by

Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP

Prime Minister of Jamaica

at the

Opening of the Caenwood SPARK Road, Hope Bay, Portland

On

July 3, 2026

__________________________________________________________________________

Thank you. The beautiful people of Portland, specifically Western Portland, who came out to greet me and in particular those two young ladies who gave me such a loving embrace. It is indicative of the warmth of the people of this lovely, lovely parish.  As I drove in on your main thoroughfare, your main road here, I reflected on the fact that road would be now close to 15 years old, and it is one of those roads that we consider to be very well built. Rarely is there a pothole or a failure of the surface. All the retaining walls are held up. It is an example to local and international contractors of the quality of work that Jamaica needs to improve its infrastructure, but it also shows that roads can be well built in Jamaica, and that is an example of a well-built road.

Indeed, the road that we open today is designed to last a minimum of seven years without need for rehabilitation. But every road, regardless of how well built, will need to be rehabilitated at some point. The better the road is built, the longer the period before rehabilitation, and the less there will be a need for rehabilitation. As we enter a new phase in the development of roads in Jamaica, we must have the institutional framework and capacity to properly supervise and invigilate the quality of work that is being done. Too often, contractors, engineers, and the people who put the project together may very well be well-meaning, but they don’t always do well, and the quality of work has been called into question, justifiably so, many times.

Under the SPARK Programme, we took a different approach. We had one major contractor, and that one major contractor, we call them the enterprise contractor. They are responsible for the proper planning of the works. Before any asphalt is laid, before any ground is broken, the technical planning work must be done, and that requires a lot of engineers, geoscientists, and people who understand the technical nature of how roads are built. It also requires equipment; it requires a balance sheet to support the work. So, we have a large enterprise contractor in China Harbour to manage this 45-billion-dollar project. The work, obviously, is subcontracted with smaller contractors, and that creates some dilution of the level of supervision that is required. Nonetheless, the main contractor is responsible for quality of the work that is done.

In Jamaica, we have a challenge. Yesterday, I launched the main road aspect of the SPARK Programme, and I dealt with several issues. One of them was the need for the Government to have a partnership with local contractors to support their development because there is no way that we are going to be able to build Jamaica without having a strong local contracting class.

We need good, strong, solid contractors. We need to totally dispense with the view that the contractor is a man with a little bag, and he might have maybe a truck and a little backhoe there, and they can take on massive, complex work like the SPARK Programme. We need to change that. We need our contractors to move up to a level of enterprise and corporate thinking, where they are investing in their business, they are getting technical skills, and they are building the balance sheet to be able to properly execute the level of work that the Government is coming with.

Never, and I can say this without fear of contradiction, never has any Government in Jamaica been in the position to spend as much as this Government will be spending, or has spent, on infrastructure. So, we solved the problem, technically, of finding the resources to build the roads. The big challenge now is ensuring that, when the resources are allocated, we get the best out of it. That is the big problem right now. So, we are contemplating ways in which we can work to support the emergence of a new generation of contractors who see themselves reflected in the work that they put out, who believe that the infrastructure is a reflection of their pride and dignity. When some of you travel abroad and you see those lovely highways, those well-built bridges, and sometimes you marvel at how they are built, we need some of our contractors now to start thinking in this way, to see themselves in the work that they deliver as part of the dignity and the ambitions of the people. So, you don’t just do the road, throw the leftovers on the side, and leave it there. As a contractor, you must say, “that is infra dig; that is disrespectful to me as a person. I would never, ever do that.” But not all of them think that way. So, we need the emergence of a new contracting class that fits the ambition of the infrastructure we are trying to build.

I understand the frustration of every single Jamaican about the road conditions. We will improve all the roads. It will take some time, but we are building out the plan. I explained yesterday that, if we were to fix every road in Jamaica, not even to the quality of your main road there, but to this quality, it would take us between five and seven trillion dollars, meaning we would have to take the national budget for five years thereabout and do nothing else but fix roads. Of course, that is impossible. But even if we did that, if we didn’t have good contractors who could bring the work on budget and on time, it wouldn’t take five years. It would take us a decade or more to fix all our roads. That is the reality we face. I am not asking for patience. I am not asking for any understanding, essentially. Citizens will put pressure on their Governments to respond, without question. That is the process of our democracy. But I want there to be a greater appreciation for the magnitude of the problems that the country faces. This is not necessarily a political issue. This is an issue relating to finance, economics, technical competence, and abilities.

The Government is working towards ensuring that both elements of the problem are addressed, to make sure the economics and the finance are being dealt with while improving the technical competence and know-how of the people who will take the funds and actually convert it into roads. So, I want to give you the assurance, give the Jamaican people the assurance, that your Government is paying full attention to improving your roads.

God bless you and thank you.

by

Dr. the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP,

Prime Minister of Jamaica

at the

NSHP House Handover in Caenwood, Hope Bay, Portland

on

July 3, 2026

—————————————————————————————————————

For those 500 houses and several basic schools, obviously this is a Member of Parliament who has the interest of the people at heart, a working and effective Member of Parliament. Now to the matter at hand, it is my distinct pleasure to hand over this social housing unit to a worthy recipient. His name, for those of you who don’t know, is Recardo Gibson, otherwise known as “bad luck”.

