Dear Editor,
Tuesday’s budget presentation by Prime Minister Andrew Holness was a refreshing one to hear. In fact, it was the best budget presentation in the series of contributions that we have had over the past two weeks, and he should be commended for at least motivating the minds of Jamaicans and perhaps his ministers and other members of parliament.
The prime minister’s two-and-a-half hour presentation was very intriguing and vibrant – I never once felt the need to sleep. I wanted to listen and listen some more. I was taken aback by the fact that he was so gracious to previous administrations and leaders of the country. That is rare!
Usually prime ministers would have taken the opportunity to lash the previous Administration and to push up their chest at the ‘achievements’ of their Government. Bur what Mr Holness did demonstrated maturity in our democracy and I was so pleased to hear him.
What we heard was a prime minister in command of the issues. Mr Holness developed the points he made as he flipped through the pages of his presentation. That again was a rare feature to me and I am happy he did, because people who did not fully understand what he had read from the prepared text could benefit from further explanation.
I really appreciate the number of housing developments that he laid out. What I got from the presentation and the signal by the prime minister is that the Administration is willing to try new things and do things differently to get economic growth for Jamaica.
In addition to that, I am pleased that the prime minister has announced a commission to review Jamaica’s involvement in Caricom. This is something that needed to happen and finally it seems as if it will. We need to know exactly where we stand in Caricom and how we can improve our status to again be on top of the Caribbean. I was particularly impressed with the prime minister’s declaration that foreign policy must complement economic development.
I hope that Mr Holness and his administration, by whatever means, can get this economy moving. We are desperately in need of economic growth. Clearly though, what we have in Mr Holness is a man who is prepared to take the measures necessary to grow this economy.
Nicole Foster
nicolefosjm@gmail.com
Tuesday’s budget presentation by Prime Minister Andrew Holness was a refreshing one to hear. In fact, it was the best budget presentation in the series of contributions that we have had over the past two weeks, and he should be commended for at least motivating the minds of Jamaicans and perhaps his ministers and other members of parliament.
The prime minister’s two-and-a-half hour presentation was very intriguing and vibrant – I never once felt the need to sleep. I wanted to listen and listen some more. I was taken aback by the fact that he was so gracious to previous administrations and leaders of the country. That is rare!
Usually prime ministers would have taken the opportunity to lash the previous Administration and to push up their chest at the ‘achievements’ of their Government. Bur what Mr Holness did demonstrated maturity in our democracy and I was so pleased to hear him.
What we heard was a prime minister in command of the issues. Mr Holness developed the points he made as he flipped through the pages of his presentation. That again was a rare feature to me and I am happy he did, because people who did not fully understand what he had read from the prepared text could benefit from further explanation.
I really appreciate the number of housing developments that he laid out. What I got from the presentation and the signal by the prime minister is that the Administration is willing to try new things and do things differently to get economic growth for Jamaica.
In addition to that, I am pleased that the prime minister has announced a commission to review Jamaica’s involvement in Caricom. This is something that needed to happen and finally it seems as if it will. We need to know exactly where we stand in Caricom and how we can improve our status to again be on top of the Caribbean. I was particularly impressed with the prime minister’s declaration that foreign policy must complement economic development.
I hope that Mr Holness and his administration, by whatever means, can get this economy moving. We are desperately in need of economic growth. Clearly though, what we have in Mr Holness is a man who is prepared to take the measures necessary to grow this economy.
Nicole Foster
nicolefosjm@gmail.com