Speeches by the Prime Minister

Keynote Address by  Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP,  Prime Minister of Jamaica at the Handing Over Ceremony for the SRP (ROOFS), Ministry of Labour and Social Security Parish Office, Santa Cruz On January 30, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I want to acknowledge the Minister of Labour and Social Security, the Honourable Pearnel Charles. I won't bother to say Junior because he is now more than walking in his father's footstep. He's walking in his own footsteps, leaving his own footprint, and he has really risen to the challenge of managing two major natural disasters back-to-back so good job, minister. We have here with us the member of parliament. I know I have two other members of parliament here, but I'm going to say something because we have a tendency when we say MPs, we say Floyd Green, Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth but that is just because Minister Green is the Minister of Agriculture, so he's minister for the breadbasket parish. We have Minister Green, Member of Parliament for Southwest St Elizabeth. We have another minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Frank. Good to see you here. And we have Andrew Morris, the new kid on the…

Keynote Address by Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP, Prime Minister of Jamaica At the JCF Passing-Out Parade of Batches 161 and 162 National Police College, Twickenham Park, St Catherine On January 21, 2026 ---------------------------------------------------------------------   Thank you, Master of Ceremonies, Detective Sergeant Shermaine Hassock, and Sergeant Selvan Smith and Pastor Dr Gary Buddoo-Fletcher, Force Chaplain for the invocation, Allow me to acknowledge a long list of officials: The Honourable Pearnel Charles Jr, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Dr Kevin Blake, your Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioners of Police, Mr Merrick Watson, Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Training and the Director of the National Police College, Councillor Claude Hamilton, representing the mayor of Spanish Town, The Honourable Icylin Golding, Custos Rotulorum of St Catherine, Officers and other members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Members of private and public sector entities, And of course, graduates of Batch 161 and 162, and your families and well-wishers gathered, Representatives of the media, Ladies and gentlemen, Today marks a milestone not only in your lives but in the life of our nation. You stand there at attention in uniform as the newest ambassadors of law order and public…

Keynote Address by Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP, Prime Minister of Jamaica at the Handing Over of Building Supplies to ODPEM  on January 16, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------   Brigadier Bogle, our friend, thank you so much, my brother from the Ghanaian Forces Engineering Regiment. Representatives from the Guyana Engineering Corps who are here, and of course, the men and women of the Jamaica Defence Force, Commander Gayle, the Director General of ODPEM, (our Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management agency) but none of you are as special today as is Mrs Antoinette Taddeo, representing New Era Homes, one of Jamaica's premier housing developers. This programme, the government directed roof repair programme is the beneficiary of the philanthropy of two large housing developers in Jamaica, Kemtek, which allocated from their resources $70 million worth of materials and New Era, which contributed $160 million of tools and building materials, and that has given us a very good start towards the government directed roof restoration programme. I should also acknowledge that the Government of Guyana, which undertook the restoration of 200 roofs, not just allocated the human resources. In other words, they didn't just send their engineers, they sent their engineers with a…

Keynote Address by Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP, Prime Minister of Jamaica at the Official Reopening of Business Kiosks/ Shops, Border, St Elizabeth on January 16, 2026 -----------------------------------------------------------   Today's reopening of the business kiosks and shops at Border in St Elizabeth carries significance far beyond the physical restoration of a market space. It represents a defining statement of national intent that after a disaster such as Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica is intentional and serious about rebuilding communities, restoring livelihoods, and renewing the foundations of economic life with greater resilience and purpose. And we are doing it in an area that is a microcosm of the wider commercial endeavours in Jamaica, that is with the MSMEs because this segment of Jamaica's economy represents almost 70% of the economy. It is significant. It is a large employer of labour. It carries income for most households in Jamaica and therefore having the launch of our programme for the restoration of businesses in the country, having it done here, it's very symbolic of the government's intent and the government's respect, concern and appreciation for small businesses/ micro businesses in Jamaica. If you listen to my presentations, you will hear me…

