Prime Minister Holness Encourages Jamaicans to Maintain a Positive Outlook as the Government Works to Transform Jamaica
“What we can’t do in this new phase of our development is to become disunited, we must continue to think of one Jamaica. We must continue to think of Jamaica as the place of choice where we can all live, work and raise our families and do business.”
– Prime Minister Holness
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Prime Minister Andrew Holness is upbeat as the country continues to secure more economic gains. In this regard, the Prime Minister has encouraged Jamaicans to be patient and stay united as there are attempts to divide the country along political and social lines. With eight consecutive quarters of steady economic growth, the unemployment rate at its lowest in the recorded history of the statistics, and the country’s net international reserves at 4.14 billion USD, Prime Minister Holness emphasized there is steady growth in the economy. He noted the effects of this will soon be replicated even more within the society. The Prime Minister said: “What we can’t do in this new phase of our development is to become disunited, we must continue to think of one Jamaica. We must continue to think of Jamaica as the place of choice where we can all live, work and raise our families and do business as one people, so it means that sometimes you will have to compromise, which means you may have to exercise greater patience, you must resist the temptation to divide among class and social and economic strata because you have persons who are pushing that line.” In this regard, the Prime Minister noted that most Jamaicans understand that having a solid, sustainable, stable, and resilient economy is integral to delivering quality services to the people. The Prime Minister said: “They want to bad mouth the government in everything else, but one thing they can say about this Andrew Holness Led Administration is that we have improved the economic performance of this country and that improved economic performance, we are doing our best to ensure that it continues because it is in the continuation of good economic performance that we are going to be able to deliver the things that you want.” Importantly, Prime Minister Holness reminded Jamaicans that it was in 2013 when the country was on the brink of a financial crash, and there were 13 weeks of no import. Presently, Jamaica’s exports have increased by 55% over the last quarter of last year, and the debt-to-GDP ratio is projected at 74% coming from as high as 150%.The Prime Minister said that despite an increase in poverty in the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic has rebounded as STATIN has reported a record 4.5 % in Jamaica’s unemployment rate. The government is currently focused on increased certification of unskilled Jamaicans through the Heart NSTA Trust so they can enter the formal labour force.