Speeches by the Prime Minister

The president of the Inter- American Development Bank Group and Therese Turner-Jones my other good friend, the General Manager for the Caribbean Country Department of the IDB Dr The Honourable Ambassador Nigel Clarke, MP, Minister of Finance and the Public Service and also my good friend My other good friend The Right Reverend Howard Gregory who I know prays for me every morning without fear. Your prayers are working Bishop, please continue to pray fervently. Our financial secretary, Darlene Morrison and other officials of the Ministry of Finance The Governor of the Bank of Jamaica, I’m acknowledging him in his absence Dr Wayne Henry, Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica, acknowledging him in his absence as well Officials and staff of the Inter- American Development Bank Members of the media Ladies and gentlemen, this is truly a good morning and let me be the first to welcome you to the neighbourhood. You may pop in up the road for tea anytime. I'm delighted to be here this morning to welcome the IDB to its new home which is very close to a special place. Congratulations on the construction and today's opening of your new office building. The attention…

My Jamaican family! Today our great nation celebrates 56th years of political independence. It is indeed a time to celebrate all that we have achieved with our freedom and independence: We boast a stable democracy with over 74 years of elections and undisrupted change of administrations. We rank 6th in the World for Freedom of the Press and Jamaicans generally enjoy great freedom, scoring 77 out of 100 in the Freedom in the world 2018 report. We are ranked 47th of 113 countries assessed in the Rule of Law index, We are ranked highly in sports, music and the creative arts, Jamaica is an amplified voice in the international arena, and Brand Jamaica continues to be one of the most recognizable brands globally. However, as we celebrate, we must also cerebrate. Take time to think of the challenges facing us as a Nation, some caused by our action or inaction. It must concern to us all, that for a country often romanticized as a “no problem” paradise, violence is becoming part of the narrative surrounding our brand and image. Our independence theme “One Love…One Family” aligns with the country’s motto “Out of Many, One People”, and captures our friendly, kind,…

My fellow Jamaicans, Each year, the Emancipation celebrations give us an opportunity to reflect on the struggle of our ancestors for freedom, against a system that denied them their dignity and humanity, often through brutally oppressive and violent means. It must have been a euphoric day, today the first of August, 180 years ago, when our forebears gathered in their villages, and churches to rejoice and give thanks. Free! free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty we are free at last! I can only imagine the tears of joy that would have rolled down the cheeks of our oppressed forefathers, replacing the tears that came from the whip on their backs. They must have celebrated this day as the beginning of a new life for them and for us, their generations to come. It must have been a time of great hope and optimism. A wide embrace of freedom and a determined rejection of the system of violence used to oppress to them. Freedom was a gradual process of securing rights. On that faithful Friday morning, the first day in August 1838, our forebears assumed the full right to work for their own account and enjoy the benefits…

There has been much debate in the public domain about CARICOM. Some of the information and the debate in the public domain has not always benefited from a studied view of the issues that surround Jamaica's participation in CARICOM and speaking Mr Speaker, as the Prime Minister of the country but also as leader of a political party, the expressions that have come sometimes would seek to indicate that there is some reluctance on this side to fully participate in CARICOM. By this debate Mr. Speaker, I wish to put to such thought that there is no reluctance on this side to participate in CARICOM. What we have always maintained is that our participation in whatever regional organization must make sense for Jamaica, and we have also maintained that a weak Jamaica does not make a strong CARICOM and we acknowledge Jamaica's important leadership role in building and strengthening and sustaining the institution of CARICOM. We assembled a team of eminent persons to review Jamaica's participation in CARICOM and advise the Government so that we can take a studied approach to the issues of CARICOM. You will recall that in 2016/ 2017 there was great concern regarding issues of free movement of persons…

REMARKS PREPARED FOR THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY, THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAMAICA, THE MOST HONOURABLE ANDREW HOLNESS, MP ON THE OCCASION OF THE SPECIAL LUNCHEON HELD IN HONOUR OF HIS EXCELLENCY MR.  MIGUEL DIAZ CANEL-BERMUDEZ, PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCILS OF STATE AND MINISTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA ON THE MARGINS OF THE THIRTY-NINTH REGULAR MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)  5TH JULY 2018 MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA     Good Afternoon, Our collective presence at this Thirty-Ninth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM reaffirms the spirit of unity and solidarity which binds us together as a region. It is in keeping with this spirit of oneness that I extend a special welcome to His Excellency Mr.  Miguel Diaz Canel-Bermudez, President of the Councils of State and Ministers of the Republic of Cuba, in whose honour I am pleased to host this luncheon. Excellency, On behalf of my colleague Heads, I am pleased not only to welcome you to Jamaica,  but also to receive you into the region’s fraternity of leaders. We note that since your recent election and appointment to office, this will have been your first…

