KINGSTON,Jamaica – Address by the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller:
It is particularly gratifying for me to address such a large assembly of my brothers and sisters gathered for the Second Diaspora Conference here at home.
I extend a very warm welcome to all of you, most of whom have come from the three traditional areas of the Diaspora – the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, the targeted geographic areas for the First Diaspora Conference in 2004.
Mr Phillip Mascoll,(center) Member of the Diaspora Advisory Board representing Canada talks with Prime Minister of Jamaica the Hon. Portia Simpson Miller at the opening ceremony of the Jamaican Diaspora Conference in Kingston. At left is Governor of Jamaica His Excellency Professor Kenneth Hall. Standing at right is Senator Delano Franklyn, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.
But I am particularly pleased that this second Conference not only increased the number of delegates, but expanded the scope. In this regard, it gives me great pleasure to extend warmest welcome and greetings to two distinguished persons of Jamaican origin from Central America, namely the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua, His Excellency Javier Eduardo Williams Slate and the Superintendent of the Moravian Church in Nicaragua, Mr. Steadman Bent.
We welcome you with great pride.
I commend the private sector and academia, who through their magnanimous sponsorship, have made the Conference a reality.
Commendation is also due to the Preparatory Committee, which had the responsibility for planning the Conference, and all others who have given of their service to this Conference.
The theme of the Conference – Unleashing the Potential – goes straight to the heart of what we, as Jamaicans, possess in abundance – POTENTIAL.
We are known for our abundance of talent, enormous creativity and inventiveness and tremendous spirit of resilience and courage. We are a people whose accomplishments and influence on the world stage far outstrip our size. Our dazzling achievements in sport, music, dance, fashion as well as in business, international relations and academia, among others, belie our economic status.
There is something about us as Jamaicans. Many of you who have succeeded in the Diaspora have remarked on that special Jamaicanness, that special upbringing and the influence of the Jamaican roots which played such a critical role in your success, often against the odds.
I can’t help thinking aloud, why can’t we harness all of this innate talent and brilliance; this resourcefulness, this resonance of spirit, this ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat; this rugged determination to succeed; why can’t we harness all of that for the development of Jamaica and the enhancement of its good name?
I look around this Conference Room and I am overwhelmed. Overwhelmed not only at the numbers of you who have travelled many miles to brainstorm on the way forward, but by the array of experience, expertise and talent represented here.
In this age of globalisation we have to redefine the concept of the nation. The nation today is not territorial. It is not bounded by physical space. The nation is a social and political construct. In a borderless world, the nation is no longer confined by geography. There are 2.6 million people in the country but there are approximately another 2.5 million residing overseas.
We also have to redefine patriotism. Patriotism can no longer be seen as necessarily synonymous with residence in the country of one’s birth. The fact that you are not physically located here does not make you any less committed to this country and its development. Nor does it make you, in this globalised era, disconnected from Jamaica.
Today your remittances account for the major source of foreign exchange inflows into the island. So you are a major contributor to this country’s development and make a significant contribution to reducing social tensions. In 2005, those remittances amounted to US$1.5 billion, more than the inflows from tourism and the mining sectors. No one can question your contribution to your country.
Of course, we as Government recognise that your commitment goes way beyond monetary contributions. For our part we can say sincerely, to quote a Biblical text, “Our interest is in you and not yours”.
We are interested in you as Jamaicans and as persons who want to contribute further to your country’s development and progress. We see it as our role as Government to create the mechanisms for participation and involvement; to foster the institutional framework through which you can impact development here and to facilitate your fullest democratic and active participation in shaping the future of this country where your hearts are.
The overarching thrust of our Diaspora programme is to ensure that we maximise the participation of all members of the Jamaican Diaspora who want to contribute to their country’s development. Integral to all of this is listening to you. We don’t want to impose solutions on you. We want to hear your suggestions and recommendations.
I want a partnership with all Jamaicans, including Jamaicans in the Diaspora.
In my swearing-in address at King’s House I spoke to this partnership. Indeed the theme of my inaugural address was “Together we can make it”.
The Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board was created to advise the Minister with responsibility for Diaspora Affairs on all issues relating to the Diaspora. So we have institutionalised the mechanisms to facilitate your recommendations and suggestions. Through your Board members, the Government is sensitized to your concerns and your thinking on matters affecting you at home and abroad. Your input is valued and critical for the formulation of policies and programmes as the Government seeks to discharge its responsibility to all Jamaicans – at home and abroad.
