Speeches by the Prime Minister

Keynote Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the NHT Groundbreaking Ceremony for Barrett Hall, St James On April 10, 2025 ______________________________________________________________   Thank you, Duane, for your usual masterful mastery of the ceremony and Reverend Edmondo Souza for your prayers We have with us here today the world-renowned minister of tourism but his substantive role for which he will be acknowledged is as a Member of Parliament for St James East Central. Chairman Linval Freeman, Chairman of the Board of the NHT His Worship, the Mayor, Councillor Richard Vernon, Mayor of Montego Bay, a man who is truly vested in ensuring that there is public order and cleanliness in the municipality of Montego Bay. I have with me here as well, Mr Joseph Matalan. Good to see you, Joe. And Mr Peter Melhado, who addressed us earlier. Both from West Indies Home Contractors Limited, and who have been exceptional partners in the construction of housing in Jamaica for a very, very, very long time. The managing director of the NHT Martin Miller, along with the hardworking executive members, please accept my acknowledgement. We have, of course, many stakeholder representatives who…

Keynote Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Commissioning of new tanks and waterlines, Rhyne Park, St James On April 10, 2025 _______________________________________________________________   Thank you, master of ceremonies Delano Williams, for your conduct of the program so far. Let me also thank Pastor Hamilton for his invocation. Let me acknowledge your hardworking Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for Water, the Honourable Matthew Samuda. I am going to acknowledge the world-famous Minister of Tourism, but his substantive post that we acknowledge him for today is as the Member of Parliament for this area in St James East Central. Your hardworking Mayor, His Worship Councillor Richard Vernon, Mayor of Montego Bay, and other members of the St James Municipal Corporation are here. Mr Kevin Kerr and his team. Mr Kevin Kerr is the Acting President of the National Water Commission. And let me acknowledge everyone else who is in the audience and the members of the community who are here. It is always a special occasion when we gather to celebrate real, tangible and meaningful progress in the lives of people. Today's…

Keynote Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At PROVEN Properties Ltd Official Groundbreaking for Kingsway Gateway Warehouse Complex On April 11, 2025 ______________________________________________________________   Thank you, Mr Master of Ceremony, for your efficient conduct of the proceedings so far. I'm sure everybody has been more than adequately acknowledged but allow me nevertheless to do the formalities and start with acknowledging my good friend, Mr Tony Hylton, the wanna be baby father for logistics. But Tony is my good friend, and we share with no mean spiritedness or whatever because aside from being good friends, we are also neighbours. My constituency adjoins him, and I join with his comments in welcoming this development to the area because when we see these developments, the first thing that comes to our mind is that people in our constituency will be employed and so we are very, very happy for that. But in all fairness, acknowledgement must be given to Tony for being a visionary in this regard, regarding logistics and for being a consistent supporter in government and outside of government for logistics, so Tony is a credible spokesperson in these matters. May I…

Keynote Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the MOH Unveiling of the Monument in Honour of Workers who died during COVID-19 On March 10, 2025 ______________________________________________________________   First, let me commend the National Public Health Lab ensemble. I forgot that they were medical professionals for a moment because they performed so well. Let me acknowledge your Master of Ceremonies, the distinguished Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jacqueline Bisasor-McKenzie. And I do recall the night of the 9th of March, five years ago, when our Minister of Health, Dr Christopher Tufton, made that faithful call to me to alert me that we could potentially have our first case of COVID-19. I had always prepared myself for that call since we first got notice of this brewing pandemic in February of 2019 and so it didn't come as a surprise, but there are things that you know it's going to come, but you still feel almost like a gut-wrenching pain when it was told to me that yes, Jamaica had its first case. There was no panic, but like everything else, it was unknown and uncertain. You had a kind of foreboding sense,…

Keynote Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association Expo 2025 On April 3, 2025 _______________________________________________________________   Senator Hill, let me thank you for the maintenance of the protocol order. I am aware that you have been waiting for some time and, therefore, Distinguished guests, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Industry leaders, Honoured exhibitors and buyers, Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. It gives me great pleasure and pride to open Expo 2025. This event has grown tremendously, now standing as the largest trade exhibition in the English-speaking Caribbean, an extraordinary testament to our nation's entrepreneurial spirit, ingenuity and ambition. Expo Jamaica exemplifies how far Jamaica has come, with over 250 exhibitors showcasing more than 5,000 products and services alongside 884 registered local and international buyers from 25 countries. This clearly reflects Jamaica's growing global influence and appeal. The theme, "Global Partnerships, Local Impact: Advancing Jamaica's Reach", resonates deeply with my government's vision for inclusive and resilient growth. Our journey towards economic stability has been profound. Jamaica today boasts its strongest economy since independence. Today, I had a courtesy call from a church group. The demographics were…