I officially change his name from “bad luck” to “good luck”. So now he’s officially Recardo “good luck” Gibson, because obviously the Lord has smiled at him through the New Social Housing Programme to give him a structure for himself and his wife and his other family members can live with some dignity.

It is always, for me, a sign of the effectiveness of the programme that when the benefit is individualized as it is now, one person is getting the benefit or a family, the entire community comes out in celebration of that person. Every one of you there secretly in your mind saying, I wish it were me, right? I know every one of you saying that I wish it were me, but you know what? None of you are saying it should never have been him. No bad mind and that tells you that the programme is effective, that the person selected is definitely a person in need and that by this person getting it, he has been made better off.

No one has been denied anything or made worse off. So, as a result of that, the entire community and everybody’s welfare has improved. Having this lovely structure in the community has lifted the community.

When others of you decide to build, you’re going to say, “I want my house to look like this and to be as strong as this.” And so, this house also changes the possibilities for you and your expectations. So, that again lifts the community.

The commitment of the government is to make 6,000 of these houses. It is a challenging thing because it is not as if we are building 6,000 houses in one location where we can benefit from the economies of scale, the logistics of transportation and movement of labor and all of that. It’s dispersed all over the island, going up into the hills and valleys and all kinds of areas that are very difficult to engineer buildings. That is where people have land and so that is where we have to bring houses.

I should take this opportunity for the press that is here. The programme is pivoting, and it has to pivot because of Hurricane Melissa. I am here today in Portland, which though affected, was certainly not at the level of St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, St. James, Trelawny and parts of St. Ann and Manchester. Those areas were particularly badly damaged and so the programme has to pivot its resources to support the rebuilding of houses in those areas and we have tasked the New Social Housing Programme to support the deployment of what we call the modular semi-permanent housing solution. Some people say container homes; that’s not the accurate description. We had bought them from China. We have imported them into Jamaica, but they need a base. You can’t just put them down on the raw earth so, they have to create a concrete platform.

The New Social Housing Programme team has developed the skill in working in dispersed areas that they will take on that task along with the NHT and ODPEM to ensure that those 2,500 semi-permanent modular housing solutions can be actually implemented. Now when those 2,000 units are put in place, we will monitor them. We will study them to see how well they stand up to Jamaican conditions, to see potentially how long they will last because you know our culture. Our culture is that a good house must be concrete and steel and a slab roof, right? You all know this huff and puff and blow your house down.

Nobody must be able to huff and puff and blow your house down in Jamaica. We build strong. We overbuild but technology is changing, building materials are changing and right now you have houses that can be assembled in days that can withstand hurricane winds. They are prefabricated, well-engineered solutions and we need to find ways to bring that into Jamaica to allow persons who are building to get access to that kind of building system.  Instead of going to ply and zinc, we could replace that with more modern, aesthetically pleasing and more ergonomic building systems that give you more functionality and safety and more value.

So, the new direction of the New Social Housing Programme is not just to build the houses but to stimulate a change in building culture in Jamaica at the grassroots level and so they are working on a programme for that.

by

Dr. the Most Honorable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP

Prime Minister of Jamaica

 at the

SPARK Main Road Launch

On

 July 2, 2026

_______________________________________________________________________

The SPARK Programme is a $45 billion infrastructure programme. It provides $20 billion for main roads, $16 billion for community roads, $5 billion for water infrastructure, and $4 billion for engineering, designs, consultancy, supervision, and associated costs.

This is very important to know. Not all the roads are asphalt and pipes. Much of what we do is about planning for the road. So, this phase targets critical corridors and 63 main roads across the island that connect communities, parishes, and economic centers to improve the wider transportation network. The Government  will be spending 20 billion dollars on Main Road component of the SPARK Programme.

So, even before we put a backhoe on the road, there is a significant volume of work that is done to ensure that the road is done well and will last. In fact, the proprietary works are just as important, if not more important, than the actual implementation and construction. So, I want the public to understand that for all the roads that we are doing under the SPARK programme, and indeed for any roads, a large part of the budget, or rather a significant part of the budget, goes towards the proprietary work; the engineering, the designs, and the environmental studies. We also have to do a business case, an economic case and the traffic studies. All of those things are done and that, of course, lengthens the implementation for the road.

Now, I want to acknowledge directly the frustration caused by the conditions of many roadways in Jamaica. I hear the protests and the calls to the radio stations complaining about your roads. I am in communities all over Jamaica and one of the topics that persons come to me about is the roads. I get many messages, emails, and calls and if I were to categorize them, roads would be a significant complaint.

Recently, I saw an article where one of our Members of Parliament, Duane Smith for Northwest St. Andrew, was tackled by the Citizens Association in his communities about their roads, and rightfully so, there are so many communities with roads that are deteriorating. There’s nothing that I say here that any of the residents who are suffering from bad road conditions will take comfort in, because the truth is that the citizens, they don’t judge the road programme of the Government by the contract sign or a lovely ceremony such as this one or the billions that I am announcing. That’s not what they’re interested in. What the public is interested in is that when they get up in the morning, they go in their car and they’re driving to work, they don’t hit a pothole. They want to just drive on a smooth road and back home.

