In a display of raw emotions, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared that there should be “no political compromise” on the rule of law relative to the illegal acquisition of government lands to build houses.
Holness, who has been facing backlash in recent days for ordering the demolition of housing structures on lands captured and sold by gangsters close to Clifton in the Greater Bernard Lodge Development area, is contending that he has reached the stage in his political career where his legacy as the country’s leader takes precedence over his popularity.
“My job as your prime minister… I have passed the stage of trying to or needing to win political popularity and favour — doesn’t matter to me anymore,” said Holness, while addressing the handing over of units at the Roseneath Park Housing Development in Old Harbour, St Catherine, on Wednesday.
“I have to start thinking about my legacy. What will Jamaica be? Will it be the same as I came and saw it?” asked the prime minister as his voice cracked.
After a brief pause, while almost in tears, he said, “I can’t let Jamaica be the same as I came and saw it.”
The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has been critical of Holness for ordering the demolition of the unfinished houses in Clifton, but other people have praised him for his stance on squatting.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, the prime minister named the Clansman gang as the criminal outfit that has benefited from the illegal sale of land in the community. The police and the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) have been called in by the Government to investigate.
Holness also disclosed that “land scams” are emerging across the island, with reports coming out of Mount Edgecombe in St Ann, Naseberry Grove and Thetford in St Catherine, as well as Retirement and Providence in St James.
In his emotionally charged address on Wednesday, Holness underscored that the Government recognises the challenges being experienced by Jamaicans when it comes to home ownership, but said the laws must be followed.
He also noted the injustices meted out to the country’s forefathers through slavery that lingers today, but further underscored that Jamaicans must now be responsible in following the rule of law.
“There are still generations of Jamaicans coming out of the plantation that own no property, and that is an injustice!” he declared.
“… But when you are the State and you are an independent State, you have to enforce law and order, the rule of law is absolutely important to the State.
“It is the rule of law that will ensure equity and fairness,” Holness maintained.
According to him, the Government has to put in place a system that ensures everyone can get access to lands and houses.
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“So, we going to do couple things. First, we going to enforce the law, and in parallel, we going to increase the capacity of the Government to provide a formal, fair, and efficient process that gives a fair opportunity to every Jamaican to own their own home that is at a standard of habitation and shelter that all Jamaicans can be proud of,” he explained.
“… And that is what we are doing,” he suggested, pointing to the National Housing Trust’s ongoing thrust to deliver a number of houses.
However, the prime minister lamented that the ease of communicating the Government’s efforts of enforcing the law relative to capturing of lands illegally is being derailed by persons he referred to as “vested interests”.
He elaborated, “It is not an easy task to communicate this, because there are vested interests who want to turn this into a political issue for their political benefits.
“There must never be any political compromises about the rule of law.
“For decades we have been winking and being duplicitous and equivocal about the enforcement of the rule of law, and that is why we are where we are today,” stated Holness.
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