President of the People’s National Party (PNP), Mark Golding says a future PNP Government would unveil the ‘Portia Initiative’ in celebration of Jamaica’s first female Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller.

The programme will target the orderly renewal and transformation of infrastructure across the country, he said.

Golding made the announcement on Sunday as he addressed the public session of the PNP’s 86th annual conference at the National Arena in Kingston.

“This programme will drive policies that ‘Sista P’ (Simpson Miller) stood for – improving infrastructure in old housing schemes; tearing down zinc fences in communities and replacing them with concrete walls, completing the infrastructure and land titling for existing land tenure regularising schemes, and rolling out new ones to bring hope and decent living conditions in areas of social neglect,” Golding explained.

“Our beloved Sista P will smile as the next PNP government improves sidewalks for persons with disabilities, provides housing assistance to needy citizens, and beautifies communities where our people live,” Golding added.

He also told the conference that a future PNP Administration would undertake a comprehensive review of all laws relating to housing to find ways to make housing more affordable for all Jamaicans.

“These initiatives are all about balancing books and people’s lives, something that Sista P always spoke about and believed in,” said Golding. He argued that this approach was necessary for Jamaica to emerge from an economy characterised by low growth, low wages, low technology and low productivity.

“To do that we must choose change,” he told the party faithful.

Meanwhile, Golding also stated that a future PNP government would, from day-one, restore the core mandate of the National Housing Trust (NHT).

“We will stop the extraction of funds from the NHT. We will return to providing affordable houses for our people,” Golding said.

And the Opposition leader said the next PNP government will also make lands available to the NHT for qualified contributors, so that they can build their own homes.

Outlining an economic model that he said will benefit the majority and not just a few, Golding said “change means enabling families to own land and afford proper housing”.

He argued that land and housing are fundamental development priorities.