For many of them, the question is, “Is that too much to ask? Is that too much to ask of our Government ?” Then there are those who will say, “I’ve traveled to other places, and they all have smooth roads and good infrastructure. Why can’t we?” So, I want to say I understand the frustration, but it is not so simple. I know that’s not what you want to hear. The roads, bridges, hospitals, water systems and sewer systems are very complicated and complex undertakings, not to mention they are very expensive. Nonetheless, your Government  has the ambition to deliver to you the “carpets” that you want from your home to your work or to whatever endeavor it is and back.

You want the smooth road because it is a sign of modernity. It’s a sign of development. It is part of the quality of life that you experience. We want you to have the best experience and the best quality of life. So, that is why we have developed this SPARK Programme, which is the first attempt of the Government  to not just patch roads, but to do mass rehabilitation of roads. I want to make that distinction. The Government  can patch roads, and we do patch roads all over Jamaica, but to be fair, a patching programme will not bring the road network to the quality that you desire.

What you are seeing happening now is that we are beginning to patch the patches. The reason for that, friends, is that Jamaica’s road infrastructure is aged. This is a very difficult point to make to a citizen who is frustrated by the road that passes their gate. I will give you an example. So, in many of these cities, there are the communities in Northwest St. Andrew, in my own constituency, West Central St. Andrew, in West Kingston, but wherever it is across Jamaica, many of those roads were built more than 50 years ago. In fact, if you were to do a roster of all the roads in Jamaica and put a date as to when those roads were constructed, 90% of the roadways in Jamaica would have been constructed more than 60 years ago. If we are honest with ourselves and ask how many of those roads were totally rehabilitated, it would be less than 5%.

So, the challenge that you are facing now with roads is not just the weather. It’s not just the lack of maintenance or damage done to roads by how we use the roads. It is that the asphalt has reached its physical limit. It’s just the reality, and even if you were to patch it, that does not solve the problem, because the sub-base of the road has also deteriorated. But there is also another factor. These roads that were designed and built more than 60 years ago were not designed and built for the level of rain and water that they have to carry, for the level of traffic that used them, and for the weight. So, I’m not trying to ask for understanding of the country, because I do understand the frustration, but it is important that when we start to vent about the roads, we also appreciate what the challenge is. Now, you’ll never escape politics in the matter of roads. So, there is an argument that says there are some roads that you should focus on. So, there are some main roads. There are some critical thoroughfares. There are some roads that people are going to demonstrate for. So, in other words, politics can have an impact on the budget allocation, but then the question is, should it be that protests and demonstrations determine how Government s plan their road programmes? I’m not giving you an answer. I’m just asking you to consider that because were that to be the case, then the people who are going to quarrel louder and so forth may be the ones, but it may not be the economic best decision. It may not be the best strategic decision. I’m saying all of this to the public to appreciate the complexities that your Government  must address in dealing with managing roads.

So where do we start in managing the road? What is the good news? Where is the hope that our roads will be repaired? What is it? Firstly, we have to improve the governance of our roads, how we manage our roads. My grandfather used to be a superintendent in the old PWD. I know that there are many people from that era who reflect upon the efficiency and good management of the Public Works Department. For them, the solution is, why don’t you go back to the Public Works Department? I have been asked this many times. There is a kind of romanticized view of the roads of old and how they were built. There is some value to that observation in the sense of how roads were administered. So first, there were very high standards for road maintenance at the time. There were high standards for road construction at the time, and they were invigilated. They were supervised. They were interrogated. People went and looked and checked but more than that, they maintained a gazette and a register. So, they knew all the roads that were built when they were built. The maintenance schedule could be generated from that.

A fiscal programme, meaning a budget, could be assigned based upon the projected useful life of the road. Somewhere along the line, that broke down to the point where, when I asked the question, how many kilometres of roads do we have, nobody could tell me specifically or exactly, because there are some roads on a register with the parish councils all over the country. There are some roads that have been built but not taken over by the parish council. So, there are orphan roads. There are some roads that are in the Ministry of Agriculture. There are farm roads. The Ministry of Agriculture doesn’t view them as roads. There are some roads that are in housing schemes that were built. Nobody knows of these roads. The NWA maintains a register of about 5,000 kilometres of roads. So, the first thing to do is, let’s do an inventory of our road assets, and that has been done. It’s not complete. It is ongoing I am told that we have about between 25,000 and 27,000 kilometres of roadways in Jamaica. Let’s just be clear on what that means. I mean, that’s about 16,800 miles of roads. Jamaica’s total square kilometres would be about 11,000. That means that we would have probably the highest density of roadways in the Caribbean. I don’t think there is another country that has the density of roadways that we do.

