News from the OPM

  Listing of the reshuffled Cabinet

 REMARKS BY THE MOST HON. ANDREW HOLNESS, O.N., PC., MP PRIME MINISTER OF JAMAICA   “Transnational Organised Crime: Challenges with Small Arms and Light Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean” on  APRIL 17, 2023   REGIONAL SYMPOSIUM TO ADDRESS CRIME & VIOLENCE AS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO     Honourable Philip Davis, Prime Minister of The Bahamas The Honourable Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Other CARICOM Heads and representatives of Community Institutions Ladies and gentlemen Let me express sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Government of Trinidad & Tobago, the CARICOM Secretariat, and the other regional institutions including CARPHA and IMPACS, for coordinating this meeting. Colleagues, we live in a high violence region. If we use murder rates as an index for violence, the Latin American and Caribbean region would be approximately 15 murders per 100,000 of population while the world average is approximately 6 per 100,000. For the Caribbean, this runs counter to our global image as a zone of peace. In the last 3 decades, the Caricom region has seen an increase in crimes, and in particular, the use of fatal violence. Violence generally in social interactions, and violence in crime…

The leaders of Jamaica's two main political parties, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP), Prime Minister Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP and Mark Golding, MP, respectively, participated in the Vale Royal Talks on February 19, 2023. This meeting, facilitated by the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches, centered on the important issues of National Security and Constitutional Reform. The discussions lasted for three hours. In his opening statement, Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, Prime Minister Andrew Holness expressed optimism that the talks will foster greater consensus on challenging national issues. He noted that the previous discussions were successful in achieving some understanding of critical national matters. Pledging to ensure the continuation of these talks the Prime Minister said, “We may not always be able to address these critical issues and ventilate them properly in Parliament, but we can ventilate them here at the political level. These talks have now become a part of Jamaica’s democratic institutional tradition and they have been very useful for the political parties to find space which is created for discussions under the Chatham House rules. It contributes positively to the building of a modern positive political culture and gives us a…

Gazetted Emergency Powers (Parishes of St Ann and Clarendon and Specified Areas of the Parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew) Regulations February 15, 2023

Gazetted Proclamation State of Public Emergency Parishes of St Ann and Clarendon and Specified Areas in KSA February 15, 2023

Rocky Meade CD, JP, PhD, has been appointed by the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister, as Ambassador Plenipotentiary with responsibility for National Strategic Initiatives for Jamaica, effective February 13, 2023. In this role, he will advise the Prime Minister (and Cabinet when necessary) on, as well as co-ordinate, National Strategic Initiatives and Projects across Ministries, Departments and Agencies within Government with a view to ensuring their timely and effective implementation. These include existing and new initiatives that will have a positive long-term impact on the country's development. Ambassador Meade has nearly four decades of leadership experience and has led various significant initiatives with impact at the organizational, national, and international levels. These include the Jamaica National Service Corps, the expansion and regionalization of the JDF, the expansion and improvement of Caribbean regional disaster response capabilities, and the Caribbean Military Academy, which has students from over thirty (30) countries across five continents. He holds a PhD from the University of Amsterdam, a Master of Military Arts & Science degree from the US Army Command and General Staff College, and Master and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of the West Indies. He has also earned several…

With intense work underway to ensure the parish of St. Thomas has quality road infrastructure that will last, Prime Minister Andrew Holness is empathising with residents who have been inconvenienced or otherwise impacted and is urging patience throughout the remainder of the project as the government works to bring this leg of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP) to completion. The Prime Minister says delivering the best roads for residents will take just a little more time. He said, “I understand the complaints and the dislocation, but we have to start thinking long-term and appreciate that now is a different time. So, we have to build our infrastructure for it to be resilient against the impact of climate change.” Construction on the SCHIP began in January 2017 and is being executed in three parts, with the St. Thomas leg forming two of the three parts. Recent updates from the National Works Agency (NWA) indicate that the first tranche, which includes Morant Bay, Long Road and two roads from Cedar Valley to Portland, will be completed by summer of this year (2023). The Harbour View to Yallahs road, which falls under the second part of the project, is also projected to be completed this summer. Concerning this, Prime Minister Holness underlined resilience as a leading factor behind the extension of the roadworks. The Prime Minister is therefore urging patience by residents and affected commuters as the Government makes the extra investments needed to ensure critical nation-building infrastructure like the SCHIP can withstand disasters and last for generations to come. In this regard, the Prime Minister said, “It has to take a little bit…

To strengthen the implementation of the new Road Traffic Act, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has directed the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) to undertake weekly reviews and provide reports on the enforcement and effectiveness of the measures as well as any concerns expressed by the public. The Government recognizes that with these significant changes to the road traffic laws and enhanced enforcement,  a period of consistent review has to be undertaken to ensure the engagement of the entire nation and to achieve a high level of compliance.  The Government has taken note of the concerns regarding the requirement to convey a child in the appropriate child restraint system. The provision was first incorporated in the Road Traffic Act in 2001 and was specifically deliberated by the Joint Select Committee chaired by Dr Omar Davies in 2015, which recommended that “the Act require that a  child would have to be in a restraint system while being transported in a motor vehicle.”  In keeping with our consistent review, the Government will have deliberation on the matter at the next meeting of the Road Safety Council.  The National Road Safety Council is set to meet on  February 9, 2023, when the Prime Minister will consider the first review. The Prime Minister said, “ The continuous increase in  road traffic deaths and injuries has been a major concern for this Government, and the new RTA and its effective enforcement is  essential to reducing the risk of fatalities and keeping vulnerable road users safe, including pedestrians, cyclists, children, elders and people with disabilities.”

Jamaica is well on its way to becoming a digital society as the Government intensifies policy support for and investments in the development of the digital economy locally. In delivering his keynote address at the opening ceremony for the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE) 18th Annual Regional Investments and Capital Markets Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus on Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said, “We must take deliberate steps to transition not only to the digital economy but to become a digital society. And your government has taken firm steps in this regard,” said the Prime Minister. In the meantime, Prime Minister Holness outlined examples of the Government’s strategic direction over the last few years. These include the execution of the ICT Action Plan and National Broadband initiative which has seen to several public schools, hospitals, parish courts and other public entities receiving high-speed internet access and has enabled the expansion of the Jamaica Eye security camera network. Additionally, the Prime Minister discussed the implementation of the National Identification System (NIDS) which is presently in the technical pilot phase and will clearly link citizens’ physical identity with their digital identity, invariably enhancing the ease of doing business. Prime Minister Holness also celebrated Jamaica’s boldness in being the first country to recognise its digital currency as legal tender with the introduction of JAM-DEX in 2022. “No bank account is required to hold the digital currency and you can get a digital wallet issued by a bank or authorised payment service provider with simple, customer-friendly processes for easy access,” said the Prime Minister. This was Prime Minister Holness’ 10th year at the JSE Conference which was held under the theme, ‘Capital Markets Redefined: Achieving the Impossible'.