Prime Minister Andrew Holness last night engaged Jamaicans living in New York City in the United States of America. —
Prime Minister Andrew Holness last night reassured Jamaicans living in New York City in the United States of America, that the strategies in place to deal with the island’s crime issue are bearing fruit.
The prime minister, who is in New York to attend and participate in the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), met with the Diaspora in keeping with his mission to update Jamaicans overseas and discuss matters involving Jamaica.
“I want to assure you that the Government has put in place several crime-fighting strategies but more than that we have put in place several national security strategies that are all working to improve the safety and security of Jamaicans. It is not something that is going to change overnight; it will not change by the snap of a finger or the flip of a switch. It will take some time to return Jamaica to the point where our murder rate was below 500 murders per year,” Holness was quoted as saying in a release from the Office of the Prime Minister.
He further explained that the state of public emergency (SOE) in sections of Jamaica is not a “panic” reaction but a strategic measure to restore confidence in the state.
“Normally when people hear SOE, immediately there is a state of panic but in utiliZing the state of emergency we’ve also done something to restore trust and confidence and faith in the Jamaican state because for the first time people see that the Jamaican state can use force without abuse,” said Holness.
Meanwhile, he also assured that the Government is committed to ensuring that Jamaica remains attractive for investment opportunities, which includes “breaking the eco-system of crime that has taken over many of our communities in Jamaica”.
“As Jamaicans thinking about your country, you can feel proud to know that the security forces that come from the people are acting in the defense of the people and it will take some time for the citizens to acknowledge this point but once the acknowledgement is done, then you have a greater level of information sharing, a greater level of trust and once that happens the state becomes stronger and the dons become illegitimate,” said the prime minister.
Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dr Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health and Senator Matthew Samuda, as well as Trudy Deans, Consul General to New York were also in attendance at the meeting.
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