Dear Editor,
After being in the political wilderness for so long the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has returned with some half-hearted, premature and unconvincing promises. Its has come with a 10-point plan, market manifesto and has been travelling the length and breadth of the island in a desperate last-minute effort to miraculously unseat the incumbent People’s National Party.
The Opposition promises to increase the net pay for people earning up to $1.5 million per year. On the face of it, that sounds wonderful, but it’s like a cotton candy. They have also promised to build a hospital in Portmore, expand the Bustamante Hospital, provide free health care, raise the minimum wage, expand school infrastructure, remove mandatory school fees, increase funds available to students for loans, and a whole host of capital-needed initiatives.
The Jamaican people know full well that their taxes are what run the country; from paying civil servants to cleaning drains. Now the million-dollar question is where will the money come from to finance the 2016-2017 budget? Will the JLP call upon the same people to pay more for gas or increase the general consumption tax to finance the budget if they were to win?
Let us be realistic, setting a fixed election date, or putting Internet on buses do not make the lives of the people better. People are already working from home and teachers are already using technology in school to support teaching and enhance learning. The people are not interested in catchphrases or animated manifestos filled with big words, but clear proposals that are feasible. To the JLP, the election is upon us and your promises are unconvincing.
Hezekan Bolton
h_e_z_e@hotmail.com
After being in the political wilderness for so long the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has returned with some half-hearted, premature and unconvincing promises. Its has come with a 10-point plan, market manifesto and has been travelling the length and breadth of the island in a desperate last-minute effort to miraculously unseat the incumbent People’s National Party.
The Opposition promises to increase the net pay for people earning up to $1.5 million per year. On the face of it, that sounds wonderful, but it’s like a cotton candy. They have also promised to build a hospital in Portmore, expand the Bustamante Hospital, provide free health care, raise the minimum wage, expand school infrastructure, remove mandatory school fees, increase funds available to students for loans, and a whole host of capital-needed initiatives.
The Jamaican people know full well that their taxes are what run the country; from paying civil servants to cleaning drains. Now the million-dollar question is where will the money come from to finance the 2016-2017 budget? Will the JLP call upon the same people to pay more for gas or increase the general consumption tax to finance the budget if they were to win?
Let us be realistic, setting a fixed election date, or putting Internet on buses do not make the lives of the people better. People are already working from home and teachers are already using technology in school to support teaching and enhance learning. The people are not interested in catchphrases or animated manifestos filled with big words, but clear proposals that are feasible. To the JLP, the election is upon us and your promises are unconvincing.
Hezekan Bolton
h_e_z_e@hotmail.com