Rekindle Compassion, Trust and Love – PM

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, is urging Jamaicans to rekindle the compassion, trust and love toward each other that generations before have demonstrated.

“It is the social capital of trust in each other and in our institutions that enables us to work together to create secure and prosperous communities. It is by living the core values of respect and tolerance that we build a society that respects the rights of all,” Mrs. Simpson Miller said. 

The Prime Minister was making her contribution to the 2012/13 budget debate on June 5 in the House of Representatives.

Mrs. Simpson Miller further stated that it is by upholding the values of honesty and truthfulness that “we achieve accountability and transparency in governance, and through commitment to the values of discipline and punctuality that we achieve excellence and international competitiveness."

“I want respect and trust to be a principal defining characteristic of my administration.  We want to go further and build trust as a national feature of our life as a people. We want that trust to embrace all of Jamaica as we reshape the value system in charting our path for the next 50 years,” Mrs. Simpson Miller said.

She added that the government aims to provide a blend of opportunity and respect out of which it can build the hope and strengthen the trust.

“Trust in our institutions is an absolute imperative as we celebrate the past and look to the future. The administration, which I lead, has committed itself to transparency and to leading by example,” the Prime Minister stated. 

She also noted that the government intends to follow through on legislation, which will strengthen the anti-corruption mechanisms in the protection of public finances and in creating a level playing field for all. 

“What is required is an attitudinal shift and radical changes in behaviour.  Part of our emphasis on core values is how we treat with our most vulnerable in the society including our children, our elderly, and persons with disabilities,” Mrs. Simpson Miller said.

By Latonya Linton, JIS Reporter