Peter Bunting, Jamaica’s national security minister, will be the featured speaker Thursday and Friday at South Florida community forums commemorating the country’s 50th year of independence from British rule.

Bunting’s discussion on crime and its impact on Jamaica is part of a larger initiative looking at growth and development in Jamaica, a former crown jewel in the British empire that has struggled to grow its economy and control crime since it became independent on Aug. 6, 1962. Bunting’s appearance is being sponsored by the Victoria Mutual Building Society — Florida Representative Office under the theme: Our Journey... Jamaica’s Next 50!

The United Nations has said high rates of violent crimes in the Caribbean are an impediment to growth and development in the Caribbean region.

Last week, Jamaica Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, addressing world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, called on the world’s help in combating crime, saying that the problem transcends borders.

“Transnational crime, narco-trafficking and the illicit trade in small arms and ammunition are major components of the cycle of insecurity,” Simpson Miller said. “They continue to endanger lives, undermine the rule of law, and fuel violent crime.”

Suzette Rochester with Victoria Mutual Building Society’s Florida Office said the community forum will bring together a cross-section of viewpoints.

“Jamaicans in overseas communities still have a vested interest in the country,” she said. “We all have a shared vision for a better Jamaica, which can only be realized through linkages between government, corporate entities as well as our citizens.”

The community forum begins at 7 p.m. and is free both days; Wednesday’s event is at the Dadeland Marriott hotel, 9090 S. Dadeland Blvd. and Thursday’s is at Signature Grand, 6900 W. State Road 84, Davie. For further information call 305-770-2643.