Prime Minister of Jamaica, Hon. Andrew Holness, accused the People’s National Party, PNP, of instilling ‘Freeness Mentality’ in the minds of some Jamaicans.
The Prime Minister spoke Monday night during a JLP Area Council One meeting at the Pembroke Hall Community Center.
Mr. Holness said some Jamaicans have been under the influence of the ‘freeness mentality’ due to the PNP.
Further, he said that entitled behavior has plagued Jamaica.
Prime Minister Holness told the audience that borrowing was the solution of the PNP to fix problems in the country.
He said years of borrowing had caused hardships for Jamaica. Additionally, he said land was a critical area where the PNP led Jamaicans astray.
Mr. Holness said his Administration has ensured that Jamaicans have access to land and proof of land ownership.
Robinson Challenges Prime Minister Holness on Debt-to-GDP Claims
Opposition spokesperson for finance, Julian Robinson, has challenged claims by Prime Minister Andrew Holness about Jamaica’s debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio since the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) Administration took office in 2016.
“In Parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness made a false statement by claiming that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 145 percent when he took office. I must correct this. The debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 115 percent when the People’s National Party (PNP) left office in 2016, after careful fiscal management,” said Robinson in a media release.
“In 2012, the PNP inherited a challenging economic situation with the debt-to-GDP ratio at 145 percent. By 2016, we had reduced this to 115 percent through determined efforts, achieving a substantial improvement that averaged an annual reduction of 7.5 percent.
“It is fallacious for the prime minister to suggest that his Administration alone achieved the current debt levels by implying they began their tenure at 145 percent. In reality, the debt-to-GDP ratio in 2007, when the Jamaica Labor Party [JLP] took office, was 107 percent, and during their Administration, it rose to 145 percent. The PNP then undertook a significant recovery, bringing it down by 30 percentage points in four years to 115 percent in 2016,” added Robinson.
In his tribute to the then outgoing Minister of Finance, Dr Nigel Clarke, in Parliament on Tuesday, the prime minister applauded Clarke for cutting the debt-to-GDP ratio by approximately 50 percent to 74 percent at this time.
But while pointing to what he said are the correct numbers, Robinson said: “Jamaicans deserve transparency, particularly in areas that impact their economic future.