My fellow Jamaicans,
63 years ago, our island home, Jamaica, dared to be bold. On August 6, 1962, Jamaica raised its flag for the first time and declared to the world that we would chart our own course and write our own history.
Our journey began long before that (1962). For centuries, Jamaica had been shackled by slavery and under colonial domination – stripping our people of their freedom, language, and culture. Yet our people held on to their dignity, their resistance, and their dream of liberation. From the Maroons who waged guerrilla war against British forces, to the uprisings led by courageous figures like Takyi, Sam Sharpe and Paul Bogle, the spirit of freedom and independence burned in our hearts long before it was recognised by law.
Jamaica’s independence, therefore, was not given – it was earned. It was carved out of struggle, sacrifice, and the unrelenting belief that Jamaicans would one day govern ourselves and define our own destiny. It is this legacy of courage and resilience that we honour with national pride each year on August 6th.
Jamaicans are an extraordinary people whose resilience, creativity and self-belief have left an indelible mark on the world. Ours is the unbreakable spirit of a people determined to build a future on a foundation of freedom, justice and unity.
These foundational values of our nation must be nurtured and supported by progressive policies that uplift our people and strengthen our economy, so that we achieve our destiny of greatness.
We cannot accept a stagnant economy in which national productivity has fallen by over 20% since 2007, where the annual rate of economic growth trudges along at 1%, where foreign direct investment is today less than one-third of where it was in 2016, where the unemployment statistics hide the reality of low wage jobs while our people struggle to survive the high cost of living, and where the poverty statistics hide the suffering of 55% of our people who are enduring moderate to severe food insecurity.
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