Speeches by the Prime Minister

Thank you very much, master of ceremonies for your kind words of introduction. Let me acknowledge the Minister of Local Government, your minister, Desmond McKenzie, who has served you well for a very, very long time. Let me acknowledge your Member of Parliament who has also served you very well for a very, very long time. Bobby Montague and your mayor, who has served you particularly well for also a very long time, and I've used the term long time not to say that by any means they are coming to the end, no. What I am saying is that they have garnered so much experience, so much understanding that they have developed such broad and deep skill sets that they are able to serve you for even longer to come. There are two programmes of the government to treat with issues of social housing. One programme, it's the new Social Housing Programme, which you see me almost every week presenting to beneficiaries new housing solutions constructed for them. And then there is the Indigent Housing Programme which is part of the responsibility of the Ministry of Local Government to assist persons who have been established as poor and who…

Thank you very much Garth. Allow me to acknowledge our Minister of Education, Fayval Williams, and, allow me as well to express a few thoughts on the co-founders of Quantas. Now, when Adrian took the stage and he started to pace, it reminded me of a lecturer in a classroom and he delivered probably one of the best explanations I have heard so far of the actions of the FEDS in the United States, I have not heard a better explanation. And so immediately I said, you know, I need to participate in whatever offerings they have and then I remember that I don't have much with which to participate but that was how good he was. And I'm certain based upon the response that many of you thought so as well, that clearly Adrian knows the financial craft very well and that is usually a good sign and a good basis on which to make judgment and determination regarding these financial institutions. And I was, before taking the stage, making the point to both Adrian and Jackie that they come from a good school. They are alumni of one of our oldest banks, Scotia Bank and therefore you would…

It is always good to greet you, to greet the new year with optimism, with hope, with gratitude, with renewed faith. My grandmother, when I would bid her goodbye, I used to have to stay with her when my mother went to work and then when she came to pick me up, I would say goodbye grandma, see you tomorrow and she would say, "see you tomorrow if life spare". How many of your grandparents used to say that to you? I don't hear it being said that much these days, "if life spare" and as a youngster, I always wondered what did she mean by that because when you are young, life is an eternity. It will never end. It is almost guaranteed that you'll see tomorrow but it was also an expression of who we were as a people, of how we respected life, that it was a gift from God to us and that we must appreciate it. We must be thankful for it, and that every moment of life is precious. So, when we say to each other, happy New Year, we could very well say a happy new hour, a happy new day; an expression…

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…