PM: Economic well-being should guide how electorate votes

By Halshane Burke   

 

Prime Minister Andrew Holness is suggesting that the economic well-being of the country should guide how the electorate votes.

 

The Prime Minister pointed to the work on the Montego Bay perimeter road and the recent acquisition of 100 buses as well as garbage trucks with funds from the budget as an indication of the fiscal prudence of the current administration.

 

Mr. Holness said there needs to be a shift in how the public views the economic management of the country. 

 

"All the needs that you have, whether it is the road that pass your gate, the bus that you take, the hospital that you visit, the prescriptions that you need, the security that you require, without a strong economy and good fiscal management, it will not be achieved. And even if you get it one time, it is not sustainable, you won't get it again," he warned. 

 

"So the political economy must change to match the real economy, meaning how you think about how you vote and who you elect must change to match your economic priorities. If the bus is what you require, hospital is what you require, then you have to look at governments and politicians and technocrats and people who you put in positions who understand how to manage the economy," said the Prime Minister. 

 

He was speaking recently at the handing over of 100 new buses to the JUTC.