PORT ANTONIO, Portland — Convinced that the People’s National Party (PNP) will be elected to lead Jamaica the next time the country goes to the polls, the party’s general secretary and spokesman on agriculture Dr Dayton Campbell has promised that a PNP government will transform the agricultural
sector.

Speaking during a party rally in Portland on Sunday night, he accused the Government of not doing enough to take farmers “out of poverty”, and making unwise decisions about imports being allowed into the country, only to be sold at hefty prices in supermarkets.

“The next PNP Administration is going to ensure that we put land in the hands of the farmers so that they can produce and feed our country. We are going to build farm roads for you to the farm so you can be efficient. RADA [Rural Agricultural Development Authority] will come and help you with land preparation as the time of machete and hoe is over. It is time for mechanisation in your farming [so] that you have access to irrigation, so you get value for your hard work, as we transform agriculture in this country,” Dr Campbell promised.

During his time on stage, as orange-clad Comrades cheered him on, he also blasted the Andrew Holness-led Administration for what he said was a failure to take accountability for all that has gone wrong in Jamaica under its watch.

“Based on this Government, you must not blame them for anything that is going on — even though they have been in government for nine years. Everything that is wrong they say, ‘Don’t blame us,’ ” thundered Dr Campbell.

He rattled off a list of reasons why the JLP should “step aside”, including the decision to give Parliamentarians on both sides of the aisle a triple-digit percentage salary increase. The figure has been officially put at 230 per cent paid to members of the House who were elected on both a JLP and PNP ticket, but Dr Campbell told supporters it was 300 per cent and gave the impression only those on the JLP side benefitted.

The increases to parliamentarians will cost $1.7 billion over three years and, as of April 2022, they no longer get housing and telephone allowances. Politicians at the local government level have also benefited from big increases, with the mayor of Kingston’s salary more than doubling from $3.8 million to $10.1 million effective April 2023.

In announcing the MPs’ huge jump in salary, then Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke said the judiciary, whose members have benefited from a 100 per cent increase over the three-year period, remains the highest-paid branch in the Government. He also pointed out that the senior leadership of the entire public service, including the police, nurses, teachers and doctors, have also benefited from huge, multimillion-dollar increases. At the lower level of the public service some workers got increases of more than 200 per cent.

However, that has done nothing to placate large swathes of the public, and the Opposition has made the issue a central plank in its push for power. Sunday night’s event was no different.

“After giving themselves a 300 per cent increase in salary after nine years they say, ‘Don’t blame us for the bad roads.’ After nine years in power they say, ‘Don’t blame us for the high crime.’ After nine years and the 300 per cent increase they say, ‘Don’t blame us for the high cost of living… for the education crisis, government corruption, high utility bills, high cost of public transportation. They don’t want to take responsibility for anything in the country. Step aside now because Mark Golding and team PNP is ready to take over!” said Dr Campbell.

— Everard Owen