Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced plans to upgrade ageing housing units in sections of Spanish Town, St Catherine, as a tangible step toward improving the lives of residents and revitalising communities.

Holness reaffirmed the government’s commitment to a clear and genuine vision for Jamaica, stressing that his administration is focused not just on articulating that vision but on turning it into reality.

Speaking in the Spanish Town area recently, Holness committed to improving social intervention services in the old capital, where he spent his boyhood years.

“In many communities, there is a need for social intervention to address the struggles of some communities. For communities where housing has reached a point where you are seeing significant leaks, for example, Tawes Pen and Ellerslie Pen, those houses were built more than 50 years ago.

We are going to repair those houses and make sure the conditions there are livable. I get the reports about the sewerage in the community, the pipes that are broken, and some plants not working,” Holness said.

The prime minister emphasised that the government has already embarked on a project to improve the water and sewerage services in sections of St Catherine, Portmore, and the Corporate Area through the Rio Cobre Water Improvement System. He also visited the project site last month to get an update.

In the meantime, Holness says the government has the space to make more improvements given the decline in crimes, especially murders.

“As the crime comes down, as the gang activity recedes, the government and the state have to step in to make sure that social services that you need, your housing, your health, your education, all those things have to be dealt with. So, in addition to improving the policing capabilities, we must also improve the social services to ensure that these communities can genuinely be placed on a pathway to achieve the prosperity that everybody else around them is achieving,” Holness added.

Things the government has achieved

The government has a list of more than 250 achievements since it took office in 2016. These include no net new taxes, record unemployment levels, macroeconomic stability, record investments in security, and a precipitous fall in the murder rate.

“We have done well. There is no other government that can claim the achievements that we have claimed in addressing Jamaica’s major problems. No other government can say they have taken on the major problems of the country: economic stability, high debt, high taxation, unemployment, high crime rate, and murders. We are making progress. We are solving the problem. We have credibility,” Holness said.

Holness further stated his administration has a track record of achievements and credibility for all to see.

“Government has a duty when elected to fulfil the mandate that they have been given. The expectation is that if you get a mandate and you fulfil the mandate, the achievements of the old mandate count for something. It gives you credit and credibility because that is how the government should work. Good government that performs should be rewarded,” Holness said.