WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — People’s National Party (PNP) President Mark Golding on Sunday reiterated the party’s rationale for hosting the public session of its annual conference this year in western Jamaica instead of the usual National Arena in Kingston, stating that the PNP is standing in solidarity with the people of the region who were severely impacted by the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October.

The PNP’s 88th annual conference, which was expected to begin at 3:00 pm and is being impacted by rain, is being hosted in Independence Park in the town of Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland. The eye of the Category 5 storm made landfall in the parish a little over 11 months ago.

“It’s easy for us in the east of the island, in the Corporate Area and elsewhere, really to think that life is totally normal and things are back to the way we are accustomed to them being. But we know that that is not the case for everybody, and that many people are still trying to put their lives back together, trying to put their businesses back together,” Golding said.

“And the institutions that they may belong to, whether it be churches, whether it be schools, whether it’s service clubs, whatever it may be — many of them are also really still from the effects of that terrible hurricane that hit us last year [in] October,” he continued. “So in solidarity with all of you, because we feel for you and we feel with you, we decided to come down this side and spend the day.”

Golding was addressing a church service held at the New Testament Church of God in Negril on Sunday. The service was used to kickstart the party’s day of activities, which includes two community projects — one at Race Course and the other in Mount Airy — alongside the main activity of the day, the conference.

For his part, host pastor of the Negril church, Bishop Everton Robinson, welcomed the move to bring the conference to the west.

“It is a big thing to move from the Corporate Area for the first time to bring these activities to the west. It’s a bold move by the People’s National Party,” the bishop said.

He also noted that to relegate the event to a partisan celebration, would be disgraceful.

“Now, Mr Golding, I want to just let you know that 88 years is no small feat. And to think that this is just a partisan celebration would be foolish to think that way. I think it would be a disservice to the value and worth of the People’s National Party from its inception,” he said. “To observe mistakes that would have been made, mistakes corrected, and achievements that would have been made as well — great achievements over the years.”

The church service for the party also coincided with a service held in recognition of senior citizens.

At the end of Golding’s speech, he made a “special donation” in an envelope to the church, which was accepted by Bishop Robinson. However, before doing so, he asked for the church’s blessing.

“I ask the church today in your prayers to pray a special blessing for the People’s National Party on our 88th anniversary, and for those who will be traveling from near and far to come to our rally this afternoon at East Montpelier. May God bless them with journeying mercies so that they travel safely both coming and going, and that we will have a wonderful afternoon together,” stated the party president.

The motto of this year’s conference is ‘We Put People First.’

“It’s a strong statement of principle which we must always endeavor to live up to,” argued Golding.
— Anthony Lewis