Ethnie Miller Simpson #nofearjustpeace

MP Candidate - NW St Andrew 🌎Deputy Shadow Spokesperson - Gender, Disabilities & Inclusion 🌍 Educator 🌎 Learning Architect 🌍 Intl Development Specialist

[Jamrock🇯🇲🇨🇦🇯🇲🇨🇦 @jamrockerz11]

@JamaicaGleaner

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

Today in the Senate

Senator Cleveland Tomlinson raised concerns about the impact of continued withdrawals from the National Housing Trust (NHT) and the financial pressures being placed on the institution.

He pointed to significant sums recorded as taxation recoverable, noting that billions of dollars remain owed to the NHT while annual transfers continue to be made to support the central government's budget.

Senator Tomlinson also highlighted the costs associated with the NHT's external financing mortgage programme, where contributors earning above a certain threshold must access housing loans through private financial institutions. He argued that while the NHT subsidizes these arrangements, borrowers often lose access to benefits and subsidies they would otherwise receive through direct NHT financing.

His contribution focused on ensuring that the resources contributed by Jamaican workers are used in a manner that strengthens access to affordable housing and protects the interests of NHT contributors.

#ScenesFromSenate @CTomlinsonJA

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

Today in the Senate

Senator Floyd Morris, Opposition Spokesperson on Housing and Sustainable Development, raised serious concerns about the growing housing affordability crisis facing Jamaican workers.

He argued that the National Housing Trust was established for a specific purpose: to help working Jamaicans access affordable housing. However, he noted that since 2016, the price of homes has continued to climb sharply, putting ownership further out of reach for many contributors.

Senator Morris pointed to rising prices for one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, as well as high land costs in developments facilitated by public agencies, as examples of how government action is contributing to upward pressure on the housing market.

He stressed that workers who contribute to the NHT must be able to find affordable homes, and called for urgent correction to ensure the Trust fulfills its true mandate.

#ScenesFromSenate @floydmorrisja

[International Chamber of Commerce @iccwbo]

What happens when global fragmentation starts to reshape how business operates?

In our latest Trading Thoughts episode, @ICCSecGen joins Vrinda Tiwari to unpack a shifting global landscape and its impact on multilateral cooperation.

🎧 Tune in for more: https://t.co/ho1bwR2p0Q

[Rampanpiza @dentona22]

Every week dunce Heroy shows up to meetings of the parliamentary committees acting like a cockroach trying to scare a housewife.

[Rampanpiza @dentona22]

I have been saying this for sometime now, govt cant be making a killing off the suffering of the people. I hope they listen now that he has said it.

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

The pattern is real. And always the same grand announcement. grand attention. and then timelines stretch, costs rise, confusion sets in. And eventually, a new name, maybe a new minister. a new speech. And it starts again.

#SectoralDebate2026 #BuildWithPurposeBuildWithPeople

[Jamaica Observer @JamaicaObserver]

Opposition Spokesman on Science, Technology and Digital Transformation, Christopher Brown, is sounding the alarm about the future of the business process outsourcing sector, whose employees are facing increasing threats from artificial intelligence.
https://t.co/tET86ke6sV

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

If inefficient processes are simply transferred from paper to computer screens, what emerges is not efficiency but digital bureaucracy. Productivity gains arise when processes are fundamentally redesigned, responsibilities are clarified and duplication is eliminated.

#FromStabilityToProsperity #SectoralDebate2026 #BuildWithPurposeBuildWithPeople

[Peter Bunting, MP @PeterBuntingja]

The major economic achievement of the last decade was stabilisation. The great economic challenge of the next decade is transformation. We have reduced debt, but we have not raised productivity. We have balanced budgets, but we have not strengthened institutions. We have improved macroeconomic indicators, but we have not yet created an economy capable of consistently generating rising wages and expanding opportunities.

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

In an unprecedented move, the sitting Prime Minister took his own state oversight bodv to the Supreme Court. filing over 20 applications seeking to nullify the Integrity Commission's investigative report. Strong institutions do not behave this way.

#FromStabilityToProsperity #SectoralDebate2026 #BuildWithPurposeBuildWithPeople

[Ethnie Miller Simpson #nofearjustpeace @Ethmoi]

The math not mathing. We cannot be earning at a $1:$5 ratio ..... mad maths dat!
@DaytonCampbell

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

“$5 Imported For Every $1 We Export” – Dr. Dayton Campbell Exposes Jamaica’s Food Security Crisis

Dr. Dayton Campbell MP just dropped hard truths in Sectoral Debate 📉

“Agriculture and fisheries are not secondary sectors to be discussed only in times of crisis. They are fundamental to Jamaica’s survival, stability and economic independence.”

Then he hit the numbers:

Food import bill 2025: ~US $1.46B. Up from US $834M when gov’t took office in 2016. That’s ∼50% higher.
Agricultural exports: Fell from US $288M in 2024 to US $278M in 2025.
The ratio: Jamaica now imports roughly $5 of food for every $1 earned from agricultural exports.

His verdict: “Praise for agriculture carries little weight if the food import bill continues to rise while agricultural exports continue to decline. Ultimately the measure of success is not what is announced but what is achieved for the Jamaican people.”

His fix: Government must identify products we can grow/substitute locally and go all-in. Strengthen local feed production + incentives for cassava, sweet potato, breadfruit, onions, Irish potato, sorghum.

With global wars + supply chain shocks hitting our wallets, can Jamaica afford to stay this dependent on imports?

