Theme: “Be Proud. Be Bold: In the Black, Green and Gold”
My Fellow Jamaicans, today, we mark 63 years since our beloved country declared our independence to the world, raised our glorious black, green and gold flag for the first time and declared that this land, our land, would be home to a nation of free people, charting our own destiny with pride and purpose.
Our forebears rejected the notion that the affairs of Jamaicans must be dictated by others. They chose instead the harder path: to stand on our own, to chart our own future, and to build a society grounded in our own image and aspirations.
In that spirit, the theme for this year’s Independence celebration, “Be Proud. Be Bold. In the Black, Green and Gold”, calls us to boldly commemorate our freedom, and proudly recommit ourselves to the values that must shape our future.
Let us be proud of our progress, in macroeconomic stability, record employment, resilient growth, reduction in crime, reduction in poverty and increased national confidence. But let us also be bold in confronting what still holds us back, indiscipline, social inequities, and low productivity. There is more work to do to build a Jamaica that lives up to the promise of 1962.
At 63 years young, Jamaica is still writing its story. We have come far, but our best chapters lie ahead. Independence is not a gift. It is a responsibility, a daily discipline. The strength of a nation lies not only in the capabilities of its government but also of its people, to work, build, and yes – sacrifice for the future of their families and communities.
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