News from the OPM

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the flow of traffic was considered during the planning of the State of Emergency for sections of Kingston. The State of Emergency comes even as there are several traffic diversions in the Corporate Area because of major roadworks. “There are options for how the security forces can position their checkpoints without interfering with the flow through of the communities; much of the traffic coming through the area would have already been checked out of another State of Emergency”, explained Prime Minister Holness. During a press briefing held at Jamaica House this morning (September 23), Prime Minister Holness said significant planning has gone into the declaration and the Government considered several factors. These include: •  The traffic flows through the area, •  The commercial flows in the market district, •  The back to school period, •  The hurricane season and; •  The period leading up to the Christmas holidays The Prime Minister added that many of the routes dissect communities and many of them bypass communities but the security forces will work assiduously to ensure the traffic flows smoothly. The motoring public is being advised to have windows down while travelling through the area. In the…

Prime Minister Andrew Holness departs the island tonight (Sunday, September 23) for the 73rd Session of the United General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, United States. On Monday, the Prime Minister will attend a high-level plenary meeting on global peace in honor of the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, known as the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit. The plenary will adopt a political declaration negotiated by Member States. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Prime Minister will engage a series of bilateral discussions with other leaders. Thursday will see the Prime Minister bringing opening remarks at a CARICOM High-Level Breakfast event which will see the launch of Caribbean Moves. Prime Minister Holness will also participate in the Third High-Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). This is a major presentation as Jamaica and other nations across the world devise strategies to combat NCDs. The Prime Minister will wrap up his working visit on Friday with a series of meetings with senior representatives of the private and banking sectors. Prime Minister Holness is supported by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, Senator Matthew Samuda and Robert Nesta  Morgan, Director of Communications…

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the country’s economic reform programme is proceeding on track. The Government today (September 21) successfully completed the fourth review of its Stand-By Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Kingston. During the Government of Jamaica/IMF end of review mission press briefing held at the Office of the Prime Minister this morning, Prime Minister Holness stated that the country’s economic reform efforts are bearing fruit. “The evidence of this is that there is projected growth by the PIOJ; reserves are ahead of programme targets, we now stand at US$3.1B; employment continues to be strong; inflation continues to be low; interest rates are at record low and generally there is a sense of confidence in the economy”, explained the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister declared that there are opportunities in the economy. “The economic reform success is not just impactful on the national economy, but it is impacting your household economy. More people are employed, you are seeing the investments being made in infrastructure. The government is sharing the dividends of the improved economy with the most vulnerable in our society. We have increased our social spending on PATH and on the HOPE Programme. This is…

The Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday (September 20) completed three days of the 2018 planning consultation process. The discussions were held on September 17, 18 and 20, in the context of preparation for the 2019/2020 budget. The Cabinet deliberated on: Update on the Macro-Economic Profile for the 2018/2019 and projections for the 2019/2020 and Medium Term – Presentations by the Bank of Jamaica and the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ); Fiscal Sector Update (2018/2019) and projections for 2019/2020 and the Medium Term – Presentation by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MFPS); and Deliberations on the Strategic Priorities for the Medium Term 2019/2020 -2021/2022 – Presentation by the Office of the Cabinet. There was also an engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Team which focused on Monetary Policy and Governance issues. The Cabinet is expected to convene another series of consultations soon, to refine certain aspects of the overall Planning and Budgeting Framework for 2019/2020.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness underscored that the alignment of political perspectives can bring about greater and faster success for the economy. Speaking at the launch of the FESTO FACT Training Centre at Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) today (Wednesday, September19) Prime Minister Holness said the new facility is an example of what can be achieved through collaboration from both sides of the political fence. “Projects of this magnitude can only come to fruition when there is an alignment of political perspective. These partnerships will ensure that capacity for Jamaica is secured in the area of Science, Engineering and Technology,” said Prime Minister Holness. In that regard, the Prime Minister indicated that the FESTO FACT centre is a dream that could not have been possible without many important partnerships and collaborations from the private, public and academia sector. The FESTO is one of the world leaders in industrial Automation and the CMU has partnered with the world leading provider of Mechatronics training and certification which will have the capacity to train and certify over 4000 learners per year. Prime Minister Holness said, “this is a historic achievement and a mammoth step in terms of education and modernization not only for Jamaica but…

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says there must be a strategic approach in dealing with crime. During his presentation in Parliament yesterday (September 18) to extend the Denham Town Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO), Prime Minister Holness urged Parliamentarians to support the extension as it has been an effective tool in reducing crime. “We have to take all the communities and take a strategic approach. No community deserves special benefit over any other, that’s not what the deployment of the Zones of Special Operations are about. We’re not saying you deserve it more than any other and the truth is that if we have taken some of the resources that we are deploying in the two communities and put it together and divide it up equally across all the communities it would not have any impact. Today we would not be able to stand in this house and say we have reduced the murder rate by 21 per cent. Two hundred and forty-five (245) Jamaicans are alive as a result of a strategic deployment and use of the resources”, expounded Mr Holness. Prime Minister Holness stated that the Zones of Special Operations have directed resources into the areas that are having…

Prime Minister Andrew Holness expressed his congratulations to the Honourable Jean-Henry Céant on his appointment as Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti. In his capacity as Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Mr Holness, in an official letter expressed CARICOM’s commitment to continued partnership with Haiti. The Prime Minister also underscored that Jamaica remains committed to robust cooperation within the context of CARICOM, for the advancement of the regional growth agenda and for the shared prosperity of both countries. Mr Céant was appointed to the post on Sunday, (September 16)

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says Boards of Public Bodies and Agencies must perform and carry out policy mandates. Speaking recently at the Board Retreat of the HEART Trust NTA, Prime Minister Holness said, Boards and Executive Management teams must hold persons accountable through performance standards. “The problem we are having is that sometimes we have too many politicians operating in the corporate space, and I’m not talking party politicians now; people who are peddling special interests and self-interests and making policy fail. The Board must not tolerate that and that is why I am a firm believer in performance-based systems; that every single policy measure can be distilled to its performance tasks and assigned, and you get reward based upon how you perform and if you don’t perform then you leave or be separated”, declared Prime Minister Holness. During an in-depth presentation to the HEART Trust Board, the Prime Minister noted that it is critical for Boards to function at the highest level. “The decisions and actions of Boards ultimately have an impact on a country’s growth and on a country’s public financial management so it’s important that the Boards take very careful effort in how they execute their duties”,…

The Government is to build a new road in Kingston to assist in alleviating the traffic on the Spanish Town Road in the vicinity of the Three Miles area. The new road will link Chesterfield Drive off Spanish Town Road to Marcus Garvey Drive. Prime Minister Andrew Holness made the announcement today (September 17) during a media briefing at Jamaica House. The project was slated to come on stream at a later time however, Prime Minister Holness noted that the road is now necessary to ease the traffic on Spanish Town Road given the construction and roadwork underway in the Three Miles Area. The new road will run alongside the rail track between Marcus Garvey Drive and the Caymanas area. Prime Minister Holness said the move is a part of the Government’s plan to build out Caymanas as a multi-purpose, light industrial, commercial and residential Special Economic Zone. “The construction of this road will create a dedicated access route to Marcus Garvey Drive for traffic coming from the Mandela Highway. This road will be especially useful to members of the business sector who are involved in the movement of containers,” said Prime Minister Holness. The new road will be1.4km with a…