Whenever a general election is imminent, the ruling party — whether Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), as was the case this year, or People’s National Party (PNP) nine years ago latest — become laser-focused on programmes deemed likely to help take it across the finish line.

Political pundits expect this to happen and do not find anything strange in it. What has to be watched, like a hawk, however, are the programmes which are swiftly abandoned or the promises which evaporate — as if they were never made — once the election is over.

There are three projects, among a few, which we in this space are convinced would have helped the JLP considerably to grab its first-consecutive third-term on September 3, 2025. These are crime reduction, the rural school bus roll-out, and the opening of the Morant Bay Urban Centre (MBUC) in St Thomas.

First, crime and violence have haunted this country for as long as any of us can remember — much of its origin owed to political patronage and with gangs who took over when the political thugs lost ground. To this day Jamaicans refer to the reported 800 people killed during the civil war-type ideological clashes between the JLP and the PNP in the late 70s.

Since then, the dramatic decline in the country’s murder rate — 18.7% decline in homicides from 2023 to 2024, and 43 per cent between 2024 and 2025 — has brought hopes that Jamaica will be a safe place for locals as well as visitors.

This fight is not yet over, and there is no time to relax. Up to yesterday, the Independent Commission of Investigations reported 18 murders committed in September; 10 in one week. This was almost one murder a day, a significant drop from previously. But one murder is still one too many.

Our fear is that once we take our eye off the ball the monster will return.

For sure, there are others who are still watching. On September 16, 2025, Canada updated its travel advisory on Jamaica, warning: “Violent crime, including armed robbery and murder, is a problem in large cities and tourist areas, including parts of Kingston and Montego Bay, despite the presence of police to counter criminal activity.” Point made.

Second, the injuring of eight students from St Martin De Porres Primary School and Louise Bennett-Coverley Primary School on Tuesday when the bus in which they were travelling crashed on Dublin Castle Road in Gordon Town, St Andrew, reminds of the importance of the National Rural School Bus Programme.

Launched in the heat of election battle in September, with 110 specially retrofitted buses, it aimed to provide “a dedicated, safe, and disciplined environment for students during their commute, reducing risks associated with walking or unsafe vehicles across the island”. The Government plans to expand the fleet to serve all 858 rural schools by 2027-2028.

Third, according to press reports, four months after the official opening of the $6-billion MBUC the tenants are yet to start doing business there.

Incomplete retrofitting of their spaces because of the competition for labour and complaints of some about high rental suggest the opening could have been rushed — though we hope not. Still, this game changer is critical for the so-called poorest parish.

The electorate now expects to be rewarded for putting its confidence in the Administration.