News from the OPM

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared that the Government is focused on the economic prosperity and well-being of the Jamaican people. In that regard, the Prime Minister said the Government is committed to preserving the traditional institutions of the society. Prime Minister Holness made the pronouncement as he led Father’s Day celebrations at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) this afternoon (June 16) at a Father’s Day picnic titled Furthering Healthy Families with Fathers. The Prime Minister says his Administration will not be distracted by discussions in the public domain on abortion, sexuality and obeah. In that regard, Prime Minister Holness declared he will defend the traditional institution of the family. “I have been following all the discussions and if you put them together, it could very well seem to be an assault on the traditional values of the society and how we see our traditional institutions. This Government that I lead is committed to preserving the institution of the family as we have understood it, and our parents have understood it. This Government is wholly and solely focussed on the real threats to the institutions of our society and the real threat is poverty and the lack of…

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the people must be at the center of development. The Prime Minister in his remarks at the high-level meeting of the 108th Session (Centenary) of the International Labour Conference this morning (June 12), in Geneva, Switzerland said the Jamaican Government recognizes the social contracts which bind stakeholders. He said several stakeholders have sacrificed over years which has led to the country's economic stability. The Prime Minister declares that where there is shared sacrifice there must be shared prosperity with the people. “The best way to place people at the center of development and share prosperity is to give them the opportunity to work, to be engaged in that sacred process of transforming their labour and creativity into wealth, earning a living from their effort. Eating their own bread, not by crime, not by immoral means, not by dependency, not by pity; but by work!”, said Prime Minister Holness. He further underscored that the Government is not only seeking to expand employment in Jamaica. He said keen attention is also being paid to the quality of jobs and the conditions of work. “We are committed to the Decent Work agenda through empowering our citizens with education…

Prime Minister Andrew Holness is slated to give a major address at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) centenary conference in Geneva Switzerland later this week. The Prime Minister will also hold a series of meetings with senior officials of multilateral agencies including the World Trade Organisation. Prime Minister Holness will address Heads of Government and senior officials at the high-level sitting which is the highlight of the Centenary Conference of the ILO on Wednesday (June 12). His address will focus on the topic: Advancing Social Justice, Promoting Decent Work. This year’s conference will host more than 6,000 delegates from across the globe. The aim is to to find solutions to the challenges of the future in the world of work. Consequently, the Prime Minister left the island this afternoon (June 10) for a working visit to Switzerland. While in Switzerland, the Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with the Director-General and senior officials of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva Mr Roberto Azevedo as well as Mr Michael Møller, the Director General of the United Nations Office in Geneva. He will also meet with Jamaicans in the Diaspora living in the European nation. Jamaica has been a member of…

In light of public concerns raised regarding mining in the Cockpit Country Protected Area, Prime Minister Andrew Holness invited the heads all relevant agencies to update Cabinet on matters concerning the Cockpit Country. The Cabinet was advised by all relevant regulatory agencies that no bauxite mining is taking place in the area to be protected as the Cockpit Country (Designated) Protected Area.  The Ministry of Transport and Mining stated that: “The Jamaica Bauxite Institute, Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited and the Mines and Geology Division advises to the best of our knowledge, that Noranda Bauxite partners II (Noranda), is currently not involved in any mining activities in the area to be protected as the Cockpit Country.  The company’s bauxite mining activities are confined to two areas (SML 172 and SML 165), which are not part of the area to be protected as the Cockpit Country. A third area, SML173 adjoins the area to be protected but is not part of it and currently, no mining is taking place in that area. An Environmental Impact Study has been commissioned in keeping with the requirements of the licence to determine whether or not mining can be done in that area.” The Forestry Department, which…

