Prime Minister Thanks Jamaicans Overseas for Supporting the Country’s Growth and Development

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has thanked members of the diaspora for their continued role in Jamaica’s growth and development.

Addressing the 10th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James on Tuesday (June 18), Prime Minister Holness expressed gratitude for their unwavering loyalty and commitment to Jamaica.

“Thank you for choosing Jamaica. I don’t take it for granted that you would pay your way, put other things off, make plans [and] come to this Conference… it does mean a lot to your Government.

“Your presence here is a clear testament to the decision to broaden the scope of diaspora engagement to nontraditional areas. It also speaks volumes about your unwavering loyalty and commitment to our beloved Jamaica. Your conference theme, ‘United for Jamaica’s Transformation: Fostering Peace, Productivity and Youth Empowerment’, perfectly captures the spirit and ambition of our journey,” he said.

Mr. Holness noted that the efforts to transform Jamaica are yielding positive results, citing projects reflecting these outcomes in the areas of the economy and fiscal management, healthcare, national security, unemployment and training, public-sector transformation and productivity.

“Despite the challenges that we have, we are also here to celebrate. Our efforts of transforming our country have yielded results; our efforts, your efforts, your contribution, your voice in holding government to account, in informing your relatives here so that they participate in the political economy, your efforts have yielded results,” the Prime Minister declared.

He encouraged diasporans to continue working together for Jamaica’s continued development.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said Jamaica has now experienced 12 consecutive quarters of economic growth since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is worth recalling that prior to the pandemic, we experienced 20 consecutive quarters of economic growth, and this was the longest unbroken period of economic expansion since our Independence.

“The economic growth that we are experiencing – one, two and three per cent – is not the economic growth that we want; we want four, five, six, seven, eight per cent economic growth. But let us reflect on what our economic growth experience was –sometimes it went up; most times it went down… [and] not just that, [it was] negative [and] for several decades unstable. What has happened in the last decade [is] we have seen stability in our economy,” Mr. Holness told the delegates.

He pointed out that Jamaica’s economic growth is better than it has ever been in the country’s history, adding that sustained expansion and stability are critical for development.

The Prime Minister further highlighted the country’s record low 4.2 unemployment rate, noting that “since 2016, we have created over 156,000 jobs”.

“The challenge that we have now [is]… and we hear the criticisms [that] ‘these are low-paying jobs, we need high paying jobs’… [and] we agree with you… but would you rather have no job?

“So, it’s a stepping stone; it’s a building process. So the first thing is to get all our people into employment and then… we are going to train them while they are in employment so that they can upskill, as is being done in the societies and countries that many of you are coming from in the diaspora,” he said.

Mr. Holness also noted that Jamaica’s debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio has fallen to 72 per cent.

“We have basically cut it in half,” he said, while acknowledging the critical players across successive administrations who have been integral to the process.

“This is a Jamaica achievement. We took the baton and we institutionalised it,” the Prime Minister pointed out, adding that the institutionalisation of good fiscal management is paramount to the process.

Mr. Holness further disclosed that for fiscal year 2022/23, the country recorded a balance-of-payment surplus on the national current account of US$352.4 million, pointing out that “the last time Jamaica had a current account surplus was in 1966”.

Additionally, he said Jamaica’s Net International Reserves (NIR) reached a record high US$5.1 billion in March 2024, pointing out that these resources act, among other things, as protection for foreign exchange rates.

“I want to recognise and place on record the appreciation of the Government for the tremendous support and contribution of the diaspora. When tourism earnings fell off [and] went down to literally zero, it was the members of the diaspora who shared their income with their Jamaican families,” Prime Minister Holness said.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding, said the support and contributions of Jamaicans in the diaspora are critical to the country.

“We are a migratory people and we always have been; and as it stands today, the Jamaicans living abroad constitute more or less similar number to those living on the rock itself. Our diaspora and the support of our diaspora are absolutely critical to our survival as a nation. They are the largest provider of foreign exchange to our country.

“They support our balance of payments, they support the value of our currency and, indeed, during the pandemic when the other critical source of foreign exchange, the tourism industry, basically shut down, Jamaica was able to get through it without any balance of payments or exchange rate crisis because of the stepping up of our diasporans in support of our country,” he said.

Mr. Golding added that the resources sent here directly benefit and impact the lives of Jamaicans in several areas, including health and education