Prime Minister Holness Urges Agency Heads To Pursue Growth-Inducing Projects

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has urged the heads of agencies under the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation to focus on developing fresh, innovative projects guaranteed to generate higher levels of sustainable inclusive economic growth for Jamaica.

“We need to now start thinking of game-changing innovative and large projects. Let’s look at projects that could solve our water problem, our energy problem and our transportation problems at the same time,” he suggested.

The Prime Minister was addressing a meeting of heads of agencies with responsibility for the Ministry’s water, housing and infrastructure portfolios, at The Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston on Wednesday (January 8).

Mr. Holness challenged the agencies’ board members, executive directors and managers, and technical persons within the Ministry “to start thinking out of the box”, noting that “we have to start to now explore, [conduct] research and development, [and] entertain new thinking”.

Mr. Holness advised that in order to initiate such game-changing, innovative projects, “there has to be greater cross-fertilisation of ideas”.

“What I notice is that many agencies have good projects. But those projects could be enhanced if there were greater coordination and the willingness to work together and not in silos,” he contended.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said persons spearheading the execution of projects have a responsibility to ensure these engagements are completed on time and within budget.

Additionally, he said the boards of the bodies involved in those activities are mandated to ensure that these individuals are held accountable.

Against this background, Mr. Holness suggested that a system of accountability “that is performance-based and not just accounting-based” be established within the respective agencies, public bodies and Ministry, to better monitor this process.

“You have to start to hold the people below you accountable for meeting targets and timelines; and you, also, as board members and executives, have to spend much more time in doing proper risk analysis of the projects you select to place on the capital budget,” he said.

During the meeting, which was chaired by Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., the heads of 10 agencies under the Ministry provided updates on work undertaken by those entities, achievements to date and projections for the 2020/21 fiscal year.