Prudent Management Driving Jamaica’s Resilience and Sustainable Growth – PM Holness

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says Jamaica has achieved an unprecedented level of resilience and stability, the likes of which have never been seen in the nation’s history.

He attributed this remarkable progress to the prudent economic management of the current Administration.

Dr. Holness noted that this transformation has not only strengthened Jamaica’s ability to withstand external shocks, but has also laid the foundation for sustainable, long-term growth.

“For decades, our economy and… our society struggled… we had growth that was episodic. We had inflation crises, debt crises, foreign exchange crises, and leaped from crisis to crisis.
“However, in the last 10 years, something changed in our economy, something which the average Jamaican experienced but would not appreciate, and that is, Jamaica has developed something called stability,” he added.

The Prime Minister was addressing the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet, held on Sunday (March 29) at the Cardiff Hotel and Spa in Runaway Bay, St. Ann.

According to Dr. Holness, Jamaica has begun building a stable economic foundation that fosters predictability.

He emphasised that this stability has been vital for businesses and investors, as it creates an environment where long-term planning and investment decisions can be made with greater confidence.

“The beauty about stability is that it gives predictability. People who are in business like predictability, because they can plan and invest. This Administration has brought stability to Jamaica,” Dr. Holness stated.

Beyond stability, the Prime Minister highlighted resilience as a defining feature of the modern Jamaican economy, noting the nation’s ability to recover far more swiftly from major disruptions.

He pointed out that in earlier years, economic shocks—such as surging global oil prices or financial downturns—often plunged the country into recovery periods that stretched for as long as a decade.

“When struck by COVID-19… how many years did it take us to recover? Two years. When struck by Hurricane Beryl… how many quarters of growth did we lose? Two quarters of growth. [Having been struck] by the third most devastating hurricane in the world, Hurricane Melissa, the projection is that we will recover in two to three years. That’s a fundamentally different economy from the economy of 50 years ago,” Prime Minister Holness underscored.

For his part, President of the St. Ann Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Ransford Davidson, linked Jamaica’s broader macroeconomic achievements directly to the parish’s future prospects.

He highlighted several major infrastructure projects poised to transform St. Ann, including the upgrade of the Drax Hall corridor and the planned establishment of a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) school.

Dr. Davidson further noted that the Chamber has been steadily building its own momentum.

He reported that membership grew by more than 16 per cent in 2025, expanding the Chamber’s active base to approximately 170 businesses across sectors such as tourism, retail, real estate, professional services, and the global services industry.

The banquet was staged under the theme: ‘Garden of Excellence: Nurturing Growth in St. Ann’.

Several businesses from the parish were recognised with awards across categories, including social responsibility and impact, educational excellence, tourism, small business, and the prestigious Business of the Year.