Merriment is a part of the Christmas Season. It is a happy time as we celebrate the birth of Christ. Now, ironically Jesus was born in a time of great hardship, and he came into the world in humble shelter, a stable. As I speak, I know there are many Jamaicans without shelter and experiencing hardship as a result of...

My fellow Jamaicans, A blessed Christmas to you all. Christmas in Jamaica is a joyful season of delightful sounds, colours, smells and tastes. It has a special pace of living, with unique national and family traditions. From the earliest morning when sorrel starts brewing, to the laughter that fills our yards, to the simple act of checking on a neighbour,...

Madam Speaker, Members of this Honourable House, On Tuesday, October 28, Jamaica endured one of the most punishing natural disasters in our modern history. Hurricane Melissa made landfall near New Hope in Westmoreland as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 185 mph and a minimum central pressure of 892 millibars. Madam Speaker, experts have described Melissa as being...

My fellow Jamaicans, on this Heroes’ Day, we stand as one people - proud and free - to celebrate the spirit that built our great nation. Ours is a story written in courage and conviction, a heritage born of struggle, guided by faith, and carried forward by generations of Jamaicans who refused to give up on the promise of this...

On National Heroes Day we celebrate and express gratitude to our six national heroes and heroine who transformed struggle into triumph and dreams into nationhood. Through their courage and sacrifice, they laid the foundation for a Jamaica where our aspiration is for freedom rooted in justice, progress forged in unity, and leadership grounded in service. These are the towering figures...

Jamaica’s 63rd Anniversary of Independence. Theme: “Be Proud. Be Bold. In The Black, Green And Gold.”   My fellow Jamaicans at home and across the Diaspora, I greet you warmly. As we mark the 63rd anniversary of our Independence, we pause to give thanks to Almighty God—for His continued guidance, for the journey we have travelled, and for the resilience,...

Theme: “Be Proud. Be Bold: In the Black, Green and Gold”   My Fellow Jamaicans, today, we mark 63 years since our beloved country declared our independence to the world, raised our glorious black, green and gold flag for the first time and declared that this land, our land, would be home to a nation of free people, charting our...

My fellow Jamaicans, 63 years ago, our island home, Jamaica, dared to be bold. On August 6, 1962, Jamaica raised its flag for the first time and declared to the world that we would chart our own course and write our own history. Our journey began long before that (1962). For centuries, Jamaica had been shackled by slavery and under...