Keynote Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Manchester Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet On March 29, 2025 ______________________________________________________________   The leader of the opposition has asked me to apologize for him. He has to attend another event. Allow me to acknowledge Ms Rhoda Moy Crawford, the Member of Parliament for Central Manchester. And accompanying her is the Member of Parliament for Northwest Manchester, Mr Mikael Phillips. Also, the Member of Parliament for East Kingston and the Port Royal, Mr Phillip Paulwell. I'm not sure there are other Members of the House of Representatives here. I haven't seen them, but if you are, I'm acknowledging you. His Worship the Mayor Councillor Donovan Mitchell, Allow me to acknowledge the President of the Chamber of Commerce and his beautiful wife, Omar Fennell and Mrs Fennell, who have been such wonderful hosts to me. For the few minutes I've been at the table, I feel like I know so much about you. You are from Spanish Town. You like St Jago High. You found a beautiful woman in Manchester, and you have decided to start business here. Allow me as well to acknowledge…

Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Commissioning of Mason Hall Water Supply Project On March 28, 2025 ______________________________________________________________ Allow me to do the formalities and recognize the hardest-working Minister of Water, the Honourable Matthew Samuda, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation Allow me as well to recognize your Member of Parliament Robert "Bobby" Montague Allow me to recognize all the other councillors who may be here from the St Mary Parish Council, and I see as well from the St Ann Parish Council who have joined us in celebration, Mr Omar Sweeney, Board Chairman of the Rural Water Supply Limited. Good to see you, Mr Chairman. I was particularly impressed with the performance of the students from the Mason Hall Primary and Infant School, particularly the little ones who did the rendition of 'carry mi ackee go a Linstead market.' And, of course, you, the wonderful people of Mason Hall and let me thank you for the very enthusiastic and robust welcome and greeting. I know that you were so happy to see me, but you are very happy to have the commissioning…

Keynote Address By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for The Nitram of Waterloo Apartments On March 25, 2025 ______________________________________________________________   The Honourable Deroy Chuck, our Minister of Justice, but more importantly for this purpose, the Member of Parliament for this area, Father Richard Brown, for prayers Allow me to acknowledge as well Mr Ryan Parks, Acting Chairman of the Jamaica Mortgage Bank, Anake and Family, Directors of Nitram, Mr Michael Willacy, Senior Vice President, Corporate Banking of Sagicor, Other representatives of the public and private sector who are here. Members of the media. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed a good morning.   Today is a reminder that when public purpose meets private initiative, we can deliver real results for the Jamaican people. It is a celebration of what we can achieve together when vision, partnership, and the national strategy align. The Nitram of Waterloo is an example of how my government is leveraging public-private partnerships to transform the Jamaican housing landscape, and I want to begin by commending the key players who brought this project to life, the Martin family: Mrs Sandra Martin and daughters…

Speaking Notes for the Most Honourable Andrew Holness Prime Minister of Jamaica Press Statement: Meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Wednesday, March 26, 2024  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good afternoon, It is my great pleasure to welcome United States Secretary of State, the Honourable Marco Rubio, to Jamaica. I have known Secretary Rubio for some time, and I have always been impressed by his deep knowledge and understanding of the region.  Secretary Rubio, we are deeply honoured that you have chosen Jamaica as your first official stop in the English-speaking Caribbean. This visit so early in your term confirms the strength of the historic friendship and strategic partnership between Jamaica and the United States—one built on shared values, democratic ideals, and deep people-to-people ties. Our nations have long been united by a common commitment to freedom, prosperity, and security, and your visit today reaffirms that bond. Today, we engaged in productive and constructive discussions focused on strengthening this partnership and expanding opportunities for collaboration. During our meeting, we addressed several critical areas of cooperation: Security: We reaffirmed our commitment to enhancing cooperation in combating transnational crime, ensuring the collective safety of our citizens and mutually secured borders. We discussed a Global…