Be Wardens of Peace – Prime Minister Holness
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness is urging citizens to take personal responsibility for maintaining peace in their communities.
Prime Minister Holness made the call Wednesday (June 4) as he broke ground for a multifamily housing complex under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) in Central Kingston.
New housing units will be built on the site which was a tenement yard destroyed by arson in 2021.
Thirteen residents, including children and the elderly, lost everything in the blaze.
“This project is more than just concrete and steel,” said Prime Minister Holness. “We are going to transform a yard that was destroyed by arson. We are going to transform lives that were destroyed in that fire. We are going to be transforming a community that, by this act of violence, had been depressed.”
The Prime Minister stressed that the progress seen in Central Kingston is only possible because of a shift in the community atmosphere, specifically a reduction in crime and violence.
“I urge the community members, everyone, to be wardens of the peace. You protect the peace. Don’t let this peace that we have slip out of your hands again,” said Prime Minister Holness. “Everybody prospers when there is peace, even the former bad man, even the former gun-toting criminal. Once he puts down his gun, he too can prosper.”
Dr. Holness noted that projects in communities plagued by violence often face long delays due to theft, extortion, and threats to workers.
Prime Minister Holness said these hidden factors contribute to rising costs and missed deadlines.
“In some communities, contractors can’t start work because materials are stolen, workers are threatened, or they’re forced to pay for ‘security’ from the same people creating the insecurity,” the Prime Minister explained. “These are the real issues that don’t always make the headlines but deeply affect our ability to deliver.”
In the meantime, Dr Holness also used the occasion to call for transformation in public sector processes, noting that bureaucracy continues to slow down essential government projects aimed at uplifting vulnerable Jamaicans.
“We have to re-engineer the steps that are required for us to get to this point where we can break ground. Because some of the steps don’t make sense. And then we have to increase efficiency. Not only must the process perfect compliance, but it must also perfect compassion.”
The NSHP project being built on East Avenue Central Kingston includes seven units built to serve multiple households on the same property, commonly referred to, as a “big yard.”
The project marks a continued evolution of the NSHP to meet the unique housing needs of dense urban communities.