Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness addresses South Florida Jamaica at Jamaican-American Bar Association gala.
Jamaica’s ninth Prime Minister, Andrew M. Holness, came to South Florida over the weekend with a strong message for nationals here – get involved in the political process of your adopted land.
The PM, who was the guest speaker at the10th annual awards gala of the Jamaican-American Bar Association in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Nov. 18, 2017, urged Jamaicans in the South Florida Diaspora and across the USA to ensure they “regularize themselves in the country in which you choose to live,” and ensure they vote and get involved in the political process in their adopted homelands.
He said having the Jamaican Diaspora as a power base, especially in the U.S., would allow for many issues of concern to Jamaica to be addressed, including derisking. “ We need to have our people in all spheres of influence in the world…that is how we are going to ensure we move Jamaica from poverty to prosperity.”
RECONFIGURING THE CONSTITUTION
Holness, answering a challenge thrown out by Don James, President of the south-east chapter of JABA, said his Jamaica Labour Party, (JLP), administration “intends to pursue” the reconfiguration of the country’s constitution to allow nationals in its Diaspora to vote or run for office.
The PM said the move would be a “progressive step” and reiterated, as he has since 2015, that he likes the French election model which allows nationals overseas to vote but their ballots are registered for only one constituency in France, and not across all constituencies, which would then have an impact on the outcome of the election.
As he did before he took office, PM Holness explained that the Diaspora vote, under a reconfigured constitution, would mean that Jamaicans abroad would have a representative in Jamaica’s Parliament who they can vote for.
Jamaicans currently living in the US and who are naturalized US citizens cannot run for office in Jamaica but can vote if they are resident there at least six months, under the current constitution.
LOCAL ISSUES
The PM also brought nationals up to date on the progress he said his government has made on many fronts to date including the creation of 60,000 jobs recently; being number one in the Caribbean on the ease of Doing Business Rankings and boosting consumer confidence.
He touched only briefly on the hot button issue of crime and violence, saying that violence in the country is “almost cultural” and seems to be used over diplomacy to settle conflicts. He also insisted that more can be done to curb the flow of weapons from the U.S. to Jamaica but admitted that with the JLP administration setting aside 7 percent of GDP to repay the country’s debt, there is less money to spend on education and fighting crime and corruption.
The PM also touted the National Identification System, (NIDS), legislation, saying the measure will also allow nationals in the Diaspora to apply for a national ID card to do business in Jamaica.
JABA AWARDS
Prime Minister Holness was presented the keys to the city of Broward County by Commissioner Dale Holness and was also awarded the ‘Distinguished Leadership Award’ by JABA.
Other top JABA awardees included City of Miramar Commissioner, Maxwell Chambers, who was presented with the Public Service Award;
Judge Norman Hemmings, who was presented with the Distinguished Judiciary Officer Award; Desmond and Catherine Malcolm, who were presented with the Distinguished Community Service Award and attorney Latoya Martells, who was presented with the JABA Attorney Award.
Several local law students also received scholarships from JABA members and sponsors.
Correction: An earlier version of this article quoted Prime Minister Holness as saying “We need to have our people in all spheres of influence in the world…that is how we are going to ensure we move Jamaica from prosperity to poverty.”” The quote has since been corrected.
