called the “destruction of Jamaica” by the People’s National Party (PNP) during two periods when the PNP formed the Government, as the main reason why Jamaicans should stick with the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) when local government elections are held.

The PNP formed the government between 1972 and 1980 and again from 1989-2007, the two periods referenced by Holness.

The local polls are due by the latest February 28, 2024 and Holness, while addressing Sunday’s public session of the JLP’s 80th annual conference inside the National Arena, said “next year, at a date to be announced, at a time of my choosing, we will be going back to the people on the local government elections.”

“We have no fear in facing the people of Jamaica. We believe in the people of Jamaica,” he added.

The prime minister told the thousands of Labourites in attendance at the conference that “we know that there is a generation of Jamaicans who were not born in the 1970s and they have no clue as to how the other party destroyed Jamaica, they have no clue.”

Continuing, Holness said “there’s a generation born in the 90s and the early 2000s, they have no clue as to how the 18-and-a-half years of the PNP destroyed Jamaica.” He said it was the task of the JLP to educate those Jamaicans who are not familiar with what transpired during the two periods of PNP governance. And, he hinted that he may personally play a role in doing so.

“It’s a long time that I’ve not gone into what I call the historical politics so that the full context of where we are today is understood,” he stated as he wrapped a one-hour long presentation.

He said, “our young people need to appreciate how far we’re coming from and what we had to struggle against so that they can understand what we have achieved today and how we have transformed Jamaica into the gem of the Caribbean.”

The prime minister highlighted that, 10 years ago, Jamaica was defined as a country with high debt, high inflation, high unemployment, an unstable exchange rate, low reserves and was poorly rated on the international market.

It was a country “on the brink of bankruptcy,” he remarked, but suggested it has all been turned around since the JLP returned to power in 2016.

“If you ask the international community today, they’ll tell you Jamaica, we’re upgrading their ratings and we’re giving them a positive outlook. Jamaica is getting the best ratings it has ever gotten in its history,” said Holness.

The prime minister said such an achievement should not be ignored and he urged voters not to ignore the JLP when they go to the polls because “that is the basis on which you’re going to achieve everything else.”