Remarks by Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP, Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Official Opening Wisynco Brewery and New Manufacturing Facility on January 13, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The year is still new, so allow me to wish for everyone a happy, healthy, peaceful, fulfilling, wealthy, productive, and prosperous 2026. Allow me to thank the Masters of Ceremony, And allow me also to acknowledge Ministers Hill and Charles and our ministers of state who are present with us. I'm searching to see whether or not Mayor Leon Thomas is here, and of course, Member of Parliament, Alando Terrelonge, Minister of State. You showed me a picture. It was 10 years ago. I had a full head of black hair then, William, and so did you, and Andrew, thanks for the invitation. Indeed, it is my pleasure to be with you today. Today's ceremony is far more than the official opening of a new facility. It is a statement about the direction of Jamaica's economy, the maturity of our institutions, and the confidence that serious investors now place in our country's future. We are gathered here at Lakes Pen, St Catherine to mark a significant expansion of Jamaica's manufacturing…

Keynote Address by Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP, Prime Minister of Jamaica at the JSE 21st Regional Investments & Capital Markets Conference On January 20, 2026 ---------------------------------------------------------------   Let me repeat my Happy New Year greeting and best wishes for healthy, happy, productive, wealthy, peaceful, and of course, prosperous 2026. Let me give commendations to the Dinthill choir. Clearly there is a vast reserve of talent in the country and Dinthill is one of those fields that we will have to tap for our talent in oil. Yes, there are some of you who thought that I would've been knocked down in the last boxing match. I got a few punches but I'm still standing strong and I'm here with you today. This would be, maybe about my 11th time presenting at this conference, and it is always a pleasure. It is indeed what I call a calendar event. They don't ask me, Prime Minister, are you going to attend this, they just put it in the diary because they know that I will be attending. I give God thanks that I have been able to be with you for all these years, and again, my…

Remarks by Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP, Prime Minister of Jamaica at the Accompong Town Maroon Anniversary Celebration on January 6, 2026 -------------------------------------------------------------------------   My presentation to you today will be brief because the weather and the circumstances. Let me commend the council for holding the event even after the disaster; that you were able to do it is commendable, and I personally congratulate you. I want to commend all the attendees of the event, particularly those who stood huddled in the rain to view the performances and hear the presentations. It warmed my heart, and it showed your commitment. Now, there are several themes that have been echoed from this stage, one of them is sovereignty. Sovereignty is the right of a people to own and decide on their land and their resources, to make their laws and to enforce them. All of you here are part of the Jamaican sovereignty. You are part of Jamaica, and you are entitled to the protection resources of the state of Jamaica, so I stand here as your Prime Minister. I am obligated to you. I report to you. You are the ones who elect and decide on…

Remarks by Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP, Prime Minister of Jamaica at the Handing Over of packages to Accompong Town Primary School on January 6, 2026 -----------------------------------------------------------------------   Thank you, ministers. The last time I was here, I witnessed a scene of utter devastation of houses, of schools, of community property, not to mention the Cockpit Country which surrounds this area. Thankfully on my return a few weeks after, the Cockpit Country is showing signs of great resilience, it is green again, it's growing and flourishing, and the community spirit is high because restoration work has begun. I have myself witnessed roofs restored, houses restored, and it is clear that the community is very actively a part of the restoration effort. As it relates to schools, I am particularly pleased because this school has been restored. We have supported it with a generator, with Starlink, and now it is getting more connectivity to assist with remote learning. But more importantly, we have given more furniture to the school and other equipment to enhance the learning experience. There is another school, a basic school in the area, which we are now in the process of repairing and…

We give God thanks for sparing us to see 2026, and we pause to remember the lives lost to Hurricane Melissa, which is the third most powerful hurricane ever recorded globally, and the most destructive storm ever to strike Jamaica. As we reflect on this moment, we do so with gratitude, with grief, and with a renewed sense of purpose. In the 65 years since 1960, the Atlantic has produced 799 recorded storms. Remarkably, one quarter of them, 201, occurred in just the last decade. Of the 34 Category 5 hurricanes recorded since 1960, 14 have occurred since 2015. And every year since then, Jamaica has been impacted by a weather- or climate‑related event: unseasonal rains, flooding, tropical storms, major hurricanes, and, on the other extreme, severe drought and record‑breaking heat. The climate is changing. Our oceans are warming. Weather events are becoming more frequent, more intense, and more destructive. A “once‑in‑50‑years” event now seems to happen every five. No one expected Jamaica to be hit by Hurricane Beryl in 2024 and then by Hurricane Melissa in 2025. But this is the new global reality. And climate is only one dimension of the uncertainty we face. The global order is…