Globally, it is said that Japan would have the highest, and Jamaica, at some point was number two. We may have fallen, but for a country our size to have that level of density of roadways, it is significant and that happened because of our history. The history of the end of the period of enslavement, the rise of free villages, and then the building roads to connect the dispersed population all over the country would mean that we would have built out a very extensive road network. Today, when we have done this survey on all the roads that we have, we really have to start to look at some roads and determine whether or not those roads still carry economic value, whether or not they should still remain on our register of roads, because it’s one thing to have the road there and you’re not using it, yet it is still expected to be maintained.

That is why we have proposed the development of the One Road Authority: to return standards to road construction, to return standards to road maintenance, to ensure there is a budget for road maintenance that matches the economic and engineering life of the road, so that there can also be a preventative maintenance programme, but more importantly, there is a regulator and someone who will supervise road construction, road maintenance, and preventative work. In addition to that, an authority that has the legal powers to prosecute road users who destroy the national public assets in our roads by improper use or deliberate destruction. That’s the whole purpose of the One Road Authority. That is being worked on. I’ve charged Minister Morgan to have that delivered by early next year. As you know, there is a long process towards establishing an institution, developing the legislation, passing it through parliament, and getting it done. I think we can get it done. So, if we can address the governance issues as it relates to roads, then I think we would be 50% off the way to seeing how we can repair all our critical roads and bring them up to the standards that the public would want.

So, someone once asked me, what would it take to repair all the roads in Jamaica that would be in of need repair? I did some back-of-the-envelope calculations. Jamaica’s national budget, or last budget, was about $1.4 trillion Jamaican dollars. Just to put that in context, that is $1,000 billion. That’s $1 trillion. So, for us to repair, E.G. and Varden tell me that to do a kilometre of road in Jamaica properly, you would be looking at about $120 to $250 million. That is to put in the drains, and to put the proper chamber, and water mains, and to give you a good first world infrastructure. That’s what you’re looking at on average. So, if we were to repair that 21,000 kilometres to various standards, you’re looking at trillions of dollars. In fact, you would probably be looking at between $5 to $7 trillion.

So, in other words, we would need to use the national budget for about five years and do nothing else. No school, and that includes a pipeline. No school, no hospital, no police, no security, no pension, no public sector workers’ salaries, and no social programmes. So, we would have to forego everything for five years to make an impact. I’m just saying this for the public to understand the magnitude of the problem that we face. The Government isn’t trying to run away from it. In fact, I think this is the first administration that is really trying to grapple with all dimensions of this problem, and to deal with it in a meaningful way that will transform roads. So, the public may not necessarily appreciate that, however, that in the last 20 years, the way in which we have managed roads has changed significantly. I can point this out to you without any fear of contradiction. In the previous decade, let’s say between 2006 to 2016, on average, the Government would have spent something like $8 to $20 billion annually on roads and that would include some amount of emergency repairs.

In the last decade, 2016 to now, the Government is spending somewhere in the region of $25 to $75 billion on road repairs. Even if you were to take out inflation, this is still a significant number of resources that the Government is spending on roads. In fact, the Government has increased spending on roads more than threefold. The majority of the public will say, “I don’t feel it.” That is because of the magnitude of the problem. Let’s face it, we have 300 roads under SPARK. If you look at the number of people who would say, “I feel the improvement of SPARK” it would be very limited compared to everyone else who complains about their roadways, and the reason for that is the SPARK Programme has a community component, which is dispersed. It’s community roads. So, it’s the community that is benefiting from the road that would say, “Yes, my condition has improved.” When they leave the community to go elsewhere, they still encounter bad roads. So, all of that is negated.

So, now we have another element of SPARK, which would be the national roads. So, the community roads, they take you from your home to the main road, and this programme now takes you from the main road to your work, business, or play. It takes you from outside your community into a Commercial Centre or some other critical activity that’s needed for your life. So, those roads are what Varden had displayed. Some of them are very interesting and exciting prospects that will ease traffic congestion and that will increase economic activity. Some of them will require some significant engineering, including putting the road on top of Sandy Gully. Those are some serious engineering requirements, which I would really want to see before any work is done in that regard, because those are serious engineering requirements. They will certainly improve traffic flow within urban centers right across Jamaica.

As was shown, these projects are all over Jamaica. Now, internationally, most developed countries spend around 1% to 2% or 1.5% to 2% of their GDP on their road infrastructure. Generally, their road infrastructure is mature. They probably only need to do routine maintenance and some amount of new capital works. Jamaica is spending just about 2% to 2.5% of its GDP on roads. If we’re going to make an impact, we probably need to spend more like 3% to 5% of our GDP on roads. That would be significant because the question is: what do we cut? It’s an interesting prospect. I have been looking at it to see where else we could divert, or what new allocation we could make, to spend on roads. The answer is, really, there is nothing. We spend about $460 billion on salaries every year. Obviously, that can’t be cut. That’s the largest part of the budget. We spend quite a bit on education. We spend it on health, national security, and debt servicing. That’s 15% to 18% of the budget. As I said, public sector compensation, that’s about 30% of the budget. Grants, pensions and social programmes, that’s another 15% of the budget. So, it’s significant. What we spend on all the other things that make Jamaica run is quite significant relative to the challenges that we face with roads. So, the only way that we’re going to have an expanded budget without compromising all the other things that we’re doing is for there to be growth in the economy. That’s a subject that the people who complain about roads don’t always figure, meaning that it’s a balance, right? That if we’re going to spend it on roads, where is the money going to come from? It has to come from somewhere. It comes from growth, the productivity question.

