Political commentator, Lloyd B. Smith, says the government’s performance has been a mixed bag, with the real litmus test being how it handles the recovery from Hurricane Melissa.
This, as he reacted to year one of the Holness administration’s historic third term in office.
Eight weeks after winning that historic third term, the Jamaica Labour Party, JLP, administration had to manage the fallout from category five Hurricane Melissa. Many communities in western Jamaica are still struggling to recover.
Smith says the humanitarian aspect of the recovery could have been addressed with greater urgency.
Lloyd B. Smith, political commentator. He was speaking on Nationwide at Five on Thursday.
Meanwhile, political analyst and University of the West Indies lecturer, Damion Gordon, says the Holness administration deserves credit for maintaining fiscal discipline in the aftermath of the hurricane.
While acknowledging the government’s efforts to rehabilitate the country’s road infrastructure, Gordon says the pace of work has been painfully slow.
He identifies communication and public trust as another weak link for the administration.
On the positive side, Gordon says crime management is unquestionably one of the government’s strongest areas of performance.
But he says there is growing concern about the possibility of victimisation at the hands of law enforcement.
Damion Gordon, political analyst and assistant lecturer at the UWI.