Mr. Chairman, today I want to announce another element in this evolving institutional framework. It is my intention to cause a motion to be brought to Parliament, at the earliest time, to create a Joint Select Committee of both Houses of Parliament, to be called the “Diaspora Board”.
This bi-partisan Committee will consider recommendations and suggestions of a policy nature from the Diaspora in conferences and other initiatives through the Diaspora Advisory Board which you will elect.
I will invite inputs for the specific terms of reference from the Diaspora through the Diaspora Advisory Board.
The arrangements we are putting in place are to strengthen and facilitate the relationship with all Jamaicans in the diaspora. To ensure this, autonomy with responsibility as well as democracy and transparency must, be foundation principles of our arrangements. Your Disapora Advisory Board has a major role to play and I urge you to bear this in mind as you elect its members.
We see these arrangements as involving all Jamaicans. Let me emphasize that when I say all Jamaicans, I mean just that, all Jamaicans, regardless of party affiliation or political stripe. And here I want to address what has been one of our biggest setbacks: Our tribalism and divisiveness. I believe that one of the primary things which has held us back as a country has been our signal failure to unite around a common set of goals and objectives. Our failure to emphasise the things which we hold in common rather than the things which divide us has been a major stumbling block.
This is one of the primary reasons why, despite our acknowledged creativity, ingenuity and resourcefulness as Jamaicans, we lag behind our neighbours in economic growth and have failed to convert brilliance into spectacular economic performance. One of the areas of national life in which I am determined to make an impact is in the area of political tribalism. My resolute commitment is to eliminate it or to reduce it to its barest minimum.
We are all one people, despite our difference in class, race, gender, politics and religious affiliation. The things which we hold in common are greater and stronger than the things which divide, if only we would accept and live by that.
We have to stop playing the game of divide and rule. We have to stop trying to find a problem for every solution .We have to stop the game of crying down the other person’s efforts and initiatives. The one-upmanship must go.
I come with the Gospel of reconciliation. I come with the Gospel of peace. I have come to break down barriers. I say let us build bridges, not walls.
To those of us who have erected the high wall of tribalism which have blocked our progress I say, to utter some famous words, “Tear down that wall”!
Economic development cannot be built on a foundation of social and political tensions. It cannot be built by people divided into tribes hostile to one another. It has to be built by a unified, purposeful and spiritually energised people whose hearts are motivated by love and concern for neighbour. That is the Jamaica I want to help to build. But I cannot do so without your support. I need the support of all Jamaicans at home and abroad.
It is undeniable that Jamaica faces a number of daunting problems: Crime and violence, corruption, unemployment and underemployment, tribalism and the decline in positive values and attitudes. There is no “All Mighty” Government which can wave a magic wand and solve these problems. The solution to these problems would have to come from the united, concerted effort of all of us both here and abroad.
I refuse to believe that there is any problem which we as Jamaicans cannot solve, once we put our minds and united attention to it. I approach my work as Prime Minister of Jamaica with this firm conviction. I really do believe that together we can make it happen.
Do not write off your country Jamaica. While we have made inroads in fighting the scourge of crime and violence, we still have a far way to go.
One area of crime which has been showing a noticeable increase is the area of carnal abuse. This has increased by 40% year-to-date. This is why, fellow Jamaicans, I have been paying so much attention to the moral and spiritual renewal of the society. This is why I have been stressing the importance that the church and other faith-based institutions have in this society.
We need to go back to the notions of sexual responsibility, decency, good neighbourliness, caring, compassion and justice; notions on which we were brought up as Jamaicans. We need to recapture our best values and display the best attitudes.
We need to build a kinder gentler society; a more tolerant society; a society where we can celebrate our diversity rather than be divided by it.
We need to build a Jamaica in which the poor and vulnerable will feel that they will be protected by the strong; a society characterised by justice and equality of opportunity.
A society in which education is seen as a right and not a privilege; a society in which basic housing is made available to the people. We talk about values and attitudes but immorality and unethical behaviour are often influenced by poor social and economic conditions.
