PRIME Minister Dr Andrew Holness is once again urging Jamaicans to reject criminality, warning that it is an obstacle to national development, after a National Housing Trust (NHT) project in Vineyard Town was mired in delays as violence and gang activity stalled its construction for almost nine years.

Speaking at the handover ceremony of 14 studio apartments at 2A Central Avenue and 7 Third Avenue, St Andrew, on Wednesday, Holness argued that what should have been a symbol of hope and development completed in a timely manner instead became a stark reminder of the cost of crime and deviance.

Holness revealed that the NHT homes, priced at $15 million with each apartment expanding to 430 square feet, began in 2017 but was derailed when criminal activity made it nearly impossible for contractors to operate. By 2021, the original contract for the development had to be terminated.

“We see in this project the effects of criminality on the society. I want you to think about that for a moment. The families who are going to benefit from this were delayed their benefit because criminals extorted the site; made it difficult for the contractor to do their job; threatened the people; the area was very difficult to work in,” said Holness.

“So those who sometimes speak as if they are in support of the criminals should understand that we cannot be ambivalent about criminality because it is the criminals who are depriving the people, including the poor people in their own community.”

Holness also rejected arguments that criminal behaviour should be excused because of social conditions, such as poverty or a lack of education, insisting that law-abiding citizens, and the young adults who were denied their apartments for years, are the ones who suffer most when development is stalled.

“There is a sense in our society that somehow the criminals exist because of a social injustice problem. Meaning that the criminals, the murderers, the extortionists, the gangs, exist because lack of education, lack of employment, lack of access to amenities, a society that closes them out and keeps them on the margin. No doubt, maybe parts of this is true,” he said.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness (left) converses with National Housing Trust (NHT) Vineyard Town apartment beneficiary Marlene Witham, and Managing Director at the NHT Martin Miller at the handover ceremony of 14 apartments at 2A Central Avenue and 7 Third Avenue in St Andrew on Wednesday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

“Maybe those who are in gangs didn’t get a good education. Maybe they have no skills to get a job. But my retort to this is always, what about those who did not get a good education but are not in gangs, are not squeezing the trigger? What about those who, despite the social injustice, decide that I am going to stay on the right side of the law? Why should criminals get preference over people who, regardless of whatever social injustice, decide to maintain the law?” he questioned.

Holness noted that the project’s completion was only made possible after security improvements helped to bring gangs in the community under greater control.

He further linked its completion to Jamaica’s declining murder rate, and recent improvements in the country’s international standing, including a lower United States of America travel advisory level, describing it as “the tangible direct benefits to the country when Jamaica is at peace”.

“The reason why I’m raising it [this point] is that we are now enjoying, as a country, the reduction in murders. Recently, an article was published which listed Jamaica as one of the most peaceful places to be. Recently, the United States improved the travel advisory rating from three to two. These are the dividends of peace,” he said.

Holness urged Jamaicans not to protect or shield criminals from law enforcement, charging that when crime and violence is reduced then Jamaica will flourish and achieve its goal of being a place where families can live, work, and raise children.

“I encourage all Jamaicans to reflect on this. The criminals are not Robin Hoods; they are not your friends. The criminals delay or prevent development. And what we are looking at here, a development that started in 2017, we can only look to hand it over now. Almost nine years. That is the impact of criminality on the system,” he said.