Speeches by the Prime Minister

We give God thanks for sparing our lives to see 2023, and we give thanks for the lives of loved ones and other great Jamaicans who transitioned last year. We embrace the New Year with optimism and positive energy, knowing that our earnest efforts will determine the success we make of the time given to us. We have been earnest in our efforts in the past year in controlling crime, particularly murders, and improving public order. It cannot be disputed that Jamaica has an epidemic of violence, which results in intentional killings. Guns are the main enabling weapons used by violence producers, and ease of access to guns of itself extensifies fatal violence.  Last year, we took a major step in deterring the procurement, possession, trafficking, and use of guns by passing a new Firearms Act which has totally transformed the legislative framework around legal and illegal guns in Jamaica.  It is now a minimum of 15 years to life for a person convicted of an illegal gun offense. Since the coming into force of the new Firearms Act on the 1st of November 2022 last year, over 70 persons, that is a rate of one person per day, mostly…

Warm Christmas greetings as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our heavenly Father so loved us, that he gave his only son to manifest as a beacon amongst us to show us the way to eternal life. A precious gift of perfect life, that whoever believes and accepts Christ, our soul will not perish but be saved for eternity. Above all else, therefore, Christmas is the celebration of life, the beginning of the human life of Jesus, and the promise of eternal life. At the time of the Nativity, God’s chosen people, as described in the bible, were colonized by an oppressive power. Times were hard, they were in a historical struggle to find a homeland in which they could be free. They had faith that a Messiah, a powerful leader would come and lead them out of their material and physical bondage, and bring an end to the national turmoil at the time. However, Jesus did not come into the world as a mighty King, he was born into lowly circumstances, in a stable, to poor parents, and he would grow up to be a humble carpenter. From his birth and throughout his life, Jesus was…

Remarks By The Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica Major General Antony Anderson, Commissioner of Police Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman, Chief of Defence Staff Dr Honourable Horace Chang, Minister of National Security The Honourable Robert Morgan, Minister of Information   The Most Honourable Andrew Holness: Thank you, Minister Morgan. Let me join in saying welcome to the OPM press room. It is our actual first live presentation since this press room was inaugurated. It's very good to see journalists in their physical presence. Good morning everyone, good morning Jamaica and persons listening overseas on social media. This morning His Excellency the Governor General the Most Honourable Sir Patrick Allen, declared a State of Public Emergency in the parishes of Claredon, St. Catherine and specified areas in the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew and a State of Public Emergency as well in the parishes. St. James, Westmoreland and Hanover. So, there are two separate declarations of states of public emergency, one we consider to be the southern crescent and the other, the Western tri-parishes. The Commission of Police and the Chief of Defence Staff will give details on these declarations. The Government after careful…

Inspect a new piece of infrastructure that we delivered along Spanish Town Road, it's a massive water main. That water main, by the way, would have replaced water mains that were laid upwards of eight years ago. I call those kinds of investments nation-building investments and you know entire generations will benefit from that including people who will get houses along that corridor and I'm hopeful that the NHT will be the sponsor of some of those houses. But again, I also ask you to forgive my dress-down attire. I'm coming from a community called Clifton. Clifton is in the centre of the Bernard Lodge development area, I don't know how many of you know that community. I visited that community more than 10 years ago. I had occasion to visit and it was not as expanded as it is now, it has grown, but it is a community that has its origin from sugar workers. The persons who used to work on the Bernard Lodge Sugar Estates, they used to live in that area so they have some historical rights which the government has recognized and through various administrations incrementally we have sought to regularize that and we are…

Social Partnership Agreement 2022 - 2026 - Partnership for Jamaica's Strong and Sustainable Recovery

“A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges” Mr President, I congratulate you on your election to the leadership of this distinguished body. You can be assured of our full commitment to the successful execution of your mandate, including from our position as a Vice-President of the session.  I also acknowledge your predecessor for his sterling stewardship of the General Assembly during his ‘Presidency of Hope’. This year, Jamaica celebrates 60 years of independence and membership in the UN.  We reflect with pride on the significant contributions which Jamaica, a small island developing state, has made to global efforts for peace, development and human rights, as well as in the fields of music, culture and sports.  At home, our Diamond Jubliee of Independence has provided the impetus for us to, ‘Re-ignite our nation for greatness’.   It is our intention to bring that same energy to the work of the 77th Session.  We gather as the world faces unprecedented overlapping crises - the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation, debt, energy and food insecurity, and natural disasters fuelled by climate change. While every country has been negatively impacted, we do not all have the same…

Jamaica, the Next 60 Years My fellow Jamaicans, this Independence Day is especially significant; it is our Diamond Jubilee, 60 years as an independent nation. We celebrate under the theme, “Jamaica 60, Reigniting a Nation for Greatness.” While we cannot allow the current global crises of a pandemic, war, and inflation to dampen our mood, the government is mindful of the hardships our people are experiencing; therefore, our celebrations must give hope, be meaningful, and uplifting. At 60, there must be reflection, introspection, contemplation, and prospection. As leaders, have we been good stewards of our nation? As citizens, have we been law-abiding, productive, and creative? And as a nation, have we been doing our part to advance the welfare of the whole human race? What will our story be in another 60 years? We reflect on the unfurling of the black, green, and gold on August 6th, 1962, a glorious time filled with high hopes and great expectations, the culmination of over 450 years of struggle from enslavement to Emancipation to nationhood. As we began to chart our course on the journey as an independent nation, we would meet with many successes and nationally fulfilling moments. Still, we would also encounter real challenges on our journey. As we contemplate our journey, we must come to grips with our pathway. We are a small island open economy, geographically at risk of natural disasters. Our history is one of struggle to secure rights and social…

So many milestones and episodes make up the Jamaican story. However, we can agree that the proclamation of Emancipation in 1834, after over 300 years of both Spanish and British enslavement, is pivotal to understanding our current situation and future trajectory. We commemorate Emancipation Day not only as the culmination of the struggles of over 10 generations of our ancestors to gain freedom, but we also recount it as the starting point of a free people now taking up a new struggle to forge themselves into a sovereign nation. After full freedom in 1838, our former enslaved family members had certain rights granted to them by the colonial government. We did not have a government of our own making, reflection, or choosing. We were subjects of the colonial power but still treated as lesser people in many respects. For 128 years between Emancipation in 1834 and Independence in 1962, though we lived as free people, it was a monumental struggle to use our freedom to create a better way of life, to forge a new society and eventually a nation. Changing from a slave society and economy to a free society and market economy came under provisions that considered the interest of the proprietors ahead of the welfare of freed people. While planters got compensated for losing their free labour, the former enslaved received no compensation for centuries of forced labour. While there were attempts at providing education, the planter class kept wages low, taxes high, and made land access challenging…

Theme: Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future Excellencies, Colleague Heads It is a pleasure to be here in the wonderful city of Los Angeles for this Ninth Summit of the Americas, and to join fellow leaders from across the hemisphere, recommitting to our shared values, forging new solutions to common challenges, and undertaking realistic actions in support of Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future. I thank the United States and the City of Los Angeles, for the arrangements made to host this significant Summit. I also commend the Biden-Harris Administration for its leadership of the Summit process, and for its general posture of listening and paying attention to the particular concerns and challenges of small developing states within the hemisphere. Excellencies, The COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, the conflict in Europe and the consequential impact on supply chains, food and energy security, are challenging the order of the world as we know it.  All the countries here, regardless of economic size and institutional maturity, have been affected by the same challenges. These challenges have led to the erosion of hard-won developmental gains. While, thankfully, Jamaica has been able to see some sustained growth over 6 quarters, predicted levels of…