The good thing about spending time on roadways is that it helps productivity. It helps to create growth. That’s why we are making these massive investments in our roadways, because they increase productivity, which will improve growth, which will give us the funds to reinvest in the infrastructure.

So, I hope today that I’ve been a little bit clearer. This is an explanation of why the roads are the way they are and what the Government is doing to ensure that we can address the road conditions in the country. This programme will, therefore, address the main roads. We have already issued work orders for 31 roads. This means that China Harbor, the contractor on the project, will begin to do the proprietary works before moving into the actual construction. Work on some roads could begin within a year, while others may take up to a year and a half before construction is complete. The public should be assured that these programmes are now officially launched and on the train.

As I close, I will say one last thing about roads. For us to be able to fix all the roads in Jamaica, we need contractors who can work at scale. One of the challenges that we’re facing with the current SPARK Programme is that we simply just don’t have the contracting capacity to manage all the roads at once. The Government is contemplating how we can support the development of a contractor class in Jamaica. I hate to put it that way, but how we must develop the contractor capacity in Jamaica. We need to move away from the notion of the contractor as a one-man operation, engaged on a short-term basis and essentially operating out a bag to the notion of the contractor who is a corporate entity that is invested with a balance sheet that can fund, finance, and carry the work that they are contracted to undertake and to move them to a higher level of professional conduct. We do have some contractors who are demonstrating the level of enterprise and operations that we need to do this level of operation but there are some that are continually disappointed and we will have to address that. As we move forward with this major project and with what we will be doing under NaRRA, contractors are a critical partner in our growth and development.  We are working out a policy. We’ll come to the country with more details as to how we can support contractors, whether it is through training, access to financing, access to equipment, or partnering with other enterprise contractors. We must have a framework that develops a kind of new generation of contractors who can assist, who can be the credible partners that we need to carry out the infrastructure programme.

Look, tripling your capital budget is a major thing, and we have seen our fiscal commissioner report that sometimes we can’t spend the capital budget because the execution, which is a function of the contractors, is deficient. So, it’s one thing for us to have the funds but it’s another thing to be able to implement. So, we have solved the fiscal issues. We have the funds because we have tripled the budget, but the implementation is also a challenge, so we’re going to have to address that.

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you.

Speaking today (Friday, July 3) at the Caenwood SPARK Road Opening hosted by the National Works Agency in Portland, the Prime Minister said the country’s infrastructure ambitions demand contractors with the technical expertise, financial strength and corporate capacity to undertake increasingly complex projects.

The Prime Minister said, “We need an emergence of new contracting capacity that fits the ambition of the infrastructure we are trying to build.”

Prime Minister Holness continued: “We need good, strong, solid contractors. We need to dispel the view that a contractor is simply someone with limited equipment attempting to undertake massive and complex projects. Our contractors must move to a higher level of enterprise, invest in their businesses, strengthen their technical capacity and build the financial foundation required to properly execute the level of infrastructure work that this Government is delivering.”

In this regard, the Prime Minister noted that no previous administration has been positioned to invest as significantly in infrastructure as the current Government. While the challenge of securing financing has been addressed, the priority now is to ensure that every dollar invested delivers quality infrastructure through stronger execution, oversight and accountability.

Furthermore, Prime Minister Holness underscored that the Government is exploring measures to support the development of a new generation of contractors who take pride in their work and see the nation’s infrastructure as a reflection of their professionalism and commitment to national development.

Acknowledging the concerns of Jamaicans about road conditions, the Prime Minister emphasized that improving the national road network requires sustained investment, technical competence and institutional capacity.

“I understand the frustration of every single Jamaican about the road conditions. We will improve all the roads. It will take some time, but we are building out the plan. I want to give you the assurance, give the Jamaican people the assurance that your government is paying full attention to improving your roads,” stated Dr. Holness.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Holness noted that the SPARK Programme introduced a new delivery model that combines strong project management with rigorous quality assurance while creating opportunities for local contractors to build their capacity. The Prime Minister added that the newly opened Caenwood SPARK road reflects the standard of quality the Government intends to replicate as Jamaica continues to modernize its road network.

Speaking today (Wednesday, July 1, 2026) at the National Housing Trust (NHT) Handing Over Ceremony for the Vineyard Town Housing Development in Vineyard Town, St. Andrew, Prime Minister Holness said the project’s delayed completion illustrates the high cost of criminality and the transformative benefits that accompany peace and public safety.

The Prime Minister noted that although construction began in 2017, persistent violence, gang activity and extortion significantly disrupted the work, delaying the project for years. By 2021, the original construction contract had to be terminated, with criminal activity identified as a major factor affecting progress.

