I am acutely aware that some of our critical institutions, more so schools, could be impacted by the ongoing dry period that the island continues to experience, especially at the opening of the new school term. Our most recent information from the Meteorological Service is that the Southern parishes of St. Elizabeth, Manchester, Clarendon, St. Catherine and Kingston and St....

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I offer best wishes to the people of Jamaica on the occasion of your 52nd anniversary of independence. The United States and Jamaica share an important and thriving partnership through our mutual commitment to strong democratic governance. Our collaboration in the areas of climate change, health, security, and...

The current National Security Policy (NSP) identified, like many reports over the past decade, that crime and corruption are the principal obstacles to Jamaica’s growth and development. The NSP also recognised a common misconception that the way to make progress against organised crime is to disrupt specific forms of criminal activity e.g. narcotics trafficking. However, that traditional approach does not...

My Fellow Jamaicans, If somehow we could relive that First of August, 1838  -  that dawn of “Full Freedom”, perhaps our celebration today would be of a different nature. Yes, there would still be the joy which must come with the celebration of the destruction of the shackles of slavery. There would still be the hopefulness for the better tomorrow...

I greet you, my fellow Jamaicans, on this “August Morning” – the 176th anniversary of our emancipation from enslavement. It is also the year in which we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League by our icons, Marcus Mosiah Garvey and Amy Ashwood Garvey. While we in Jamaica are celebrating...

My fellow Jamaicans: Emancipation day, the 1st of August each year is a very important and momentous day in the archives of Jamaican history. It is the day when the system of chattel slavery ended by law in Jamaica and the process of building a society based on freedom, equals rights and justice began. Freedom was not free and neither did it...

On July 28th 2014, in the city of Port of Spain of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the first Japan CARICOM Summit was held with the participation of Prime Minister of Japan H.E. Mr. Shinzo ABE and the Leaders of the CARICOM Member States. The Member States of CARICOM uphold fundamental values such as freedom, respect for basic human...

Salutations: Drought Conditions As you are aware, Jamaica has been facing drought conditions for the past 3-4 months. We have been seeing the effects of this both on the ground and in the media. We have witnessed not only the impact of the loss due to the lack of rainfall but also the forest and farm fires which have resulted...