KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness, has charged members of his new Cabinet to approach their responsibilities with humility, discipline and teamwork.

Addressing the swearing-in ceremony for 18 Ministers of Government at King’s House on Wednesday, Holness said success will not come from working in silos but from collaboration and synergy.

“Our people will not measure us by how well we protect our portfolios but by how well we work as one Cabinet, as one Government, as one Jamaica,” he said.

The prime minister said the composition of the Cabinet has been thought out carefully.

“It represents a leveraging of the knowledge and experience of the previous Government to continue the momentum to execute and complete, efficiently, projects, plans and programmes already in place and to initiate new plans and commitments in our manifesto,” he said.

Meanwhile, Holness underscored that the appointments are not a personal prize, a reward for loyalty or a platform for status.

He noted that ministerial responsibilities are assignments of national importance – heavy with responsibility and demanding of sacrifice.

“Let us remain grounded in humility and resist the temptation to see ministries as personal turf. We cannot afford for progress to be slowed by lack of collaboration with ministries pulling in different directions. The truth is that the major challenges that Jamaica faces – crime, housing, education, energy, infrastructure, digital transformation – they all cut across multiple ministries,” he said, reiterating the importance of teamwork.

-JIS