National Minerals Policy Almost Complete

A National Minerals Policy for the management and development of Jamaica’s mineral resources, is nearing completion.
The development of the document is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications.
Senior Director of Policy Planning Development in the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications, Oral Rainford, told JIS News that the document should be ready by the end of this month, providing there are no delays.
“It is possible that there might be a delay but hopefully by the end of February, certainly it should be there,” he said He said the draft document will be submitted to Cabinet, seeking permission for it to be accepted “as a White Paper and to speed its access to Parliament.” Additionally, he said that the Cabinet submission has to be commented upon by the Ministry of Finance and Planning, and other entities.
In light of the delay in getting the document to Parliament, Mr. Rainford said the Ministry has planned a few more public consultations aimed at discussing the draft policy document and garnering feedback and input from civil society. A series of island wide consultations organised by the Ministry in collaboration with the Jamaica Information Service, has been held over the past five months.
“We have had island wide consultations. We have had inter-government consultations. We have consulted widely on this document and we have done it because we do not want different interest groups, particularly those that might not necessarily align their future with the mineral industry, to think that we have anything to hide,” he said.