GG Urges Jamaicans to Stand for Principles and Values

Jamaicans are being urged to stand for principles and values in order for Jamaica to achieve peace and prosperity.

This call comes from the Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Honourable Sir Patrick Allen, who said that “the shackles of crime, violence, child abuse, corruption, selfishness, greed, mediocrity and negativity that have held us back must be shattered.”

In his address, read by Custos of St. Catherine, Hon. Jeffrey McKenzie, at the Emancipation and Independence Thanksgiving Church Service, held on July 26 at the St. Jago De La Vega Cathedral in Spanish Town, the Governor-General said Jamaica must overcome tribalism of every type and “unite our best intellect and effort to build a prosperous and peaceful nation.”

“Let us firmly commit to the cause of justice and social equity, so that together we shall deal effectively with the challenges which have conspired to rob us of our progress as we desire. Let us be long distance runners on a determined path to use what is right with Jamaica to fix what is wrong with Jamaica,” he said.

Guest preacher and Senior Pastor of the Portmore Holiness Christian Church, Bishop Dr. Alvin Bailey, called on citizens to promote national pride and to refrain from destroying the environment.

“I believe that we are to be diligent to stop the slash and burning. We are to stop polluting our coastline and stop the throwing of boxes through the windows of our cars. We must have a sense of national pride in protecting our environment,” he emphasized.

Reflecting on the theme for this year’s Emancipation and Independence celebrations, ‘Proud and Free…Jamaica 53’, Bishop Bailey called on citizens not to hurl statements of doom, but “to enunciate visions of possibilities that will bring hope and prosperity to our island.”

The service was organized by the Committee for the Promotion of National Religious Services, in collaboration with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).