REMARKS BY THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAMAICA, THE MOST HONOURABLE ANDREW HOLNESS, O.N, M.P FOR SWEARING-IN CEREMONY FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE ADRIAN DUDLEY SAUNDERS AS PRESIDENT OF THE CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE  KINGSTON WEDNESDAY 4TH JULY 2018   Your Excellencies, the Most Honourable Sir Patrick Allen, Governor-General and the Most Honourable Lady Allen Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community Members of the Cabinet Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Secretary General of the Caribbean Community Sir Dennis Byron, President of the Caribbean Court of Justice and Lady Byron Senator the Honourable Thomas Tavares-Finson, President of the Senate The Honourable Mr Justice Bryan Sykes, Chief Justice The Honourable Mr Justice Dennis Morrison, President of the Court of Appeal The Honourable Mr Justice Adrian Dudley Saunders, President Designate of the Caribbean Court of Justice Specially Invited Dignitaries Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen all Good afternoon   I am honoured, as Chairman of the Conference of the Heads of Government, to address such an august gathering at this Swearing-In Ceremony on the Assumption of Office of the Hon. Mr Justice Adrian Saunders as President of the Caribbean Court of Justice. Let me express my gratitude to the Rt. Hon Sir Dennis Byron…

OPENING STATEMENT BY THE MOST HONOURABLE ANDREW HOLNESS ON, MP PRIME MINISTER OF JAMAICA AND CHAIRMAN OF THE CONFERENCE OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM) DELIVERED AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE THIRTY-NINTH REGULAR MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA 4TH JULY 2018     Your Excellencies  the  Most  Honourable  Sir  Patrick  Allen, Governor General and the Most Honourable Lady Allen; Your Excellencies Colleague Heads of State and Government; Mr. Tony Hylton representing the Leader of the Opposition Chief Ministers and Ministers of Government Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, CARICOM Secretary-General Newly installed President of the CCJ Justice Saunders Members of the Jamaican Judiciary I wish  to  acknowledge  former  Prime  Minister  PJ  Patterson whom we all agree is the epitome of the Caribbean Man High Commissioners, Ambassadors and Special Emissaries Representatives of Regional and International Organizations Distinguished Delegates Members of the local and international media Ladies and Gentlemen all WELCOME Allow me to specially acknowledge my colleague CARICOM Heads who have been re-elected or newly elected since our last meeting: Dr. the Hon. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada The Hon.  Gaston  Browne,  Prime  Minister  of  Antigua  and Barbuda The Hon.  Mia Mottley,  the  first  female  Prime  Minister…

I have the distinct honour of saying welcome to Jamaica for all our first-time investors and visitors. Your presence at this forum signals that we are strengthening confidence in Jamaica's business environment. The Jamaica Investment Forum represents one of Jamaica's key initiatives designed to secure new investors and cement the decisions of investors who have indicated interest in our country. As it stands, the forum is achieving its objectives with past events, creating over six thousand (6000) jobs and over US $300 million in investment. If you ask me, I think that that is a success so I want to congratulate Diane and her staff at JAMPRO, and I want to in particular point out the great work that has been done by the Chairman of JAMPRO and one of our leading entrepreneurs, Mr Don Wehby. Now, I don't usually try to take the credit but I’m a politician, I can't help it,  but for a brief time about two years, I was the minister responsible for JAMPRO but then I decided that I would have another minister who is very energetic, who was an investment promotion specialist himself to take the lead in JAMPRO and you may have heard…

Thank you for that introduction Mr Casserly and Simon it's not too late to share the platform you wished to share with me but I think that the platform you're on now is still a very good platform. The Kiwanis Club, the Kiwanis organization is an organization that I wanted to join but just was never invited. Your most distinguished Former Governor but I believe you still take the title as Governor Godfrey, oh Master of Ceremony Distinguished President Simon Casserly and Members of the Kiwanis Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District Members of the Diplomatic Corps Member of Parliament Bishop the Honourable Conrad Pitkin, Custos Rotolorum of St James Your Worship Councillor Homer Davis, Mayor of the great city of Montego Bay And Mayor Councillor Leon Williams of the upcoming city soon to be hopefully Leon Thomas Dr Carey Wallace, Executive Officer of the Tourism Enhancement Fund and other sponsors and other heads of agencies who are here in attendance Members of the private sector Distinguished ladies and gentlemen Members of the media Good evening.   It is indeed a pleasure for me to be here with you. I know that this is the fifth time Jamaica is hosting the…