Speeches by the Prime Minister

Thank you, Heather, Deputy General Manager of the UDC Senator Ransford Braham, Chairman of the Urban Development Corporation Colleague Members of Cabinet Senator the Honourable Tom Tavares-Finson, President of the Senate and other members of the senate who are present The Honourable Pearnel Charles, Speaker of the House of Representatives and other members of the house of representatives who are here Ambassador the Honourable Douglas Saunders, Cabinet Secretary Your Worship the Mayor of Kingston and St. Andrew- we now call it the KSAMC, Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation, Senator Councillor Delroy Williams The Honourable Steadman Fuller, the Custos of the parish of Kingston Members of the Diplomatic Corps Akbar Khan, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Dr. Damian Graham, General Manager of the Urban Development Corporation Other Heads of Agencies who are here Councillors Architect Leighton Whyte, Senior Project Manager at the Urban Development Corporation Architect Suzette Adams-Rickards, Project Architect, Urban Development Corporation Members of the private sector Members of the academic community Distinguished ladies and gentlemen  boys and girls, good morning.   I hope I have not left anyone out. I keep telling the Cabinet Secretary that we have to have a shorter list for acknowledgements but we…

Statement to Parliament on Petrojam by The Most Honourable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister on 26 June 2018   Cabinet last evening (Monday, June 25) received a preliminary report on the operations of Petrojam, and on specific allegations in the public domain. The meeting, which ended at approximately 11:00 pm, gave the Cabinet the opportunity to question the General Manager and management team of Petrojam as well as officials of the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology. Pursuant to the exhaustive discussions surrounding the report the Cabinet gained a better understanding of the issues and problems at Petrojam and has identified key areas of weaknesses in the governance of Petrojam. The weaknesses identified appear to be longstanding and systemic in nature and have impacted the governance, transparency and efficient running of the entity. Some of the issues raised in the discussion highlighted governance and management practices that require a policy response that will improve governance not only at Petrojam but also across all public bodies. As Prime Minister, I have tasked the Cabinet Secretary to compile the relevant legislation, regulations and policy guidelines relevant to the areas of weaknesses identified in order to close the existing gaps. There were some issues reported…

 Honourable Dr Horace Chang, Minister of National Security Mrs Marlene Malahoo-Forte, Attorney-General of Jamaica Mrs Dian McIntosh, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Mrs Audrey Sewell, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and in the Office of the Prime Minister I am extending apologies for Mr Fitz Jackson who has indicated that he is unable to attend but reminded me that I will see him parliament later today. Major General Retired Anthony Anderson, Commissioner of Police Mr Stewart Beckford, representing Mr Raymond Spencer, Commissioner of Jamaica Fire Brigade Ms Charmaine Gray, representing Commissioner of Corrections Members of the Jamaica National Service Corps Intake 1701 Other Distinguished guests Officers Men and women of the Jamaica Defence Force Members of the media Good morning.   It fills me with a tremendous sense of pride to be here today, to witness the certification ceremony of the first batch of the Jamaica National Service Corps members. In June last year, I welcomed you as Jamaica National Service Enlistment Corps Recruits and congratulated you on taking this important step towards charting your future, then in September, I was the Reviewing Officer for your passing out. It was therefore very…

International Women's Day is acknowledged, sponsored, supported and endorsed by the United Nations and the Government of Jamaica sees it as an important event on our calendar of activities that the Prime Minister's office should convene/ bring together a representative group of the power of women in our country and it is indeed my great privilege to host this breakfast and I want to thank you all for coming. Some very important things were said and it has been very eye opening for me. There I was thinking that I was the head of the household by virtue of being the head of the household. Thank you my lady. I think what we can agree on is that strong women make strong men and as I reflect on my own experience I consider myself one of  the very fortunate Jamaicans to have grown up with my great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mother and now my wife, so I've always had strong women in my life. I believe that my decision to enter politics was driven by my great-grandmother. I got an opportunity to represent Jamaica at an international conference when I was about fifteen and when I was leaving I went…

