KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) will launch its manifesto “I Choose Jamaica, The Next Chapter” at Sam Sharpe Square in St James, on Sunday during its mass rally, set to start at 4:00 pm, according to Manifesto and Achievements Committee Chair, Kamina Johnson Smith.

Johnson Smith made the announcement during a media conference held by the JLP on Thursday after much speculation and interest in the public sphere on when the party would release the election document.

“We are responding to that, of course, by ensuring that we meet our commitment of having said to you we will be sharing our manifesto in a new creative way and ensuring we engage with the Jamaican people as deeply and widely on the issue,” she said.

Smith said it was for this reason that the party had chosen to launch its manifesto in a mass rally outside of Kingston.

Johnson Smith maintained that the party was pleased with the interest surrounding its manifesto and encouraged voters to tune into the social arm of the National Debates on August 23, which would include some of the content from the JLP document.

In responding to queries on whether the party expected the manifesto to swing votes in their favour, Johnson Smith said: “Well I wouldn’t want to speculate… We feel confident that we have a robust document and exciting set of plans to put to the people of Jamaica for them to now consider the next chapter of our ‘I Chose Jamaica’ story and that they will therefore have the best opportunity to engage, be informed, to think about, especially those persons who haven’t decided yet if they are going to vote, who they are going to vote for, we want to give them as much information as possible.”

She said the party had considered young voters and their love for excitement and “buzz” in explaining the decision to unveil the manifesto at a rally.

The party also launched another document highlighting its achievements, this time divided by ministry, dubbed “Ministry Highlights”.

“We have a lot of information to share, this is the next chapter of our achievement story and we invite you to share, have a look. Many people want to think of the Jamaica Labour Party’s achievements in a particular box, but it is so rich and wide and life-impacting that we really did not think it would be too much to share more,” said Johnson Smith.

The book will not be available in print, like the recently disseminated achievements booklet; however, the document will be available on the website jamaicalabourparty.com.

Also on that website is an interactive map, Johnson Smith says.

“This is another way that we are holding ourselves accountable for this work that we said we would do for you,” she shared.

The map allows viewers to click on one of the 14 parishes to show the projects and roadwork that the government is carrying out in that area, as well as the candidates per area.

“Our achievement our performance is not about boasting, it is about accountability, performance and delivery to the people of Jamaica…We hope that this will not only be a good and useful research tool but a connecting tool for Jamaicans overseas who want to see what’s happening, as well as the everyday Jamaican who wants to know what’s going on around us in the country,” Smith said.

— Dana Malcolm