So in seeking to improve the moral fabric of the country, my Government will also seek to improve people’s social conditions. This is non-negotiable. I believe, as I have said frequently, that we have to balance people’s lives while we balance the books. In light of the government’s commitment to lift up the poor and marginalised and to provide opportunities for all we will be paying special attention to early childhood education this year and will repair and upgrade 97 basic schools at a cost of J$1.2 billion dollars. We also have a $30 million dollar pilot programme to determine the feasibility of a national nutrition programme for early childhood education.
Our sugar workers who have contributed so much to all of us have been living in deplorable conditions. This year, under the Sugar Workers Housing Programme, we will provide an additional 862 service lots as part of a $2.5 billion dollar subsidy programme. We have allocated $150 million dollars to provide housing solutions to our indigent senior citizens who cannot help themselves and who in many instances have been abandoned.
Some 500 Million dollars will be provided by the National Housing Trust for those workers at the bottom of the economic ladder who with all the concessions of the NHT still cannot qualify for a housing loan. This half a billion dollars will be provided to bring them into a special pool of beneficiaries. In total, the NHT will this year provide over 7,900 housing solutions at a value of $13. 2 billion dollars.
The cry of many Jamaicans is for justice. This Government has heard their cry, my fellow Jamaicans. A major priority in the budget this year is the modernisation and rehabilitation of our justice system. We are going to improve infrastructure and increase the human and technical resources of the court and justice system overall.
While over the past 22 years a grand total of $455 million dollars has been allocated for capital expenditure in the justice sector, in this year’s budget alone $436 million dollars has been allocated for capital expenditure. That is how serious we are about answering the people’s cry for justice.
We cannot do everything, ladies and gentlemen, and we will not succeed on every front. We certainly cannot do it alone. We need you and this is why a conference such as this is so critically important.
One of the decisions taken by you which I have found particularly heartening is the one which called for the establishment of a network of church leaders amongst the Jamaican Diaspora. We always have been a spiritual people and your decision acknowledges this. This network in the Diaspora, working in tandem with the various local church communities, can contribute significantly to our efforts to bring back positive values and attitudes to our nation.
You as Jamaicans in the Diaspora have always excelled in your charitable contributions to your country. I however, want to throw out a challenge to you – a challenge that when met will hasten the unleashing of our full potential for the benefit of the country’s development.
I challenge you to seek to broaden the scope of the Diaspora’s involvement in the development process, that is, to focus on all spheres of the country’s development needs – the economic, political, social and cultural.
In doing so, it will be necessary to pull more Jamaicans in the Diaspora into the process.
Jamaicans are great achievers and we have excelled in a wide range of areas. Many Jamaicans in the Diaspora have made a name for themselves in several areas in which Jamaica is yet to develop expertise. These persons may be willing to offer their expertise if requested to do so, but we are unaware of them. We need, therefore, to establish networks or search mechanisms that will identify and locate these Jamaicans and match them with our needs in disciplines that are key for development.
In this age of advanced technology, experience and expertise may be delivered in many forms, some of which would not require a physical presence in Jamaica. This would still allow persons with busy schedules and professional obligations in their country of residence to make their contribution.
The Diaspora is dynamic and action oriented. You have demonstrated the will and determination to see rapid progress in the country. I commit the government to working hand-in-hand with you so that we may achieve our common goals. I reiterate that our intention is not only to benefit from the programmes and initiatives aimed at giving back to your country of birth but also to involve you in policy formulation and development.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Government stands firm in its commitment to the comprehensive involvement of the Diaspora in political, social and cultural life of the country. You have proven your commitment. We have therefore embarked on a journey and a partnership destined for success.
I wish you every success in your deliberations over the next two days. I am confident that the results will provide us with a road map for the way forward and I look forward to receiving the recommendations for consideration by my Administration.
I wish a safe return home to those who will depart immediately after the conclusion of the Conference. To those of you who will take advantage of the opportunity to take a well-deserved holiday and visit with family and friends, I say enjoy yourselves in our true Jamaican style.
I leave you with the words of a poem by HD Carberry
It takes a mighty fire
To create a great people
It takes a mighty fire
To smelt true steel
To create and temper steel
Needs patience and endurance
The mould is not yet made, perhaps,
That can unite and make the people one
But more important than the mould
Is the temper of the steel,
The spirit of the people
And when the steel is smelted
And when the steel is tempered
And when the steel is cast
What a people that people will be!
