Speeches by the Prime Minister

Keynote Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At FCJ Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: New Urban Centre Morant Bay, St Thomas On May 15, 2025 _____________________________________________________________  First, let me start off by giving thanks to God who has made this day possible, and we give God thanks for the showers of blessings that he has rained on us. We are not dry-weather people. We are resilient people, and we know that God is pleased with what we have done here today. Allow me to thank those who have mastered the ceremony so far, and allow me as well to acknowledge Mr Fenton Ferguson, representing the leader of the opposition. The Members of my Cabinet who are here. So many of them are here, I could convene a cabinet meeting. His Excellency the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China, Chen Daojiang. And here I must mention the special effort and support of the Chinese government and China Harbour Engineering Company who played a critical role in this development. I must especially acknowledge the Members of Parliament who also played a critical liaison role in ensuring that the project went off seamlessly: MP James…

Keynote Address By Dr the Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Groundbreaking and Project Tour: Munroe Road to Seaview Avenue, St Andrew On May 14, 2025  Allow me to acknowledge your Members of Parliament who are here. Your Minister of Finance, the Honourable Fayval Williams and Mr Julian Robinson. Effectively, Minister Samuda does all the work. I guide him and I really don't take any credit for the things he has managed to achieve because I find him to be very passionate about the subject area. He almost takes it personally, certainly on the environmental side and on the water side so I know that very shortly, very soon, you will have maybe a different title that reflects the responsibility that he takes for the portfolio. We have a Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation because it is important to bring all the elements of development together under one roof because development means coordination. You can't have development when things are complicated, but you can have development in complex systems. And if you're talking about development, you're talking about water, potable water, you're talking about sewage, you're talking about electricity, you're talking about…

Remarks By Dr the Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the  Ribbon Cutting at the Opening of Technology Room And Read Across Jamaica Day On May 6, 2025 ______________________________________________________________   It is indeed my great pleasure to be with you this morning on Read Across Jamaica Day. In another incarnation, I was the Minister of Education, and I spent quite a bit of my time promoting literacy. Literacy is important for the development of any society. Literacy is the process by which our young ones develop the skills to access knowledge. We tend to take it for granted, and there are parents who are of the assumption that once their children are speaking, then they believe it is almost automatic that their children will be able to read. And it is something that we see very prevalent in our society. And in another way, there are parents who are of the view that once they send the children to school, and they are in a classroom, and they buy the books, that the child can read. And then there is another perspective that once they hear their children counting words or being able to identify…

Keynote Address By Dr the Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Commissioning of Parnassus Irrigation System And Launch of Parnassus Agro Park, Clarendon On April 23, 2025 ____________________________________________________________   Permanent secretary, I don't know why you have felt the need to tell this audience my business. Yes, I do have a passion for agriculture, my father is currently a farmer, a struggling farmer. I spent many summers on his farm and so I have a deep appreciation for the struggles that farmers go through; weather, finance and of course, this very strange thing we call praedial larceny. I have searched for this in other countries, and I can't seem to find it. It is a Jamaican affliction, two-foot puss. I was very pleased as I entered the facility when I spoke with the senior superintendent in charge of the parish who told me of the amazing reduction in murders and violent crimes over a 49% reduction since the beginning of the year. I offered my commendations to the police team. They have done an amazing job, but I commend you the citizens of the parish because your own cooperation is also important in the…

Keynote Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Groundbreaking Ceremony: Mount Nelson Housing Development On March 7, 2025 _______________________________________________________________   Thank you very much Dwayne. I'm sure some of you were a bit worried for those kids a while ago. They put so much heart and soul into that dance. Very good job Richmond Primary and may I take the opportunity to commend the principal as well. She appears to be very hands on participating in the entertainment and you can always know when a school is doing well, the teachers are very much engaged. You can't be in the education fraternity and not take education personally. Education, it's not just a job, it's your life and when the principal is right there with the microphone, singing and encouraging her children, you know that she takes the education of our children personally. So, congrats to the school, congrats to the performers, and to the principal. I know that his excellency Chen Daojiang, our Ambassador from China was looking on curiously trying to understand the performance but he was nevertheless enarmored with it because I noticed that he was nodding his…

Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Commissioning Ceremony: Runnit and Middle Quarters Pipeline Projects  On March 14, 2025 ______________________________________________________________  Allow me to acknowledge the first citizen of Black River, your mayor, and immediately after that, the former mayor and your members of parliament who are here, councillors and councillor caretakers, and you, the lovely people of St Elizabeth, the parish of my father. I consider myself a parishioner rather a parishioner and I do recall many,  many, many summers in the parish on my father's farm and this is where I learned many important and valuable principles of life including hard work, the value of hard work, the value of service, humility, and respect; and I have come to love and respect the people of St Elizabeth because they demonstrate a very high level of independence but not only that, they also display a very high level of peace. I had the great privilege of speaking to the high command of the parish and at this point let me wish Senior Superintendent Minto a speedy recovery. I gather he was in an accident recently as yesterday but I was…

Keynote Address By Dr the Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the UDC Contract Signing and Groundbreaking for  Raintree Commercial Complex, Ferry Pen, St Catherine On April 16, 2025 _______________________________________________________________ Good afternoon, everyone. Let me thank Naomi for her masterful conduct of the ceremony so far And Apostle Rohan Edwards for prayer. Apostle Edwards does an incredible work in this area, in particular, Spanish Town with his 10,000 Man March; very important in mobilizing the community against crime and mobilizing our men in particular to be strong leaders in the homes and in the community. The social aspect of this project is very important and I'm happy to see that you are here with us praying for the success of this project and I commend you for your constant work. Of course, our first citizen the Custos Rotulorum of the Parish of St Catherine, Costus Icylin Golding. Thank you for your message. We have a very distinguished list of persons who have attended up upon this event, the Honourable Olivia Grange, the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sports, and every other thing. Of course, she's here because she's the Member of Parliament for Central…

Keynote Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Expansion of Grand Palladium Hotels and Resorts On February 18, 2025 _______________________________________________________________   Thank you, Madam Master of Ceremonies. Let me acknowledge His Worship, the Mayor of Lucea. The world's leading Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Edmund Bartlett, Members of Parliament, Senators who are here as well, including the Opposition spokesperson on tourism. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, all. And of course, Abel Matutes. It is a wonderful morning, and I don't need your reaffirmation for that. We have tried to get it out of you. It is a wonderful morning, and it is both an honour and a privilege for me to stand before you today as we break ground for the expansion project by the Palladium Hotel Group, a project that not only signifies growth for this esteemed brand but also marks another significant investment in Jamaica and in our growing tourism industry. I extend a warm welcome to our partners from Groupo Empresas Matutes and the Palladium Hotel Group who have demonstrated unwavering confidence in Jamaica as the destination for investment. Your commitment to expanding your…

Keynote Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica at Outsource2Jamaica 2025 Conference, Montego Bay On April 10, 2025 ______________________________________________________________   Thank you to our host, Gloria, Chairman of Outsourced2Jamaica 2025. And yes, I did call her late one night, and she was a little bit groggy, probably frustrated, and she was actually very surprised to see that it was me calling her at that late hour. And by the response of the audience, I don't need to reiterate, but Gloria has been a champion for the industry, and she worked tirelessly during the COVID period and lobbied very strongly for the industry, and she continues to do this. Please allow me to acknowledge your work. And, of course, all the other directors of the Global Services Association of Jamaica. Senator Allen, representing the leader of the Opposition Senator, the Honourable Aubyn Hill, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Member of Parliament and Minister of State, Homer Davis, who is a minister in my office representing the Western region. Bishop, the Honourable Conrad Pitkin, Custos Rotulorum of St James, Mr Wayne Sinclair, President, Global Services Association of Jamaica Mrs. Shullette Cox, President of…