Prime Minister Holness Declares “No Room for Bureaucracy” in Push for National Efficiency
Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has declared a decisive shift in government policy aimed at dismantling Jamaica’s long-standing culture of excessive bureaucracy.
Speaking at the Official Opening of the Parnassus Argo Park on Wednesday (April 23, 2024), Prime Minister Holness emphasized that public sector inefficiency is no longer tolerable and must be treated as a national barrier to development.
“Jamaica must address its public bureaucracy. We have gotten caught into this culture of analysis paralysis. There are those who will seek to say that you are corrupt, that you are trying to circumvent procedures. But what they are really wanting to do is to hide behind a wall of circuitous regulation that leads to nowhere. And in my mind, that is the corruption,” said Dr. Holness.
The Prime Minister identified a recurring trend in which government entities absorb public funds annually but cannot clearly account for their contribution to national development.
Dr. Holness warned that these structures create a false sense of order while hindering critical projects and delaying progress.
This, the Prime Minister argued, is a form of corruption that often goes unchecked.
“We have to rethink the dense layer of bureaucracy that we have placed on our public servants. They don’t want to innovate or take any risk lest their names be dragged mercilessly in the public domain. That is not going to help us grow,” said Prime Minister Holness.
Dr. Holness pointed out that many of these systems offer no real benefit to the average Jamaican, whether it be the farmer, the entrepreneur, or the everyday citizen trying to access basic services.
The Prime Minister reiterated that the goal is not to bypass accountability but to foster systems that are transparent, responsive, and performance driven.
In the meantime, the government is now undertaking a comprehensive review of agencies and procedures to eliminate redundancies, promote efficiency, and ensure public funds are used effectively.