In an era of climate change, depleting water resources and food insecurity, charting the course for sustainable recovery must involve a new level of commitment to environmental protection and climate resilience.
#BudgetDebate2022 Jamaica has critical, ecologically-sensitive national assets, like the Cockpit Country, other aquifers, our coastal areas and river systems.
#BudgetDebate2022

Building a strong economy is essential to power the Jamaican Dream. It requires that our bureaucracy must support and assist entrepreneurs who are willing to undertake business risks, rather than frustrating them. #BudgetDebate2022 The public sector is required to operate by adhering to procedures and rules that are embedded in laws. Many of these laws and procedures are outdated and no longer fit for purpose. #BudgetDebate2022

The pandemic has shown that our economy must be made more resilient to external shocks. Disrupted global supply chains, & geo-political upheavals, have made key agricultural inputs unaffordable. #BudgetDebate2022 Our food security must be high on the agenda. This entails a robust agricultural policy.
We must improve farm roads, irrigation and storage systems.
We must encourage greater flows of capital into agro-processing.
#BudgetDebate2022

Jamaica nice, but not for everybody.
Low-income communities in Jamaica suffer from poor infrastructure, and lack the basic amenities for decent, modern living. These adverse living conditions contribute to negative social behaviours, and re-enforce inter-generational poverty. In building the Jamaican Dream, these communities can no longer have second class status when it comes to basic amenities like street lighting, garbage disposal and water/sewage infrastructure. #BudgetDebate2022

The transformation of the public sector to make it more efficient began with the PNP. The process has been slow. We are pleased to see that the restructuring in the compensation arrangements will begin this year.
#BudgetDebate2022 However, we advise the Government, and indeed demand, that there be full and transparent consultations with the unions which represent public sector workers.
#BudgetDebate2022

The minimum wage does not reflect the actual cost of living. Low wage earners, especially families with children, have borne the brunt of the economic fallout in Jamaica over the last two years. They are barely surviving. Too many children are going to bed hungry. That must be addressed with policies which put the people at the centre of national development, and uplift those who need help. That is what we must do to build the Jamaican Dream.
#PowerInTheDream #BudgetDebate2022

The Jamaican Dream will never permit the Government to use states of emergency as a continuous tool of policing. A state of emergency is the last resort under the Constitution. #BudgetDebate2022 Its purpose is to protect the country from an existential threat to our constitutional order and our democratic way of life. #BudgetDebate2022

The Jamaican Dream embraces freedom and democracy.
The Jamaican Dream does not not tolerate exclusion of the vulnerable.
It does not tolerate arrogance by those in authority.
And most of all, it does not tolerate the abuse of state power.
#PowerInTheDream #BudgetDebate2022 The Jamaican Dream does not tolerate school children being excluded from school because they wear locks as part of their religious beliefs.
#BudgetDebate2022 #PowerInTheDream

Jamaica has huge gaps in vocational training. 60% of the labour force does not have any form of certification. #BudgetDebate2022 This means that the majority of our workforce is not qualified for anything other than poorly-paid jobs in sectors that keep labour costs low in order to compete internationally.
#BudgetDebate2022

The next @JamaicaPNP Administration will prioritize and make significant investments in early childhood development and primary school education, including teacher training. #BudgetDebate2022 We must ensure that all Jamaican children achieve age-appropriate levels of literacy, numeracy and critical thinking by the end of Grade 6. #BudgetDebate2022

The import taxes on goods valued at over US$50 are burdensome on consumers who shop in this way to achieve greater value.
#BudgetDebate2022 #CushionTheCrisis I am calling on the Government to increase the tax-free value on these imported personal items, from US$50 to US$150. #CushionTheCrisis #BudgetDebate2022

Today's tweets from the Opposition Leader’s 2022/23 Budget Debate Presentation "There is Power In The Dream” are being made by Admin #BudgetDebate2022 In representational politics, we cannot do it alone! We rely on the support and love of many to get us through and achieve our goals. #BudgetDebate2022

The prolonged use of States of Emergency in parts of the country from 2017 to 2020 was ineffective, and the initial positive relief that it brought to the hopes of the people was, over time, reduced to disappointment and frustration as they witnessed the shifting if violent murders to other parts of the country (like squeezing a balloon), without any meaningful reduction of murders at the national level.