Honourable Members,
This year is our 60th year of Independence. As we celebrate, let us honour the contributions and heroic sacrifices of those who laid the foundation on which we continue to build.
Our 60 years of political independence have had many challenges, but Jamaica remains a strong, resilient, democratic and free nation, with huge potential and opportunities to build our peace and prosperity.
Jamaica has made significant strides in key measures of human development, in health, shelter, social protection, education, infrastructure, and public administration, since our Independence.
Internationally, Jamaica is a respected voice in the community of nations and we have a strong brand and place in popular culture. One area of national success over the past decade, is the significant progress made in strengthening the management of our economy and entrenching macro-economic stability through a series of unprecedented legislative and institutional reforms.
Our ability to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst global health and economic crisis in 100 years, is the most tangible evidence of Jamaica’s resilience and how far we have come in our quest for economic independence.
As we move into the next phase of our journey as an independent nation, our Government is already laying the foundation, to build a Jamaica of Peace, Opportunity and Prosperity.
