Senator Floyd Morris of the People’s National Party (PNP) has announced that Liberation Day is coming on September 3, framing the upcoming general election as a pivotal moment for Jamaica.

He emphasised that it is a turning point for the marginalised, the disabled, and the everyday Jamaican seeking a better life. “It is clear, and we’re saying to our Jamaican people, that on September 3, Liberation Day is coming,” he said.

Senator Morris, Jamaica’s first visually impaired Senator and a long-standing advocate for the disabled, issued a personal call to his “brothers and sisters with disabilities,” promising that under a PNP government led by Mark Golding, a long-awaited National Disability Fund would finally become a reality.

“I’m saying to my brothers and sisters with disabilities, that on September 3, Liberation Day is coming, because Mark Golding is going to establish the National Disability Fund to empower persons with disabilities.”

The senator then shifted his focus to land reform and housing — two pillars of the PNP’s campaign strategy.

“I say to the people of Pleasant Hill, in St Catherine, and in North West Manchester, that Liberation Day is coming, because we are going to reduce the number of years that you can live on government land before you can apply and claim the land from 60 years to 25 years,” Morris added, speaking at the PNP Central Jamaica Mass Rally in Mandeville on Sunday, August 24.

Senator Morris also promised to restore the National Housing Trust (NHT) to its original purpose, laid out by former Prime Minister Michael Manley, highlighting that contributors have long been sidelined from accessing affordable housing.

“And I’m saying to the contributors of the National Housing Trust, who have been putting in their funds in the Trust, I say to you, September 3 is coming, Liberation Day, for contributors of the National Housing Trust, because we are going to restore it to what Michael Manley had anticipated it to be.”

His vision extended to a more inclusive housing model where even those who rent can transition into ownership.

“And I say to the barber who cut me hair on Friday, don’t you worry, because under our housing plan, you will be able to rent one of the units that will be built through the NHT schemes. And after six months, you will be able to convert that rent into mortgage.”

He also touched on unfinished business from the past—notably, the Operation PRIDE housing schemes left incomplete. This initiative was a unique method of making land legally accessible to low-income groups at affordable prices through government subsidies. 

The necessity arose given the high cost of housing solutions in the formal sector, unaffordable to the poor; the limited available capital for housing and the inability of the majority who, without credit, were unable to access mortgages.

“And I want to say to the people who live in those 47 Operation Pride schemes that were not completed by us in 2016, and they were abandoned by the Andrew Holness administration, I say to them, don’t you worry, because Liberation Day is coming, we are going to roll out the Portia scheme throughout Jamaica,” Morris continued.

The senator reaffirmed his unwavering dedication to Jamaicans with disabilities, pledging infrastructure upgrades, including accessible sidewalks, to enable mobility and inclusion.

“This People’s National Party will not leave you behind, because with the Portia initiative, we are going to improve sidewalks in the East, sidewalks in the West, sidewalks in the North, sidewalks in the South, so that they can move around with ease in their communities,” Morris said.