Holness opens Jamaica Diaspora Conference 2026 with call for efficiency and recovery push

Prime Minister Andrew Holness delivered the ceremonial opening address at the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference 2026, setting out Jamaica’s economic standing, hurricane recovery priorities, and a push for greater national efficiency.

Holness said foreign exchange reserves have reached their highest levels on record. He noted that the Minister of Finance describes those holdings as the country’s “rent money,” the buffer that allows Jamaica to meet its import needs. After Hurricane Melissa, all three major international credit rating agencies reaffirmed Jamaica’s standing, with Moody’s upgrading the rating. Holness said that credibility helped Jamaica mobilise US$6 billion in reconstruction financing, but stressed that families still in distress after the storm must be returned to economic independence as quickly as possible.

Addressing diaspora members, he argued Jamaica needs a cultural shift on efficiency and productivity. He recalled a businessman telling him, “Prime Minister, you’re talking to only a certain level of people,” and said overseas Jamaicans living in time-bound societies should help guide conversations at home about accountability and faster ways of doing business. He repeated remarks made to the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce that “Jamaica could become like Dubai or Singapore,” but said that would require moving from victimhood to agency and from a consumer mindset to one of production and innovation.

Holness highlighted the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority, led by Ambassador Major General Tony Anderson, and its FAST programme—Facilitated Acceleration of Strategic Transformation—for private projects of US$15 million or more that align with the reconstruction framework. He said a JAMPRO oversight board would be announced and staffing would be completed within about three months.

On public safety, he cited homicide declines of 8% in 2023, 19% in 2024, 42% in 2025, and a further 22.5% through May 2026, for a combined 67% drop over four years. He said the Jamaica Constabulary Force has reached its established strength of more than 14,000 officers, with the national security budget nearly tripled over the past decade, and that the government aims to bring the murder rate down to the regional average of 15 per 100,000.

Holness also pointed to healthcare investments under NARA, including reconstruction at Kingston Public Hospital and the upcoming opening of the refurbished Cornwall Regional Hospital and the Northwest Children and Adolescent Hospital in Montego Bay. He encouraged diaspora members to invest in Jamaica’s expanding private housing market while the National Housing Trust focuses on low-income and affordable homes.