Mikael Phillips, during his address at the People’s National Party (PNP) Central Jamaica Mass Rally on the weekend, delivered a strong rebuke of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), accusing the Holness administration of mismanagement of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company, while promising to restore the system to greater efficiency.

Phillips also accused the JLP of desperation, incompetence, and deception in the lead-up to the September 3 general election.

“Let us not take this election lightly, comrades, because what is evident is that the Jamaica Labour Party is bare-faced and lying and desperate,” Phillips said. “We have a responsibility, a responsibility to save Jamaica from this desperate Jamaica Labour Party.”

He then zoomed in on the JLP’s claim of $1 billion in savings at the JUTC, calling the figures misleading and mathematically unsound.

“When I heard them stand up… and talk about them having $1 billion savings from the JUTC… I look over at my wife and I say to her, What a man dem lie and wicked… If you have a $1 billion savings at the JUTC, and it is a company that has $10 billion in losses, how are they going to take out $1 billion to seh them a buy school bus when they don’t have nuh money?” he added.

Phillips was adamant that it was the PNP who built the JUTC, while the JLP was responsible for its decline.

“They had 10 years to fix it. If they couldn’t fix it in 10 years, why should we trust them to fix it again?”

Phillips returned to a theme of perceived JLP incompetence behind political showmanship while warning supporters not to underestimate the upcoming general election.

“But what makes it even worse is that they like to make it look like they know what they are doing. Nuff sweet talking, Nuff numbers, but underneath that, they are incompetent, they don’t know what they are doing at all. And that is why I am saying comrades, nuh tek nuh chance with this election because we have to save Jamaica one more time from the Labour party,” Phillips added.

On education and public transport, Phillips reinforced the PNP’s commitment.

“Anything that the PNP is going to do for our children, it has to be brand new,” he declared. The only way they can try and discredit us is to say we don’t support the school bus system. Let me make it clear one more time—the People’s National Party supports the school bus system of our children.”

Phillips also condemned the government’s decision to reduce funding to the PATH school bus system, accusing the Labour administration of pressuring schools to exit contracts with private operators and laying off drivers—a move he said would leave vulnerable students scrambling for limited space on government-operated yellow buses. “What they are saying to the PATH students is, We do not value you,” he said.