Gordon Robinson | Government by giveaways

In a brilliant move, PNP took its annual show on the road to Westmoreland.

Apart from obvious political gimmickry, this was a salutary message of support to those most affected by Melissa as well as a timely reminder to all that Kingston isn’t Jamaica.

I saw them on the street

day in Day out.

The feeling was too much to bear.

They passed me by

and I could see they never noticed

I was even there….

This was PNP telling Westmorelanders “We see you, even if Government keeps turning a blind eye.” Nice.

But what was the actual political statement delivered? Markie G presented a five point plan for recovery in the West which he said “must be done now”. He clarified the plan with Dionne for 30 minutes on Monday’s Beyond the Headlines. So, by now, we should all get the point (or five).

Point One: A publicly accessible “reconstruction dashboard”. What’s that? Apparently Mark wants every damaged school, health facility, road and public building, along with the money allocated, contractor responsible and completion deadline detailed in a public list.

He said PM promised this in November 2025 but none has been published.

So he expects recovery by list? JIS website reports 215,000 buildings (including around 150,000 homes); 600 schools; 11 hospitals; 43 primary health care centres damaged. Mark wants more details.

Yawn.

Point Two: Dedicated financial support for farmers and small businesses. Mark called for “a properly funded recovery facility” for farmers, fisher folk and small businesses. If these persons were made whole (replace equipment; restore production) with Government funding, it’d mean re-employment and, as he explained to Dionne, money would circulate and fuel economic growth.

Allrighty then! How much MORE Government funding are we talking about Mark? I say “more” because, among other initiatives, Agriculture Ministry has already invested $100 million on yam recovery assistance (643 hectares of yam heads, stakes, and 5,130 bags of fertilizer) to over 2,650 farmers (source Agriculture Ministry); $250 million for a second recovery phase, targeting farmers missed during the initial rollout, utilizing a voucher system for direct aid (source JIS); $300 million into fisheries, distributing 20 replacement boats and engines, gear, and waiving fishing license fees for 1,008 fishers (source Agriculture Ministry); $30 million allocated for rebuilding critical on-farm infrastructure (source Agriculture Minister); and distributed $50 million worth of seeds and fertilizer (source JIS).

From where in 2026/27’s budget, already hit by revenue shortfalls, would MORE funds for Point Two come? How different (details please) would your “properly funded recovery” be from what’s already in place? Who’d benefit from your “properly funded” recovery? How? Do you propose cash handouts? Or should Government buy all dislocated businesses new equipment?

What exactly do you mean by “small businesses”? Would every destroyed roadside bar or pan chicken outlet be rebuilt, repurposed and restocked by Government? Or owners receive Government grants? Show me the money!

Markie G., are you proposing a return to 1990s Government by Giveaways? .

Point Three: Faster settlement of insurance claims. Really? Seriously? Why is this Government’s responsibility? Should Government nationalize the insurance industry so it can give away more taxpayers money by automatic payment of claims?

What are you saying Mark? More Government by Giveaways?

’Cause they’re running all over town

being seen in many places;

running it in the ground

smiling for the many faces

Point Four: Climate-resilient rebuilding. According to Mark, R.O.O.F. program isn’t paying enough to ensure climate resilient roofs replace what Melissa destroyed. According to him, neither $200,000 (R.O.O.F grant for major damage); or $500,000 (grant for Extreme Damage) can build a roof.

For pity’s sake, Mark, what game are you playing? These hurricane relief programs are designed to assist not give everybody a new roof.

THAT would be Government by Giveaways.

According to Gleaner (I was watching NFL on Sunday afternoon) Mark called for “construction standards appropriate for a country increasingly exposed to powerful storms.”

Where’s Mark living? There’s nothing wrong with Jamaica’s construction standards. It’s monitoring and regulation of construction by Parish Councils (half of which are PNP run) where problems arise.

Point Five: A special land-titling program for disaster-affected communities. Here we go again. He complained to Dionne that laws relating to Adverse Possession of Government lands were fashioned to ensure former slaves could never own Government lands so we must reduce the time for squatters to acquire Government lands by Adverse Possession.

So, a Markie G led Government wouldn’t only empty the treasury with giveaways, it’d give away government lands to squatters. More vote-begging fairy tales beginning with “If I’m elected” instead of “Once upon a time”!

It appears PNP philosophy is grounded in Government by Giveaways. Delivered, as they were, in the midst of the devastated West, the five points of recovery plan seemed nothing more than a sad, squalid stew of political convenience and economic illiteracy.

The fundamental difference between a macro- and micro-economy is one is bigger. Within either, if you spend more than you earn, you’ll end up in bankruptcy as Jamaica did in 2011. This pointless five point plan will only ensure full recovery of Government by Giveaways that PNP abandoned in 2012. In trying to resurrect Government by Giveaways Mark, like the Fantastic Four (not Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny), has left me behind:

They took the show on the road

and left me standing in the shadow

I told you a year ago that Melissa recovery would take years; result in more borrowing; and, if we aren’t careful, could set our fragile economy back decades. I wrote ( Do the Math; November 14, 2026): “For the next two years the most important cabinet member is likely to be the Finance Minister.”

I told you, if we received full payout of what Fayval called “layers of disaster recovery funding” we’d still be in big trouble. I predicted: “we’ll be short US$5.6-6.6 Billion . That’s assuming cost of rebuilding better, more resistant equals value of the damage. But we know insurance companies write off damaged cars because the repair cost exceeds the car’s value…. We must repair no matter the cost.

“Additional costs are hiding…. We can also expect projected tax inflows to fall well short.

“Face it. Jamaica will have to borrow [the shortfall] from international lenders. So brace yourself for the heady wine of a 60 per cent debt/GDP ratio turning back to water…. Add that to pressures from lower revenues, budgetary allocations could be shaved; some cut.”

In that context, PNP’s concept of recovery by giveaways is shortsighted, self-serving and silly. Once, just once, can we recognize a national crisis and join hands to address it instead of playing political football games using verbal diarrhoea as boots? There’s plenty actual horse manure produced by this Government for us to criticize. Why tackle a national problem like Fred Warner against the Rams in Australia?

On November 21, 2025 ( The maths not mathsing) I pointed out building materials, food would have to be imported and tourism inflows would greatly reduce. I warned;

“Inflation is set to bare its sharp teeth while Government revenues drop thus putting pressure on Government to revisit its ‘No New Taxes’ mantra”.

This wasn’t rocket science, just honest reality checks. All those predictions have come true. More to come! Yet Government, through BOJ trickery, has been able to mitigate some macro-economic perils such as runaway exchange rate. But micro-economic pain is evident and could be continuing for a while.

Government by Giveaways ain’t the answer!

PNP’s Government by Giveaways plan can only convert our national fiscal deficit into a fiscal catastrophe. Begging votes is clearly more important to Mark and his merry men than Jamaica’s economic stability.

Lookie here: Melissa’s fiscal impact is similar to FINSAC’s. But FINSAC was a voluntary, self-inflicted injury resulting from Government by Giveaways. Melissa was an act of God. How long did it take to recover from FINSAC? Spending more than we earn is a sure way to ensure it takes even longer to recover from Melissa.

Peace and Love.

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com