“The criminals are not Robin Hoods. They are not your friends. The criminals delay or prevent development. What we are looking at here is a development which started in 2017, and we can only hand it over now, almost nine years later. That is the impact of criminality on society,” stated Prime Minister Holness.

The Prime Minister also noted that the delays deprived deserving families of timely access to safe and affordable housing, demonstrating that criminal activity harms the very communities it claims to represent.

Prime Minister Holness urged Jamaicans to reject any tolerance for criminal behaviour, stressing that sustained reductions in violence create measurable benefits for the country.

The Prime Minister said: “Therefore, all Jamaicans must be invested in the reduction of the murder rate. There is a dividend for the country when crime and violence are reduced, and peace is flourishing in society. The only reason we are able to complete this project is that we have been able to bring the criminality and gangs under some level of control.”

Prime Minister Holness said Jamaica is already experiencing the dividends of improved public safety, with stronger confidence in the country’s stability creating favourable conditions for investment, housing development and economic growth. The Prime Minister added that when communities are peaceful, public projects can be completed more efficiently and citizens can benefit more quickly from national development.

The Vineyard Town Housing Development comprises 14 studio apartments across two locations at 2A Central Avenue and 7 Third Avenue. Each approximately 430-square-foot unit includes a fitted kitchen and bathroom, providing modern, affordable housing for Jamaican families.

Speaking today (Wednesday, July 1, 2026) at the NHT Handing Over Ceremony for the Vineyard Town Housing Development in Vineyard Town, St. Andrew, Prime Minister Holness said the Government is addressing housing challenges by increasing the supply of homes while ensuring that development creates opportunities for existing residents rather than forcing them from their communities.

“The challenge with housing in Jamaica is not demand; it is not necessarily affordability. The challenge with housing is the scale of output and the supply-side issues. We need to be building tens of thousands of houses each year, not two thousand or three thousand, because only by increasing supply at scale will we make home ownership more affordable for the average Jamaican,” said Prime Minister Holness.

The Prime Minister explained that the Government is actively scaling up housing output by tackling barriers to construction, including slow approval processes, limited availability of suitable lands and the need for larger developments that reduce the cost of each housing unit through economies of scale.

To further expand housing supply, Prime Minister Holness renewed his call for greater participation in the NHT Small Developers Programme, which supports developers constructing between five and 25 housing units, or developments of up to 50 rooms. Through this initiative, the NHT provides financing, technical guidance and development support to increase affordable housing for working Jamaicans.

The Prime Minister also outlined several initiatives aimed at making home ownership more accessible, including a deposit loan programme that allows qualifying contributors to access up to $2 million towards a down payment, a $3.5 million Home Resilience Loan to strengthen homes against natural hazards, the revised five plus loan programme that allows contributors to access home improvement financing after five years, a one percent reduction in mortgage interest rates for eligible public sector workers and the reservation of 20 percent of NHT housing units for persons aged 35 years and younger.

Dr Holness stated: “What we intend to do is facilitate the development of more lands for housing and strengthen programmes like the Small Developers Programme so that more Jamaicans can build affordable homes. We want development to expand opportunities for our people, not displace them, and that is why we are creating more housing options across the country.”

Prime Minister Holness noted that during the 2026-2027 financial year, the NHT is scheduled to commence 10,675 housing starts and complete 5,673 housing units, further advancing the Government’s commitment to increasing affordable housing across Jamaica. The NHT was previously tasked with delivering 42,000 of the Government’s target of 70,000 housing solutions over five years. The programme was significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Beryl. Despite those setbacks, the NHT recorded 31,540 housing starts, completed 21,166 housing units and issued approximately 67,000 mortgages.

On behalf of the people of Jamaica, we extend our deepest condolences to the Government and the people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Our hearts are with the families who have lost loved ones, with the injured, and with the many still searching for those trapped beneath the rubble.

As a Caribbean nation that knows well the suddenness with which natural disaster can visit our region, Jamaica stands in full solidarity with Venezuela in this hour of grief and recovery. The bonds of friendship and regional kinship that unite our peoples are never more keenly felt than in moments of shared adversity.

Jamaica stands ready to support the relief and recovery effort in whatever way it can, and we join the wider Caribbean and international community in offering our assistance. We pray for the strength of the Venezuelan people and for a swift and full recovery.

Addressing regional leaders, investors, and industry stakeholders at the Suriname Energy, Oil and Gas Summit and Exhibition (SEOGS 2026) yesterday (June 23, 2026) in Paramaribo, Suriname, Prime Minister Holness underscored the importance of a balanced and practical energy strategy. He emphasised the need to combine traditional and renewable energy sources to secure the region’s future.

“Because we are realists about the climate, we must also be realists about energy. The responsible path is oil OR renewables. It is a pragmatic mix. Oil, gas, solar, hydro, and eventually nuclear. That keeps the lights on while we build a cleaner future our children deserve,” Prime Minister Holness stated.

The Prime Minister noted that the Caribbean is now positioned to achieve a level of energy security previously beyond reach, driven by significant discoveries and developments in Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and potentially other nations across the region.

