PM Urges Increased Investments in Cutting-Edge Technologies

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has renewed his call for the country’s private sector to significantly increase investments in cutting-edge technologies to boost productivity and contribute to economic growth.

He noted that investments in modern plants and technology are necessary to expand output, create resilient jobs, and strengthen the country’s long-term independence.

“We have spurred growth by placing significant emphasis on infrastructure development; however, we need firms to contribute to the expansion of the gross domestic product (GDP) even more by increasing their investments,” he said.

“Let’s expand the investment but not just any kind of investment; you want cutting edge investment… that incorporates technology that increases your productivity,” Dr. Holness emphasised.

He was speaking at the official opening of Wisynco Group’s Devon H. Reynolds Brewery and Manufacturing Facility in Lakes Pen, St Catherine, on Tuesday (January 13).

The US$35-million state-of-the-art plant is named in honour of the company’s longest serving employee and current Director of Manufacturing.

The Prime Minister said that the Government is focused on creating an enabling business environment, significantly increasing the capital Budget over the last decade.

“In the 2025/26 Budget, we introduced an accelerated capital allowance regime designed to incentivise companies to invest, expand, and modernise their productive capacity by allowing businesses to write off major capital investments more quickly. We are lowering the effective cost of expansion, improving cash flow in the early years of the investment, and strengthening the returns on long-term projects.,” he noted.

The initiative, he said, creates a pro-growth environment that supports long-term investment decisions and strengthens Jamaica’s competitiveness in regional and global markets.

Emphasising the imperative for increased investments, the Prime Minister said that Jamaica must grow its way out of current challenges, including the impact of recent hurricanes on agriculture, tourism and business activity, as the country cannot depend on external aid to recover from economic shocks.

“There is no international aid that can recover us. The days of us looking for some country or some benefactor to come and assist… are over. We must stand on our own two feet and recover by ourselves. That is the definition of an independent country,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister commended Wisynco Group on the development of the new facility.

“This new brewery and manufacturing facility reflects not only private-sector ambition but the cumulative results of years of disciplined national reform. Manufacturing matters, not only because it creates jobs but because it anchors productivity across the economy. It deepens value chain, drives skills development, supports exports and creates resilient employment that is less vulnerable to external shocks,” he noted.

“In today’s world, shaped by disrupted supply chains, geopolitical fragmentations, heightened strategic competition and growing climate-related risks, countries that can produce competitively at scale and to international quality standards are better positioned to sustain growth, and recent developments in our region and hemisphere have only reinforced this reality,” he said.