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Acknowledgements and ThanksMr. Speaker, it is indeed an honour to stand here this afternoon and give an account of my stewardship in this my third sectoral presentation as Minister of Water and Housing. I want to start by expressing my sincere gratitude to all those who have helped and supported me over the past year. I must first thank my...

The Prime Minister in his Budget presentation earlier this month spoke to the Government's concern about the escalating crime rate in the country. He indicated some of the measures being pursued to address the problem - strengthening the police force, fighting corruption, the use of technology, and strengthening the legal framework. Today, as Minister of National Security, I would like...

I. INTRODUCTION The title of this year's presentation "Building the Foundation for Jamaican Prosperity" was carefully and deliberately chosen to give the clearest indication of the Government's task at hand. A careful and dispassionate review of my presentation reveals the elements that are essential at this time and which constitute the building blocks of a foundation for Jamaican prosperity: Low...

Budget contextEvery government, in presenting its budget, desires to be able to do more and spend more. Budget debates traditionally provide the occasion for grand announcements of projects and programmes to address every possible need, satisfy every important segment of the population. For many people, that has come to be the standard by which a government is judged and a...

INTRODUCTION Mr. Speaker I address this Honourable House against the background of a global economic landscape which was characterized by the worst recession in recent times and the prospects of a recovery that at best leaves the world in a cloud of uncertainty. Indeed as we say in tourism 'the only certainty is uncertainty'. Mr. Speaker, it is fair to...

INTRODUCTIONMr. Speaker, the first quarter of this year has been a very busy period for the Ministry of Finance & the Public Service and all the economic agencies under its umbrella. We entered the year navigating uncharted waters as we set about completing negotiations with the IMF while at the same time designing a debt exchange programme that would not...

As we begin this new session of Parliament, we reflect on the legislative year just ended with cautious relief and renewed hope. It was a year in which the global crisis continued to bear down heavily on the economy. As the economy contracted, revenues fell below what was required to meet essential government expenditure. Despite exerting tight restraint on expenditure,...

Since the start of the year we have lost over 300 persons as a result of traffic collisions. This is a horrendous loss of human capital and I would like to use this opportunity to express my sincere condolences to every Jamaican family that lost someone due to traffic collisions since the start of the year. I know your pain...

Chronic diseases claim about 3 million lives around the world each year and low and middle income countries like Jamaica are primarily affected. This is why I am pleased to take this opportunity to put diabetes in the spotlight as one of the Chronic Non-Communicable diseases that we need to take more seriously. We in the Caribbean, collectively and individually...

Greetings from Jamaica, the land of the fastest human alive on planet earth. Today we celebrate history. We have witnessed the election of our first female Director-General and for the first time the Caribbean presides at the General Conference. As a fellow Caribbean State, I congratulate my colleague from The Bahamas. I also congratulate the Director-General designate for having shattered...

Mr. Speaker, on April 7, 2009 I tabled the Estimates of Expenditure for FY2009/10. Later that month, I addressed this Honourable House and spoke of the economic context existing at the time the Budget was presented. The global financial crisis was in high gear with full impact on the Jamaican economy. At that time, we had initial estimates of the...

I note with concern the statements made by both the Opposition Spokesman on Finance and the Leader of the Opposition, with regards to the recent Government Of Jamaica Team's visit to the International Monetary Fund(IMF) in Washington; and consider them to be mischievous and full of cheap political opportunism Here are the facts: 1. Last week Tuesday I informed Parliament...