Residents praise PNP’s St James town hall meeting on energy

WESTERN BUREAU:

Senator Janice Allen, the People’s National Party (PNP) caretaker candidate for St James Central, has got high marks for a recent town hall meeting she staged, which focused on the high cost of electric energy and her party’s plan to reduce the cost.

At the meeting staged at the Cornwall Court community centre and attracting residents from neighbouring communities such as the Salt Spring, Montego Bay South, and Montego Bay Southeast divisions, former energy Minister Phillip Paulwell, the PNP’s spokesman on energy and climate change, addressed issues relating to the cost of energy, the impending end to the current Jamaica Public Service (JPS) licence and renewable energy,

Nadine Wint, a resident of Cornwall Court, said she found the town hall meeting a welcome departure from the traditional political meeting, as they provided the opportunity to ask questions as well as provided pertinent information about the PNP’s plan to cut the cost of electricity, should the party form the next government.

“This is refreshing because normally we don’t have this kind of representation where people take the time out to come and educate us in this manner,” said Wint. “We really need to learn and understand how we can be a part of the process to benefit from our government, so we can’t wait for you to take over the government because we want to see the reduction of our electricity bills.”

Charmaine ‘Petal’ Lawrence, of Capital Heights near Green Pond, urged Allen to arrange more meeting with persons connected to other service providers, so they too can provide answers to issues of concern.

“These are the type of meetings that we as residents yearn for. To have face-to-face dialogue, where we can voice our opinions,” said Lawrence, who said she was very interested in knowing how the PNP would reducing the cost of electricity.

Like the persons praising the initiative by Allen, Paulwell also praised Allen for inviting him, saying she could have arranged a political motorcade, jamming up traffic and all that, to bring high visibility to her campaign, but she instead did something that is highly beneficial to the people.

“Yes, it is good to have the ‘ray ray’ and the tours and political meetings and so on, but I believe it is better for us to sit down like this and talk about real issues that affect your pocket,” said Paulwell.

According to Paulwell, Allen shared her concerns with him, noting that people are hurting because of the cost of living, which stems from the cost of electricity.

“Rather than coming and doing the regular campaign, why not come the people with the PNP’s policy so that people can hear first, and more importantly for you to be able to quiz me, and for you to be able to state your own views because no one person is the fountain of knowledge,” said Paulwell.

In responding to some of the questions posed to him, Paulwell said the introduction of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) has not helped to reduce the cost of electricity, arguing that after 10 years of investing in LNG, the country continues to struggle with high energy costs.

“I must say that I am dissatisfied and disappointed that we have not seen the expected benefits from LNG. We have not seen it and one of the reasons why we have not seen it is because we have not seen any competition with LNG,” noted Paulwell.

Allen, who will be seeking to unseat incumbent member of parliament Heroy Clarke for the St James Central seat in the next general election, said the PNP is committed to ensuring that all citizens benefit from more affordable and sustainable energy solutions.

“So, if we are intending to take over the government, we have to present to you what our plan is. We have to present to you how we are going to resolve [the high cost of oil and electricity] or what are some of the options that we need to contemplate,” she said.