New York, (USA) — As Jamaicans prepare to go to the polls on September 3, several compatriots in the Diaspora are not only following proceedings with a keen interest, many are preparing to return home to campaign, with some coming to vote.

Patrick Callum, who heads the New York chapter of Generation 2000 (G2K) — the young professional arm of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) — told the Jamaica Observer that an advance team of five of its members is already in the island to assist with campaign activities and to vote.

According to Callum, while he will not be making the trip home, he hopes the governing JLP will be given the chance to build on its achievements.

“Despite the remarkable reduction in the major crime statistics — especially the murder rates — I would like to see further reductions, something which I believe is achievable,” said Callum.

He added that he would also like to see the creation of, and an increase in, better paying jobs now that unemployment is at an all-time low.

Callum said should the People’s National Party (PNP) win the general election, he hopes “they will continue and build on the policies that have worked under the current Administration rather than seek to dismantle those policies and seek to reinvent the wheel. That would only set back the gains which the country has made”.

But Callum agreed that the PNP would be within its right to implement the policies on which it campaigned.

In the meantime, Sadie Campbell, the long-standing president of the PNP affiliate Jamaica Progressive League (JPL), said while no decision has been made on her organisation’s participation in the election, she understands that some of its members have made the decision to do so.

According to Campbell, at least one member of the JPL is already in Jamaica assisting the campaign of the PNP’s candidate for St Catherine North Eastern, Andrine Higgins.

Campbell told the Observer that she is hoping for a change in Government at the end of the election as “there is much more that should have been and can be achieved”.

She said she is among those who are concerned with the matter of corruption and integrity in governance.

Meanwhile, Peter Gracey, Global Jamaica Diaspora Council (GJDC) representative for the Southern United States, said while he is also not in a position to provide a specific number of people who will be making the trip home to vote, he expects some people to return to the island for September 3.

Gracey said that as the GJDC’s representative for the southern US, he has to be neutral as the entity is non-political.

He charged that Jamaicans in the Diaspora who are paying keen attention to the election are expressing concerns about several issues, even as they acknowledge the improvements and gains made under the current Administration.

“One of the concerns for many is a trust and integrity issue as it relates to the current Government, particularly as it pertains to the matter between the prime minister and the IC [Integrity Commission]. There is a feeling among some that it is unfortunate that the prime minister is embroiled in such a critical matter as it relates to allegations of corruption and integrity,” said Gracey.

“There is also concern about how the PNP will govern should the party becomes the next Government. Many [people], for example, are not convinced that the policies and plans of the party have been clearly articulated. Many would also like to have a clear view of how the PNP will engage with the Diaspora,” added Gracey.

For his part, Dwight P Bailey, a former member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, said he will definitely be making the trip home to vote.

The St Mary native said that he has concerns about the condition of the roads and the lack of portable water in the district of Mount Regale where he grew up.

“The residents in that area and surrounding districts like Seaton, Clarke Castle, and Richmond Road should be better served,” said Bailey.

According to Bailey, he also has concerns about the many “allegations of corruption in high places and especially as it relates to how Prime Minister [Dr Andrew Holness] has handled the issue surrounding his assets with the IC”.

GRACEY…Jamaicans in the Diaspora, who are paying keen attention to the election, are expressing concerns about several issues

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