PM challenges opposition's NWC bill promise for pensioners

By Lorraine Walker 

 

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has taken aim at a promise by the parliamentary opposition to implement a flat rate for NWC customers who are pensioners.

 

Shadow spokesperson on Finance, Julian Robinson, during his contribution to the 2025/26 Budget Debate on Thursday, said the plan would be implemented should the PNP form the next government.

 

But Prime Minister Holness, who is set to deliver his budget presentation in the House of Representatives next Thursday, has questioned the ability to deliver on such a promise. 

 

"It sounds good and I'm sure every pensioner would immediately say, yes, this is something that we should do. But I want you to just think with me for a moment because this is not the first time that a politician has stood up in Parliament and made commitments without first thoroughly, thoroughly assessing the economic impact and the wherewithal to actually deliver that commitment. The story is told of a former very popular politician who stood up in Parliament and announced free education and his Minister of Finance didn't even know," he recounted. 

 

Dr. Holness also questioned the methodology that would be used to ensure only pensioners would be able to access the benefit.

 

"Who should get the benefit? Is it the pensioner who owns the house and just them alone get it? Or what about the four or five other people who live in the house? So what you end up doing is siphoning off essentially a lot of revenues from the NWC in trying to assist the pensioners," he said, noting that non-pensioners would also be benefitting in this case. 

 

"And so what you would find is that you would be decreasing the NWC's revenues and then having made the commit now, you can't walk it back. You're going to have to go find the revenues from somewhere else to do that," he reasoned. 

 

Dr. Holness suggested while both political parties may want to help pensioners, only his party has demonstrated the skill, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and the ability to deliver these benefits without compromising the economy.

 

The Prime Minister said the government recognises that pensioners need support in relation to the provision of water and are among the vulnerable groups being targeted under its ongoing NWC amnesty. 

 

The amnesty is currently set to end on March 31, but Dr. Holness said the government will soon announce an extension.

 

The extension, he said, would facilitate more Jamaicans who have not yet registered for the reprieve. 

 

Under the amnesty, rolled out on January 2, NWC customers who are pensioners who have been disconnected for two years; people trying to transfer land titles; customers who have been disconnected for longer than six months; and people with disabilities will have their debts written off and reconnection fees waived.

 

Speaking Friday at the commissioning ceremony for the Runnit and Middle Quarters Pipeline Projects in St. Elizabeth, Prime Minister Holness said over 22,000 applications have so far been received under the amnesty.