“Something historic is now possible. Among Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and perhaps in time others, including Jamaica, this region holds world class resources that open an opportunity we have never had before; energy security supplied within our own family,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister continued: “Producers supplying reliable oil and gas at fair and predictable prices will give islands the runway to scale the renewable energy solutions that suit them best.”

Prime Minister Holness emphasised that greater regional energy cooperation would help shield Caribbean economies from volatile international energy markets while ensuring more stable and predictable energy costs for households and businesses.

The Prime Minister noted that energy independence would allow Caribbean nations to retain greater value, capital, and decision-making authority within the region while reducing vulnerability to external shocks and fluctuating global energy markets.

The Prime Minister also outlined Jamaica’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its own energy resilience. While noting that Jamaica imported nearly US$2 billion in petroleum products and natural gas in 2024, Prime Minister Holness emphasised the government’s determination to diversify the nation’s energy mix and reduce its exposure to international price volatility.

“Today, Jamaica is taking charge of its own energy future. We are seriously exploring our offshore frontier, and early-stage seabed work completed this year has returned encouraging preliminary signs of a working petroleum system. While these are early days and no promises are being made, we are cautiously and prayerfully optimistic,” Prime Minister Holness noted.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Holness congratulated Suriname on reaching a transformative stage in its development journey. The Prime Minister noted that the Grand Morgu project, supported by recoverable resources estimated at more than 750 million barrels, approximately US$10.5 billion in investment, and planned production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day, represents a landmark achievement not only for Suriname but for the wider Caribbean.

by

Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP

Prime Minister of Jamaica

at the

Suriname Energy, Oil and Gas Summit & Exhibition (SEOGS 2026)

On

June 23, 2026

________________________________________________

Madam President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning,

I bring warm greetings of the government and people of Jamaica, and I thank Staatsolie and the Government of Suriname for the honor of addressing you at this remarkable moment in your history. This session is about the journey from oil and offshore development to project delivery, and there is no better place in the world to have that conversation than right here in your beautiful country. With the final investment decision in GranMorgu and first oil now in sight, Suriname has crossed the threshold from promise to delivery. This is the largest investment in your nation’s history, but it is more than just a Surinamese milestone.

When one of our nations in the region rises, the entire region rises. So, on behalf of Jamaica, I say to Suriname, congratulations. We are proud of you, and we stand with you with recoverable resources of more than seven hundred and fifty million barrels, an investment of approximately ten point five billion United States dollars, and a planned production capacity of two hundred and twenty thousand barrels per day, GranMargu is not simply another energy project. It represents an economic transformation. The International Monetary Fund estimates that by 2029, the fiscal revenues generated by this development could be equivalent to approximately one-fifth of Suriname’s present economic output. Equally important is the fact that Suriname is not standing at the margin of its own development. Through Staatsolie twenty percent (20%) participation requiring approximately 2.4 billion United States dollars in financing, national ownership is being built into the project from the beginning. That is an important example for the entire region; that is an important position to take in your own development. Foreign capital and expertise can be welcomed while the people who own the resources retain a meaningful stake in the value it creates.

We meet at a time when the world is anxious about energy. There is a school of thought that says the age of oil and gas is ending, and that the only respectable conversation is about how quickly to leave it behind. The reality, however, is that the world’s renewable energy transition is being outpaced by the growth of total energy demand and as was presented, it is clear that the growth of energy demand will be significant, and we will still need to invest and support the development of the oil and gas industry to meet that demand. But let me be clear, that is not an argument against renewables.

Jamaica is among the most climate vulnerable nations on Earth. Just last year, we were hit by the most powerful hurricane ever recorded, and we are therefore acutely aware of the climate imperative and urgency, but precisely because we are realists about the climate, we must also be realists about energy. The responsible path is not oil or renewables; it is a pragmatic mix. Oil, gas, solar, hydro, and eventually nuclear. That keeps the lights on while we build a cleaner future our children deserve. For many years, Jamaica spoke about energy principally as a consumer. In 2024 alone, we imported nearly two billion United States dollars in petroleum products and natural gas. Every international price shock is therefore transmitted into our electricity bills. Transportation costs, food costs, and foreign exchange demand, which all are wrapped up into the cost of living. That is why today, Jamaica is taking charge of its own energy future. Jamaica operates Petrojam, one of CARICOM’s few functioning petroleum refineries, with a nominal capacity of approximately 35,000 barrels per day. We have an ambitious plan to modernize it because we believe it can serve Jamaica more efficiently and contribute alongside facilities such as Staatsolie’s refinery here in Suriname to the resilience of the wider Caribbean energy system.

Jamaica is also seriously exploring its own offshore frontier. Yes, we are known for our beaches, tourism and culture, but who knows? Maybe in the grand design there is some oil offshore somewhere. Early-stage seabed work completed this year has returned encouraging preliminary signs of a working petroleum system across a basin, whose potential is estimated in the billions of barrels.  And I’m seeing some eyes opening right here in the audience. Yes. But you who are the experts in this room, you know that it is a long journey from discovery to delivery.  These are early days. We have not confirmed commercial volumes, and no promises are being made. We’re cautious and prayerfully optimistic. Even as we explore what may lie beneath our waters, Jamaica is diversifying its energy base with determination.

