Dear Editor,

At her recent constituency conference, Member of Parliament (MP) Marlene Malahoo Forte attempted to reduce the People’s National Party’s (PNP) contribution to this country and to the constituency of St James West Central to nothing more than “bums, ganja, and futsal”. I believe that wasn’t just disrespectful; it was revealing.

When a sitting MP relies on mockery rather than results, it becomes clear he/she has little to run on.

After nearly a decade in office, Malahoo Forte has failed to deliver any significant development project in this constituency and now resorts to stereotypes, distractions, and classist jabs in place of a real track record.

Let us be clear: What she flippantly calls “handouts” and “ganja politics” are, in fact, the real, measurable results of PNP governance. Under previous PNP representation, St James West Central saw:

* construction of a 40-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant, critical for the region’s water supply;

* expansion of infrastructure, including the Negril to Montego Bay highway and upgraded sewerage systems enabling projects like Pinnacle Village;

* construction of Freeport Police Station and expansion of JPS’s Bogue Power Plant, helping to fuel economic growth;

* a cohesive, 20-year urban development plan leading to Bogue Village, Fairview, and the Barnett Tech Park;

* transformation of Catherine Hall, including new housing, the Catherine Hall Health Centre, and schools such as Howard Cooke and Catherine Hall Primary;

* establishment of key institutions like Herbert Morrison Technical and Montego Bay Community College;

* major infrastructure works such as the dualisation of Howard Cooke Boulevard and the building of the Catherine Hall Stadium.

These are not “bums and ganja”, these are schools, clinics, roads, jobs, and technology hubs — the fruits of thoughtful, long-term investment by a party focused on real development.

And while the current MP might attempt to take credit for projects like the Montego Bay Bypass or the realignment of the Catherine Hall main road, let the record reflect that those projects were conceptualised under the P J Patterson-led PNP Administration as part of a master development plan dating back decades. They are not the product of her parliamentary representation.

The uncomfortable truth for Malahoo Forte is this: After nine years in Parliament, she cannot point to one new school, one housing scheme, one health centre, one playing field, one community centre, or one completed infrastructure project that would merit a third term.

The people of St James West Central deserve more than speeches and spectacle. They deserve respect, a vision for the future, and most of all delivery. And, come election time, they will remember who built and who belittled.

Warren Murray

Councillor Caretaker

Spring Garden Division

People’s National Party

c/o Owen Allen

odamaxef@yahoo.com