Speeches by the Prime Minister

Statement  By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP, DLP At the  Plenary Session of the UN's Summit of the Future On September 22, 2024 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr President, Jamaica welcomes the convening of the Summit of the Future. We commend the Co-Facilitators of the Pact of the Future, the Declaration on Future Generations and the Global Digital Compact for their hard work. This Summit and the Pact, together embody renewed hope for advancing a common vision on leveraging multilateralism to create a dynamic framework within which our future generations will thrive. Jamaica is proud to have contributed to this historic process, particularly as Co-Facilitator for the Declaration on Future Generations. Mr President, The Pact aptly reaffirms the importance of achieving the SDGs.  The SDG Summit in 2023 exposed the lack of progress towards SDG implementation, including the reality that Small Island Developing States are particularly off track to meet them. With many still recovering from the pandemic, at the heart of this challenge, and one that must be addressed with urgency, is the glaring SDG financing gap amounting to USD2.5 to USD4 trillion dollars annually. As the Pact affirms, We must redouble our efforts to address global poverty,…

Statement  By Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP, DLP At the  Summit of the Future Action Days Opening Ceremony General Assembly Hall, UNHQ On September 21, 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Salutations Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency António Guterres Excellencies and distinguished delegates Representatives of the United Nations, civil society, youth, Major Groups and Other Stakeholders It is a distinct honour to join you this morning in building the momentum towards the Summit of the Future, and to formally commence the discussions on Future Generations. Allow me to congratulate and commend all of you for your tremendous efforts over these past few years to ensure the success of this Summit. Jamaica is proud to have co-facilitated the intergovernmental process for the Declaration on Future Generations, and I take this opportunity to express my appreciation to our co-facilitator, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for their excellent collaboration during the challenging process. I would also like to thank the Secretary General and his team for the support provided to our respective teams during the negotiations and consultations. The inclusivity of the Summit of the Future and its preceding Action Days, as well as the preparatory processes leading up to this…

Special Post Cabinet Press Briefing At Jamaica House, Banquet Hall On September 10, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning, everyone. I didn't get to hear what Minister Dana Morris Dixon said. Did she say that I can't comment? Well, I do take note of the tabling of reports. I believe one of them has to do with my statutory declarations. I'm pleased that they are now before the Parliament, and I am equally anxious to have them tabled so that I can address them publicly but that is not the purpose of my visits with you today. My visits are becoming more frequent. I have two matters to discuss with you. The first has to do with the announcement of a committee to review our disaster risk management processes. As Jamaica continues to navigate the increasing challenges posed by both natural and man-made disasters, we must commit ourselves to a pathway of resilience. In recent years, the intensity and frequency of such events have grown. For Jamaica, this means that we must stand ready to respond swiftly and effectively to safeguard lives and livelihoods and our critical infrastructure. The most recent reminder of our vulnerability came with hurricane Beryl in July 2024. …

The Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica Address to 1st Form Students At Jamaica College On September 3, 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the next 10 minutes, I will take the mantle of principal. Let me acknowledge the Chairman and the Board of Jamaica College. I am supported here today by Minister Vaz and Minister Williams and indeed, my presence here was meant to be a surprise and I'm happy to say that we did surprise you.  It's a good surprise. Now,  it was not so long ago that I too was making preparations with my mother to go back to school and as I stood this morning at the transportation centre in Half Way Tree observing parents moving about with their children, and just looking at their faces, I could tell there is a sense of pride; my child is going to school, he's going to a school that I wanted him to go to or she's going to her first day in primary school but I could also see  that sense  of lingering concern. The challenge is to get our children back to school.  For some, it's the cost of the uniform and books. For…