In 2024, natural gas supplied approximately 60% of our grid electricity, petroleum supplied approximately 30%, and renewable resources just over 10%. Our objective is to generate half of our electricity from renewable resources by 2030. We have already awarded approximately 100 megawatts of new solar generation, and we have launched the largest renewable energy tender ever undertaken in the Caribbean, 300 megawatts of renewable generation paired with 150 megawatts of battery storage. Energy security for a small island like Jamaica is never about betting on one fuel or one supplier. It is about building many parts so that we keep the lights on, the economy moving, the cost of living within reach of our people, whatever the world may throw at us. That brings me to the larger idea I want to leave with you.

For most of our modern history, the Caribbean’s energy security depended on forces outside the region, on the goodwill of others whose circumstances could change overnight. We learned how fragile that is when a war on the far side of the world sent fuel prices and food prices spiraling, and small economies like ours paid the bill. Something historic is now possible among Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and perhaps in time, others, Jamaica, this region holds world-class resources that opens an opportunity we have never had before, energy security supplied within our own family. Producers supplying reliable oil and gas at fair and predictable prices. Islands given the runway to scale the renewables that suit them best. This is what Economic Integration was always meant to deliver. Now, we have an opportunity to make energy the strongest thread binding our single market together.

For our region, energy independence means keeping value, capital, and decision-making in our own hands, so that when the next global shock comes, we are not waiting for others to decide our fate. Let me close on this. The wealth beneath our waters belongs to Suriname and to your generations. To the Surinamese children not yet born: you hold this in trust and history will judge the generations of leaders in your country and in other countries that have discovered oil and other such natural resources. So, across our region we will be judged by not what or how much we extracted from our natural resources, but how wisely we steward these resources for future generations to benefit.

There are so many examples of countries that have extracted natural resources, and in retrospect, on reflection, the most was not made of it. Jamaica has had this experience and other countries have had many other experiences. In fact, there are those in my own country who look at the possibility of discovering oil and extracting oil as a potential curse on the country, but I believe the experiences of the past are there to give us a particular value, and that is, we must not make the mistakes of the past, we must learn from them. I firmly believe that Suriname, Guyana and other countries that are discovering these resources have far more experience, far more knowledge, and far more commitment to ensuring that these resources are used ultimately for the benefit of the current generation and future generations to come.

I’ve spoken with your president, I believe Suriname has a very thoughtful and dedicated leader, and I want to commend my colleague head in CARICOM, President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons for the spectacular work that you’re doing in leading your nation, and I see a great future for the people of Suriname.

So let us be worthy of that trust. Let us turn discovery into development and development into dignity. Let us prove that our nations can manage great wealth with great responsibility. Suriname, you have unlocked something powerful. May it bring lasting prosperity to your people, and may your example inspire a whole region to claim its own future with the same courage.

Thank you.

Speaking yesterday at the RIU Hotels & Resorts 25th Anniversary Gala in Montego Bay, Prime Minister Holness said that the countries that succeed in today’s global economy are those that create the environments that attract visitors, inspire investor confidence, retain talent, and offer opportunities for future growth.

Dr. Holness said Jamaica must reject any notion that small nations cannot compete globally and instead embrace a mindset that sees the country as an active participant on the world stage.

“Countries are competing for visitors. They are competing for investments. They are competing for businesses. But you know what else they are competing for? They are competing for talent. That, in fact, is the biggest competition. Because no matter what investment, capital, business, rare earth elements, or lithium you have, you need talent,” the Prime Minister said.

He underscored that Jamaica must evolve beyond being primarily an exporter of talent and position itself to attract skilled people from around the world as the economy continues to expand.

“Jamaica must position itself not only as a net exporter of talent, which we have been for almost 200 years, but we need to now position ourselves to be receivers of talent into our economy if our economy is to grow and expand,” Dr. Holness stated.

The Prime Minister noted that decisions made by tourists, investors, businesses, skilled workers, and families are increasingly influenced by the same factors, including safety, good governance, efficiency, connectivity, opportunity, and confidence in a country’s future.

He said these realities are shaping the Government’s broader development agenda and underscored why investments in infrastructure, public safety, housing, public service modernization, and human capital development remain national priorities.

“The countries that succeed are those countries that become a destination of choice. Whatever we do, Jamaica must become and continue to be a destination of choice,” he added.

Prime Minister Holness pointed to RIU’s 25-year presence in Jamaica as a powerful example of the confidence international investors have placed in the country, and that this reinforces the country’s ambition to become a preferred destination for visitors, investors, skilled professionals and members of the diaspora seeking to return home.

“These are not separate initiatives. They are all part of a single national mission to make Jamaica a place of choice: a place where people want to visit, a place where businesses want to invest, a place where talented people want to work, a place where families want to live and a place where future generations can thrive,” he said.