Institutional Thinking Stifling the Country’s Growth – PM Holness
Prime Minister Andrew Holness says he is moving to challenge the institutional way of thinking and the current bureaucracy in Government which are hindrances to the country’s growth prospects.
The Prime Minister says a change is needed to attract greater investment.
“Because of how our institutional thinking has emerged, we end up being stuck in a mould. My job is to break that mould and everything that I have done so far as Prime Minister, is to challenge the institutional thinking that has kept us from growing and I will continue to challenge it because it needs to be done”, said Prime Minister Holness.
The Prime Minister was speaking on Friday (April 12) at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Amaterra Group’s Hotel project in Stewart Castle Trelawny.
Prime Minister Holness said with several projects to come on stream, there is a real risk of delays because of bureaucracy as was the case with Amaterra Hotel project.
“We lament there is this bureaucracy that for historical reasons for maybe sometimes political reasons and maybe sometimes just lethargy, we don’t get things done as quickly as we should. It is something that I (have) spent a lot of time on not because I am directly focused on these issues but more so because I stand at the intersection of these issues. So they come to me for resolution and as Prime Minister, I find that I dedicate quite a bit of my time to resolving legacy issues. Legacy in the sense of problems left behind unsolved and this one was one of them”, stated Prime Minister Holness.
In that regard, the Prime Minister asserted that the Government is focused on making the process of approval and permitting easier for investors to move from “thought to realization very quickly”. He also used the opportunity to encourage more investment into the country.
“There are great things lined up for Jamaica and we invite all investors to participate; never mind the bureaucracy we will fix that, and we are fixing that, and I’m seeing where a new breed of bureaucracy – technocrat is emerging”, said Prime Minister Holness
In the meantime, the Amaterra Group will, over time, build eight thousand (8,000) hotel rooms in Jamaica. In the first phase of the multi-billion-dollar integrated resort development in Stewart Castle, Trelawny, 800-rooms will be built. The hotel will boast an industrial park, an entertainment and shopping complex and various local amenities.