Campbell accuses Gov’t of political resentment against Westmoreland

People’s National Party (PNP) General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell on Sunday tore into the Government’s response following Hurricane Melissa, claiming that the Holness administration is deliberately neglecting Westmoreland because of political resentment.

Campbell, the member of parliament for Westmoreland Eastern, was speaking at the party’s 88th Annual Conference at Independence Park in the parish capital, where he told Comrades that while 150,000 houses were damaged, only 50,000 households have benefited from the Government’s ROOF programme.

“So there are 100,000 Jamaicans whose homes were damaged who, up unto today, have not gotten anything from this wicked and uncaring Government,” he charged.

He said the Government is yet to construct a single house in Westmoreland Eastern, where the Category 5 storm made landfall on October 28 last year, while mentioning the administration’s announcement to purchase of 5,000 container houses.

“Myself with the councillors and the team, we have put up over 40 homes in Eastern Westmoreland, and the Government has not built one home for the people yet,” Campbell asserted.

“And when they were asked, ‘What happened to the money that people contributed?’, they said they’re going to use it to build the base – the foundation – for the container homes. Let us do a little bit of mathematics,” he said.

He told party supporters that for every home put up by him and his team, the base has cost between $60,000 to $80,000.

He said the Government signed a contract to build 268 houses between St Elizabeth and Westmoreland. Campbell said the value of the contract to build bases for the houses amounted to J$1 billion. He said this meant that the Government is spending $3.7 million to build a foundation for each house.

“It is robbery in plain sight! The Government has no intention of helping the people of Westmoreland. And I believe a vex them vex, and them a carry feelings, because last year September dem get beaten street and lane,” said Campbell, following the 2025 general election in which the PNP won all three seats in the parish.

Further, he criticised the Government for failing to rebuild hurricane-damaged schools, arguing that students are forced to remain under tents.

“Then I hear the prime minister of the country going to tell me that to have our children learning under a bamboo tree is a good thing because it is close to nature … . They are taking advantage of the underprivileged. It is because the people are poor why they’re treating them like that, because he would never treat his children like that,” Campbell charged.

“I will not conform to the mistreatment of the people of the country … ,” he asserted.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com