Statements made by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on the late Michael Manley has awakened the fury of the People’s National Party (PNP) which is claiming that the Prime Minister is trying to change Jamaica’s history. The Prime Minister had made the statement at the recent launch of the JLP’s National Scholarship Programme.
“The departure from course during this period of industrialization and industrial development was not due to external forces. It was due to the misadventure of the PNP which diverted us from the path of economic growth, selling the people of Jamaica false hope and unrealistic dreams for which the country is still paying today.”
Now, the Opposition leader Dr. Peter Phillips is not mincing words, expressing disappointment over the speech – saying Holness was seeking to criticize Michael Manley’s legacy.
“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Maybe Holness doesn’t understand the reality of the global economy and we could possibly excuse him not to understand Jamaica’s own history and to misrepresent it, there’s no excuse,” Dr. Phillips added. “Far from the 1960’s as he portrayed it being a period of quiet steady progress it was a time of turbulence and social upheaval in the country.”
Dr. Phillips is questioning whether Holness wants to remove a legacy that has crafted Jamaica for what it is today.
“What would he like to remove? Is it the NHT that Michael and that administration establish and support people to get housing and access to housing? Is it that they want to discard the gains made by the status of children act that makes sure bastards no deh again? Or is it maternity leave with pay that established Jamaica as being at the forefront of Women’s rights?”
Experts are also of the view that Manley created a foundation that has benefited many – and should not be discredited for his work.
