Holness stands with Bruce

Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter

NEW PRIME Minister Andrew Holness has refused to separate himself from the decisions taken by the Bruce Golding-led government of which he was a member.

"I am a part of the JLP government. I have never sought to deny that," Holness said in an interview with The Sunday Gleaner at Jamaica House on Friday.

The prime minister was responding to criticisms from the Oppo-sition People's National Party (PNP) that he is also to be blamed for issues such as the increase in poverty and the engagement of United States law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in the extradition saga involving confessed gangster Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.

"It is clearly the job of the PNP to discredit the job of the JLP government, but I am a member of the JLP government and there is collective responsibility which I can't shy away from," Holness said.

Pointing to economic achievements such as record low interest rates, exchange rate stability and low inflation, Holness said the PNP tried hard to achieve all three simultaneously, but failed.

correcting shortcomings

He said the Golding administration did "significant things which the PNP never had the guts to do in 18 years, delaying the inevitable".

"If we had done JDX 10 years ago, we would have been better off," the prime minister said.

"We cannot shy away from our achievement, neither can we shy away from our shortcomings ... . Whatever shortcomings there were in the previous administra-tion under Bruce Golding, this Government would have to recognise and make good and do the necessary corrections."

Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller has pointed to increasing poverty levels and joblessness as evidence of "a reckless government".

She said Holness represents a continuation of failed JLP policies. "It is the voice of Jacob and the hand of Esau," she said.

Meanwhile, Holness has urged voters not to fall for the promise of hope that the Opposition People's National Party has been attempting to sell.

"There is a big difference between hope and false hope. False hope is easy; it is easy to pander, to say 'overnight we are going to create jobs and we are going to shift around a few things and immediately the problems will be solved'," the prime minister told The Sunday Gleaner.

He stayed away from indicating when general elections will be held and opted instead to say the country's problems will not be easily solved with cosmetic changes.

"I am not here to tell you that my election means milk and honey," Holness said.

"I recognise that that is a bold statement to make facing an election, but I think we have an opportunity to get it right, and I am appealing to the electorate to think deeply and carefully on the choices they have made in elections past and the options chosen, and whether or not those choices have resulted in national gain for everyone or lopsided sectoral gain," the prime minister said.

yearend elections

General elections are due by December 2012 at latest, but political pundits have opined that with Holness having just taken the reins from Bruce Golding as prime minister, he could go to the polls for his own mandate by yearend.

Holness told The Sunday Gleaner that the time has come for the electorate to "break from what happened in the past and look to the future for a permanent sustainable solution to our problems".

"That solution comes in the acceptance of the seriousness of our realities, and an appreciation of the opportunities that they present," he said.

Pointing to the national debt as a major impediment to development, Holness said there has been a disconnect between the handling of the debt and its impacted on development.

"The people must now have a voice in how the debt is managed, because if you don't manage this debt the people will be at risk," the prime minister said.

The country's total stock of debt stands at J$1.52 trillion, or approximately 130 per cent of GDP.