President of the People’s National Party (PNP), Mark Golding, has pledged to restore Unite for Change and the Peace Management Initiative (PMI) to help tackle the country’s crime problem with a murder rate he has described as one of the highest in the world.
Golding, who is also the Opposition leader, made the remarks on Sunday as he addressed the PNP’s 86th annual conference inside the National Arena in St Andrew.
He asserted that after United for Change and PMI were shut down, “crime shot through the roof”.
“We will not neglect the need for community engagement… We will partner with the private sector, churches and civil society to roll out a national programme of effective, holistic and sustainable community programmes. And we will not ignore the reality that our prison system needs an overhaul so it rehabilitates inmates, rather than producing more hardened criminals,” Golding stated.
He said one of the first priorities of a future PNP administration will be to strengthen and enable communities for improved safety and security.
“The PNP’s vision for citizen security is built on a foundation of community partnership and empowerment. We are committed to an optimal blend of effective law enforcement with community-driven solutions, to create a safer Jamaica. Our strategy targets the root causes of crime, to deliver results that sustainably reduce violence,” he said.
‘He added that “a balanced approach to crime reduction is at the core of our strategy. Our approach recognises that public safety is best achieved when enforcement and prevention are working in harmony. Unlike this Government, we have a plan.”
Golding told the conference that the party’s portfolio teams for citizens security, education, social transformation, culture and sports, have been taking a joined-up approach and working together.
“We will invest heavily to increase the number of social workers in communities, tasked with addressing core social problems like school absenteeism, teenage parenting and student hunger. We will ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable children, elderly and infirm Jamaicans are responded to by the state,” he shared.
The PNP president also said therapeutic counselling will be integrated into intervention programmes to combat the culture of violence and trauma.
Additionally, he said his party will provide at-risk youths with viable alternatives to criminal activities, investing in remedial education, job training and youth development programmes.
