A NEW AND BINDING COVENANT FOR STABILITY, EQUITABLE GROWTH AND PROSPERITY Mr. Speaker, in putting this programme together, we have benefited from the consultations among parliamentary committees as well as other critical stakeholders. An even more important task remains after we conclude the budget debate and that is to initiate a dialogue with the Jamaican people to promote a better understanding of our present situation and the URGENT need for a covenant that binds all of us to the objective of nation building. Our experience during the preparation of the budget informs us that goodwill abounds and that there is a readiness within the society to reenergize the national project and build the new Jamaica as a land of innovation, discipline and prosperity.
We dare to imagine a country which grows at higher rates than have been our experience in the last 50 years and where governance is underpinned by a covenant between workers, investors and government, and where new enterprises are created and small ones expand to generate a steady stream of jobs for our prosperity. We dream of a country where the creators of wealth invest more in training, research and development to enhance productivity and build prosperity. This is the Jamaica that our founding fathers dreamed of and that all of us have a responsibility to build. The new Jamaica will require a commitment from each of us; not only as stakeholders in the various sectors, but as citizens committed to building social relationships based on mutual respect, civic discipline and honesty.
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