Address By The Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At Press Conference, Cherry Tree Lane, Clarendon On August 14, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Good morning, everyone. The brutal killing of 8 innocent Jamaicans which has prompted the government to mobilize all its resources to respond is something that I make a priority and all our security forces, the JCF, JDF, MOCA, our intelligence services; all our security forces have been mobilized in this regard. The deputy prime minister has just given an update on the declaration of a State of Public Emergency for the parish of Clarendon. This is as a result of our analysis of the intelligence available and the very high probability. Indeed, I would go as far as to say, even though it was not said by Acting Commissioner Bailey, attempts at retaliation and reprisals.  As Minister Chang pointed out that when incidents like these have occurred in the past, when you take the accumulated murders that are connected to the initial event, you end up in tens and twenties and thirties, so we are very careful in ensuring that this incident does not spark a string of additional murders and therefore the…

Remarks By The Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Press Conference on Brutal Murders in Cherry Tree Lane, Clarendon On August 12, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Good morning, everyone. It is indeed a sad day for all Jamaica. First, let me begin by extending my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those whose lives were brutally snuffed out in this dastardly incident. I feel the pain and share the distress of the families, the loved ones, the communities and indeed the entire Jamaica, and I also pray for the recovery of those who were injured. I stand here today with firm resolve that everyone, and I mean everyone, who was in any way involved in this incident will be brought to justice.  I want to make that absolutely clear. The incident is one which cannot be allowed to stand in any way, lest it become the normal routine of criminals. It is a criminal act.  It is against our laws.  It is an attack on the public order, but I want you to consider for a moment that it goes beyond the victims, it goes beyond the community in which it was…

Keynote Remarks By The Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At the Official Launch of the Rebuild Jamaica Initiative August 5, 2024 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you, Fae.  The Government of Jamaica has decided to make cash payments as grants to persons whose houses were damaged by Hurricane Ivan.  Instead of using the voucher system, which was previously announced, Minister of Water and Housing Donald Buchanan made a disclosure in the House of Representatives yesterday, October  12th, during his updates on the programme of relief and national reconstruction. Mr Buchanan told the House that having decided on the quantum of assistance for affected persons, our next challenge was to decide on a system of distribution which would ensure as far as possible that the funds allocated were used for the purpose intended. He said on closer examination and with discussions, it was agreed that the voucher system method of payment was not adequate given the present circumstances.  He went on to say while there was the perception that the voucher system provided guarantees against corruption, this had not been the experience since in the past there had been occasions where beneficiaries and suppliers had collaborated to substitute…

Main Address By The Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial, and Food Show On August 6, 2024 _______________________________________ It is always a pleasure to address our farmers at Denbigh. It is our Independence Day, it's a special day for Jamaica.  We are now  62  years old. Denbigh is a little bit older at 70. The two things are connected because you can't really say that you're independent if you can't feed yourself so our farmers are critical to our independence. In the 70s  we used to use a term called self-reliance. How many of you remember that? Self-reliance, we must rely on our own resources to satisfy our needs. Indeed, self-reliance was a buzzword at that time. Mark Golding would not know that. I'm just teasing the leader of the opposition. Indeed, it was a term championed by Michael Manley.  Yes, sir, I was in short pants then but my father who is still a farmer, would always talk about this self-reliance so from very early in my life I realized the connection between our independence as a people, our pride, our ability to stand on our own, that it is…

Keynote Address By The Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP Prime Minister of Jamaica At Land Title Handover Ceremony – Clifton St Catherine July 30, 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you very much, Madam Master of Ceremonies, for your masterful conduct of the ceremony so far. Clifton is a special place for me. Clifton is an example, Member of Parliament Jackson, of the energy and enterprise of the Jamaican people. I am here today to support that energy and enterprise. Yes, I am prime minister of Jamaica, but I am also the minister of housing and I administer the housing portfolio directly. I spent a lot of time dealing with housing policy, all the issues regarding land settlement, development of communities, social housing, spend quite a bit of time with the private sector trying to ensure that the private sector is a powerful engine of growth and development in housing in Jamaica.  I'm sure you will all agree that housing is expanding rapidly in Jamaica, particularly in the private housing market. We have some developers with us here today and we have developed the Bernard Lodge master plan, which will facilitate the development of private housing.  We have done quite a…