What’s ONE crop you think Jamaica should produce more of locally?
@DaytonCampbell
#SectoralDebate #FoodSecurity #BuyLocal #Agriculture

[Peter Bunting, MP @PeterBuntingja]

Another example of bad tax policy comes from a point I made in the 2018/19 sectoral debate. It is highly relevant at this time when geopolitical tensions have sent fuel prices skyrocketing, and the pass-through inflation now threatens our country, still struggling to recover from Hurricane Melissa, with the prospect of increased interest rates to battle this inflation. These high fuel prices will provide a tax windfall for the Government because of the ad valorem SCT on fuel. Now is the time to give both businesses and consumers some badly needed relief.

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

JAMDEX a complete legal tender framework but no operational plumbing, no merchant adoption plan. Right now no published road map. A pilot without a destination.

#SectoralDebate2026 #BuildWithPurposeBuildWithPeople

[Peter Bunting, MP @PeterBuntingja]

Net Foreign Direct Investment inflows as a percent of GDP have hovered around 1.5% of GDP since 2020. As recently as 2015 and 2016, net FDI exceeded 6% of GDP. This is not surprising.
Investors value certainty. Entrepreneurs value predictability. Businesses make long-term commitments when they believe that rules will be applied consistently and institutions will operate independently.

[Jamaica Observer @JamaicaObserver]

Opposition Spokesperson on Justice, Zuleika Jess, is pointing to what she calls a crisis in the court system in western Jamaica, in particular in the parishes hardest-hit by Hurricane Melissa last October.

Jess, in her maiden presentation in the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, called attention to the matter and accused Justice Minister Delroy Chuck of incompetence.
https://t.co/MUD5UDSss0

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

JAMAICANS MUST BE OWNERS, NOT JUST WORKERS.
Peter Bunting, MP on Economic Ownership in Tourism

The short-term rental sector has allowed thousands of Jamaicans to become tourism entrepreneurs and earn directly from one of the country's most important industries.

Peter Bunting, MP says the government's decision to impose a 15% GCT on short-term rentals places additional pressure on small operators while large hotel chains continue to benefit from significant incentives.

His concern:

• Thousands of Jamaicans now participate in tourism as owners
• More tourism dollars remain in local communities
• Small operators do not receive the same incentives as large hotels
• Additional taxes make it harder for local entrepreneurs to grow

His message:

• Tourism should create more Jamaican owners, not just more Jamaican workers
• Economic policy should encourage entrepreneurship and ownership

"This is not a debate about taxation alone. It is a debate about ownership."

#SectoralDebate2026 #FromStabilityToProsperity #EconomicOwnership #TourismForJamaicans

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

STABILITY WAS THE FOUNDATION. TRANSFORMATION MUST BE THE MISSION.
Peter Bunting, MP on Jamaica's Path to Prosperity

Jamaica has the talent. Jamaica has the ambition. Jamaica has the entrepreneurial spirit.

Peter Bunting, MP says the challenge is not our people—it is the systems that hold them back.

His message:

• Jamaican workers are not the problem
• Jamaican entrepreneurs are not the problem
• Jamaican students are not the problem
• Outdated systems are limiting opportunity and growth
• Productivity must become the pathway to prosperity
• The next decade must be about transformation, not just stability

As Peter Bunting reminded Parliament:

"The story of the last 14 years was stability. The story of the next decade must be transformation."

Jamaicans deserve systems that help them realize their full potential.

#SectoralDebate2026 #BuildWithPurposeBuildWithPeople

[Professor Floyd Morris @floydmorrisja]

This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Indeed, today is the day that I will deliver my inaugural professorial lecture at the Faculty of Social Sciences Lecture Theatre, UWI. The focus of my presentation will be on developing a grass-root political model of disability in the Caribbean and by extension, the wider world. It is 20 years since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) have been established. I have had the opportunity of leading Jamaica's negotiation for this global treaty and currently serving as one of the 18 elected experts on the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, charged with monitoring the implementation of the CRPD. I therefore have a unique vantage point and perspective to look at the progress that has been made and what are the major challenges for the implementation of this treaty. The lack of consistent participation of persons with disabilities in the decision making processes of their societies is a major issue. It is my view, that with the estimated 1.3 billion persons with disabilities across the world, when conflated with their family members, can become a major power broker and determine the balance of power in their countries. Come and hear how this can happen. Persons with disabilities are no longer objects of charity, we are rights holders and our vote matters.

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

JUSTICE CANNOT FUNCTION WITHOUT FUNCTIONING COURTS.
Zuleika Jess, MP on the Crisis Facing Rural Courthouses

A modern justice system cannot exist when courthouses lack basic infrastructure and security.

Zuleika Jess, MP says rural communities are being left behind while critical court facilities remain in disrepair months after Hurricane Melissa.

Her concern:

• Court facilities are operating without basic resources
• Delays continue in restoring damaged courthouses
• Court workers, judges, lawyers, and citizens are bearing the burden
• Access to justice is being compromised in rural Jamaica
• The judiciary has been forced to fund emergency repairs from its own budget

Her call:

• An emergency infrastructure and security audit of rural courthouses
• Immediate police deployment to secure court facilities
• Clear timelines for the restoration and construction of parish courts
• Urgent action to restore access to justice

As Zuleika Jess reminded Parliament:

"Justice under this government is a disaster in need of recovery."

The people need functioning courts. The people need access. The people need justice.

#SectoralDebate2026 #ThePeopleNeedJustice #BuildWithPurposeBuildWithPeople #AccessToJustice #JusticeForAll