His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen called on Justices of the Peace for the Parish of Trelawny to use the Governor-General’s Programme for Excellence (GGPE) as one of the vehicles through which they can advocate for the transformation of Jamaica.
This was his primary focus when he met with the JPs on Tuesday, September 16 at the Retreat Heights Community Centre. Under the GGPE, JPs are being asked, through mentorship and community engagement, to join in the on-going task of taking back Jamaica from the “crime, mediocrity and negativity which have become all too pervasive.”
The Governor-General noted that Trelawny seemed to be recovering from the gang-related spate of murders in 2013 which resulted in a 150 % increase in homicides. In order to continue this recovery process, he urged JPs to take a proactive approach if they truly wish to fix their communities and by extent Jamaica.
The GGPE, since its inception in 2014, is driven by the mantra of the Governor-General’s ‘I Believe’ Initiative; that is, “There is nothing wrong with Jamaica that cannot be fixed by what is right with Jamaica,” and the celebration of excellence through the Governor-General’s Achievement Awards Programme. It is against this background that JPs were encouraged to use their influence to convincingly transmit 
this message in carrying out their roles.
“You must remember that you were selected to become Justice of the Peace, because you have influence in your communities and we have confidence in you,” Sir Patrick Allen reminded them.
He encouraged the JPs to collaborate with their Custos, the Hon. Paul Muschett, to get more youth involved in the projects undertaken by the GGPE; noting also that the parish was already in the process of forming its first group of IBI Ambassadors.
Some of the achievements of the IBI and the GGAA were highlighted to indicate 
the programme’s commitment to meaningful and effective projects designed to advance the nation’s development.
The meeting ended with several commitments from those in attendance to introduce the programme and its messages to their respective communities.
