‘Daylight robbery’

General Secretary of the People’s National Party (PNP) Dr Dayton Campbell has accused the Government of carrying out “robbery in plain sight” as it relates to the pending construction/provision of semi-permanent houses in Westmoreland and St Elizabeth. He has also accused the Government of sabotaging the people of Westmoreland because they voted for the PNP in the September 2025 general election. All three constituencies returned to the PNP after the election and the municipal corporation is also controlled by the PNP. Campbell, who was addressing the PNP’s 88th annual conference in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland on Sunday, said the Government has not built a single house in his constituency of Westmoreland Eastern since Hurricane Melissa made landfall there on October 28 last year. Rather, he said through the effort of a team that includes him and his councillors, “we have put up over 40 homes in Eastern Westmoreland and the Government has not built one home for the people here”. “And when they were asked what happen to the money that people contributed they said they were going to use it to build the base, the foundation for the container homes,” said Campbell. He told the conference that for every base he and his team erected, the cost was between $60,000 and $80,000. He cited that the Government signed a contract to which he was invited and where it was announced that 268 homes will be built between St Elizabeth and Westmoreland. Campbell pointed out that the value of the contract was $1 billion to build the bases since the container homes were already in the island with the National Housing Trust having purchased 2,500 of the 5,000 it was mandated to procure. Others have been donated by the Chinese Government. “This means that the Government is saying that they’re going to spend $3.7 million to build a foundation to put a container house on. It is robbery in plain sight,” he declared. The $1 billion referenced by Campbell is in fact for two contracts to mount semi-permanent houses in the two hard-hit parishes. One will see 143 houses being installed in Westmoreland and the other will see 125 units being mounted in St Elizabeth. According to the terms of the contracts, the works include the excavation of foundations and footings; construction of bases and associated external works; installation of sewage and water distribution systems; transportation and installation of the housing units; and internal wall partitioning and installation of fittings and fixtures. .Meanwhile, Campbell also claimed that the Government has no intention of helping the people of Westmoreland. “And a believe a vex dem vex an dem a carry feelings because last year September dem get beaten street an lane [in the general election in Westmoreland]”. According to him, the Government was “wicked and uncaring”.