Today, we celebrate our 59th anniversary as an independent nation, standing tall among the community of nations across the World. We Jamaicans have made our impact on the world. Our culture is an international trend-setter, increasingly influential due to its magnetic appeal. The many manifestations of our culture – be it our music, dance, food, artistic imagery, language, and expressions...

Greetings Jamaica! This is our “emancipendence” week, when we celebrate two significant milestones in our nation’s history – Emancipation Day on August 1st and Independence Day on August 6th. For a short period after our Independence, we stopped celebrating Emancipation Day as a separate holiday. Thankfully, in 1997 Prime Minister PJ Patterson fittingly re-established Emancipation Day as an official national...

Good day my fellow Jamaicans. I greet you well. Labour Day is normally a time when we come together in voluntary work for the betterment of our communities. However, for the second year in a row, the global COVID-19 pandemic has touched almost all aspects our lives. So this Labour Day we are being asked to "Tan a Wi Yard"...

My fellow Jamaicans at home and in the diaspora, I warmly greet you. Our celebration of National Heroes Day this year is unique. We continue to deal with the impact the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our country. So many of you are dealing with the illness or death of family and friends Too many of...

As we say goodbye to 2018 and welcome 2019, first of all we give thanks to God Almighty for his many blessings which have sustained us all during the past year. All of us should be grateful that Jamaica was spared any direct hit from hurricanes this past year. At another level, we can all rejoice in the historic achievement...

My fellow Jamaicans, As we celebrate the 56th anniversary of our Independence, we can all take pride in Jamaica’s achievements. Our scholars, professionals, artists, athletes, workers, farmers, business people and many others have all contributed to the prestige that Jamaica has enjoyed in the international community and our dynamic presence on the global cultural scene is world-renown. At another level,...

Mr Speaker, We all gain membership in this Honourable House through the support and very often the sacrifices of others. Let me express my own gratitude to my constituents in East Central St Andrew who have have kept me as their Member of Parliament for six consecutive terms. They are represented here today by Councillors Nenna Wilson and Dennis Gordon,...

Mr. Speaker, My heart is overflowing with gratitude to my Maker for the opportunity to rise once again to contribute to a budget debate. I first entered this Honourable House in December 1976 after the historic General Elections of that year. I remain very grateful for the many blessings which have sustained me over the years. There is no greater...