Minister Wheatley Minister Williams Mr Phillip Paulwell representing the leader of the opposition and representing himself in his own right as member of parliament for Eats Kingston and Port royal Mrs Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, Member of Parliament for West Rural St Andrew And of course the Most Honourable Mrs Juliet Holness, Member of Parliament in her own right for East Rural St Andrew Mr Winston Watson, well before... Mr Russell Hadid, Chairman of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica Mr Winston Watson Group General Manager And Dr Peter Ruddock, Manager of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Members of the constituencies that are benefiting Members of the media Of course, Lieutenant Colonel Rickman of the HOPE Programme who is also here Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. This year I’ll be a Member of Parliament for 21 years. The reason why I start at that point is that almost every year as a representative, I've had to deal with ‘burnouts’ and MPs would understand what I’m talking about when I say ‘burnout’. Someone's home will be destroyed by fire and it's not arson. It's that you have an aging housing stock that is primarily sometimes of wood, some people make their homes out of…

The Most Honourable Edward  Phillip George Seaga, former Prime Minister of Jamaica and he has still maintained his sense of humour, his deep understanding of the issues that affect Jamaica and his forty-five years in political representation is well spent. Jamaica is indeed grateful for your service and we owe you a debt of gratitude. Dr Angela Brown-Burke, a very fierce representative of the people. You've been a very good representative so far and I’m certain that the people of South West St Andrew are satisfied with you. Mr Karl Blake, long time Councillor of the Greenwich Town Division, again another stalwart and someone who has essentially given their life to politics. I want to acknowledge the pair of father and son team of Eddie and William Lai. You would, of course, have heard about the history of Eddie Lai, his great work in the development of New Kingston. Let me also acknowledge Mr Donald Moore, Senior General Manager for Construction and Development from the National Housing Trust and the National Housing Trust team that is here today. I won't beg of you to say good morning because this is truly a good morning. It is a good morning for…

Ms Valerie Veira, Chief Executive Officer of the Jamaica Business Development Corporation Ms Lisandra Rickards, Chief Executive Officer of the Branson Centre Mrs Imega Breese-McNab, Executive Director of the Jamaica Manufacturers Association and I believe soon to be the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association which I think is an excellent move. Members of the private sector good morning. I want to first commend the board and management of the DBJ for continuing to wholeheartedly embrace their commitment to facilitate economic growth and job creation in Jamaica through supporting the development of an ecosystem where innovation can thrive. The IGNITE Programme; Innovation Grant from New Ideas to Entrepreneurship is one of several initiatives by the DBJ that is creating the necessary inputs for our vision of economic independence. We must stimulate innovation through creating start-ups, increasing the number of start-ups and growing these entities. We must allocate or make investments, which will support our start-ups, and we need to enrich the MSME ecosystem; this is vital for our economic growth and development. In watching the presentation just a while ago in 2016 which seem like yesterday, I made the point that the DBJ plays the role of a market maker. Earlier, the…

The Government will tomorrow (Tuesday May 1, 2018) move a resolution for the extension of the State of Emergency (SOE) in the parish of St. James. The Government takes note of the Opposition’s position of not supporting the extension of the St. James SOE beyond the current request to be brought to Parliament. The Government views the declaration by the Opposition as an indication to criminals that there is no consensus on the fight against crime and that the State of Emergency will end shortly. The declaration signals that the lack of political unity will bring the SOE to an end rather than a consideration of outcomes and results. The SOEs have been yielding significant results in reducing crime. It has created space in which law enforcement is actively degrading criminal gangs and disrupting criminal networks. The fight against crime requires a concerted and unified national effort. To build this unity, the Government has taken various steps to inform, consult and involve the Opposition in critical initiatives for crime fighting.

Prime Minister, my colleague Heads and I welcome this opportunity to meet with you as we continue to strengthen the UK Caribbean partnership.  Our shared history and commitment to promoting democracy, people empowerment, economic development and working together on global challenges are well established. Your invitation today reinforces those shared values enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter. We want to thank you and your government for the determination to work with the Caribbean to address the unfortunate situation in which the Windrush Generation finds itself. We were particularly encouraged by your Home Secretary’s statement in Parliament yesterday, which not only recognized the invaluable contribution of Caribbean nationals to the rebuilding of the United Kingdom after World War II, but also animates a process which will ensure that these persons who arrived pre-1973 will have their cases reviewed with haste and with the required sensitivity. We think however that it is extremely important to have procedural steps clearly outlined and widely shared to ensure that people are aware of the requirements; that the evidentiary burden is reduced, the application process dramatically simplified and that pre-1973 Commonwealth Caribbean migrants currently detained as illegal immigrants are released and that those deported are afforded the…