Opposition spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson says Jamaicans are facing a worsening cost-of-living crisis while the economy struggles to grow, blaming the Andrew Holness-led Administration for failing to take decisive action to ease the pressure on households.

Robinson, who was speaking at the annual constituency conference of fellow People’s National Party (PNP) parliamentarian Phillip Paulwell, at Vauxhall High School in Kingston Eastern and Port Royal on Sunday, said the economic challenges facing Jamaicans are being compounded by rising energy costs and the slow pace of recovery following Hurricane Melissa.

Robinson acknowledged that Hurricane Melissa, which struck Jamaica on October 28, 2025, would inevitably have affected economic activity, but argued that the Government’s response to the disaster had worsened the economic fallout.

“We have had two consecutive quarters of negative growth which means we are in a recession. We are likely to have a third quarter of negative growth and the main reason why the economy continues to flounder, we knew we had Hurricane Melissa which would have triggered at least one quarter, but the very slow pace of recovery by the Government is what is contributing to the negative growth. It is taking too long, particularly for those who are in the affected parishes in the west, to get the assistance so that they can get back on their feet,” argued Robinson.

He pointed to the latest Ministry of Finance report, which he said showed a $28.6-billion shortfall in tax revenues, and charged that the gap would place additional pressure on Government finances and force it to either reduce expenditure or dip into the capital budget. He also blamed the shortfall partly on the slow pace of assistance to hurricane-affected businesses.

But Robinson’s criticism extended beyond the impact of Melissa.

He linked the country’s economic difficulties to the cost of energy and the vulnerability of consumers to movements in global oil prices.

According to Robinson, Jamaica could do more to cushion households and businesses against higher oil prices by expanding its use of renewable energy.

“They have not added one megawatt of renewable energy to the grid. What has been done in the last 10 years is what we started when we were last in office. So while you can’t control the price of oil, you can control how much renewable energy is added to the grid and they have failed miserably at adding whether it is solar, whether it is wind,” he pointed out.

Robinson also criticised the Government’s decision to abolish the oil-price hedge, arguing that consumers have not been given another mechanism to shield them from sharp increases in fuel prices.

Beyond the immediate pressure on household budgets, Robinson said the economy was also struggling with a mismatch between the skills employers require and the workers available to fill those positions.

“We have not heard any policy or programme to deal strategically with what employers are bawling about when they say they can’t find people to work, even though every one of us as representatives can point to hundreds, maybe thousands of people who are looking for work. So there’s a clear mismatch between what employers want and what is in the market,” he said.

Robinson proposed that the Government provide financial grants to employers to train and up-skill their workers, arguing that businesses themselves are best positioned to identify the specific skills and training needed to address the gap between the skills employers require and those available in the labour market.

He ended his remarks by insisting that the Opposition would continue to press the Government on its economic policies while offering alternatives that, “could improve growth and living conditions”.

“We will continue to agitate, we will continue to recommend and we will continue to hold the Government accountable so that Jamaica can have a better economy that will suit not just a few people but all of Jamaica,” declared Robinson.