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has assured all Jamaicans and stakeholders that the Government is committed to protecting the environment and ensuring environmental sustainability. Speaking yesterday (June 5) during a tour of the Cockpit Country and to place the first marker designating the protected area of the Cockpit Country, Prime Minister Holness said he is always sympathetic to the environmental cause. For the first time in Jamaica’s history, in 2017, Prime Minister Holness announced in Parliament the designated Cockpit Country Protected Area. In 2018, the Government began a process of ground-truthing to map the specific areas on the ground. That process is expected to be completed in 2020. The Cockpit Country is part of the protected Forest reserve areas in Jamaica. However, Prime Minister Holness says the Government has gone further to ensure the Cockpit Country is specifically protected. “There is a certain level of protection. But you want to have explicit protection particularly as it relates where can be mined and where cannot be mined. Government’s commitment and declaration still stands. There will be no mining in the area designated as the Cockpit Country protected area,” said Prime Minister Holness. The Prime Minister noted that he has heard the concerns…

Prime Minister Andrew Holness is assuring investors that the Government of Jamaica is improving the speed of business, while making improvements to the country’s infrastructure to facilitate economic growth. The Prime Minister says he has charged the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with the responsibility to ensure that business processes within the public sector become efficient and fast. “My word to the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and indeed to the entire Government, the entire civil service and the public sector is that we have to do both and do them well. We have to comply, and we have to be efficient. We have to comply with the rules, we have to be efficient in getting outcomes - that is the charge that I gave and it is not an empty charge; it is one that we intend to see implemented and the enabler for these things to happen is the introduction to more technology into our administrative processes and to get our public sector managers to be more willing to review their business processes, to re-engineer business processes because many times documents get sent back because you did not dot the “I” and cross the “t”…

Chairman of the Cabinet, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, has revealed that Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson yesterday (Wednesday, May 29) briefed Cabinet on current policing initiatives and gave an update on recent incidents of crime across the island. Cabinet, which is the chief policy making organ of the Government, sought a first hand view of general strategies being implemented to continue the gains in the crime fight, as well as updates on several incidents which have taken place across the island, including Clarendon. The Commissioner revealed that the police have strong leads and are in pursuit of suspects involved in the Clarendon incident. He noted that the police acted bravely and responsibly in ensuring the protection of innocent lives given the intensity of the gun battle and the use of hostages by the criminals. Cabinet expressed support for the police, especially those injured, and welcomed the Commissioner’s commitment that necessary resources will be allocated for the care of the injured officers. The Government continues to work closely with the security forces in providing the necessary legislative and budgetary support to ensure that they are able to effectively secure the nation. Through the National Security Council, the security heads, as well…

The Prime Minister says that a strategic transformation of the country's economic space to grow the economy will have a positive impact on civil servants. Prime Minister Holness was speaking yesterday (May 30) at the 100th annual meeting of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA) at Jacisera Park in St. Andrew. “The strategy that we are now employing is to ensure that, one; we understand what the payment requirement is for the civil service (the public service). That is why we are doing a total compensation review so we can have a better understanding of how we use our existing budget to pay our workers better. The second thing is that, services that don’t need to be done by the Government should be placed in the hands of the private sector” said Prime Minister Holness. In that regard, the Prime Minister noted that there would be limited disruption with the advancements in technology that is underway. As an example of this, the Prime Minister recalled the Government's divestment of the Port in 2017. At that time, some 800 persons were employed there. Presently more than 1200 persons are employed there. In that instance, employment grew for the Port by over 50%. “It…

The Government of Jamaica is taking more dynamic, innovative and aggressive steps to promote and encourage the greater development of Downtown Kingston. According to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, the Government has a clear and strategic plan to transform the skyline of Downtown Kingston to become the pearl of the Antilles. “The UDC has several projects for Downtown Kingston including apartment buildings, office buildings, parking facilities and cultural and entertainment facilities and then of course you would have heard as well about the Government circle project and then you would have heard the Minister of National Security also speak about the police plaza where we’ve identified the lands for that. I looked at some amazing architectural designs that is in place and the list of projects that I’ve seen would be about 15 major construction projects slated for Kingston and St. Andrew”, said Prime Minister Holness. The Prime Minister was speaking at the official opening of the new Grace Kennedy Headquarters on Wednesday, May 29, Harbour Street, Downtown While lauding the Grace Kennedy Group for its commitment to remain and develop downtown Kingston, the Prime Minister outlined that the Government already has policy incentives in place for tax incentives to promote further…