Prime Minister Andrew Holness. File photo courtesy Loop Jamaica.
ST. ANN, Jamaica--Prime Minister Andrew Holness is calling on Jamaicans to remain positive and desist from listening to the negative views of some people, noting that the economy is recovering well and showing “signs of resilience”.
“I want you to keep on the side of the positive, keep on the side of the hopeful, keep on the side of the progressive, because if you listen to the negatives, then they become self-fulfilling prophecies,” warned Holness.
He was addressing Friday’s handing-over of six houses under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) in St. Ann on Friday.
The prime minister said the continued growth of the island’s economy and the record low levels of unemployment are occurring in a time of high inflation and rising food cost and energy prices. He said “steady leadership” from the government has kept the country afloat through the challenging times.
This reality, said Holness, is news that is unwelcomed by the “purveyors of doom and gloom.”
“The critics don’t want you to hear that! They don’t want you to remember that we have brought down unemployment from the highs of 13%. Unemployment is now down to its lowest ever [at – Ed.] 6% and it’s going to go even lower,” he said.
“So, the best protection against inflation and crisis, [and] the best social safety net that a government can give to anybody is a job,” Holness suggested.
Even while admitting that “times are hard”, the prime minister said the government has continued to give social support to the most vulnerable through electricity, food packages and special grants to transport operators and small business operators.
“In the midst of crisis when all the negative people [are] saying things are bad, the economy is projected to grow this quarter, as the [Planning Institute of Jamaica] PIOJ has pointed out, by over 5%. My God! When has that ever happened that in a time of crisis, where everybody saying recession [is] looming, our economy is still showing strong signs of recovery?” Holness asked.
He pointed out that Jamaicans should remain positive, because the government has the resources and capabilities to overcome the challenges facing the country.
“All the challenges that we face, we have the resources and the strength and the will to overcome them, and we are going to do, if it is one house at a time, one job at a time, one new road at a time, we are going to continue to do it,” assured Holness. ~ Jamaica Observer ~
