PM presses for investments in cutting-edge technology to drive productivity

 

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has challenged investors and businesses to pump a more capital into Jamaica, stressing the need for more cutting-edge technology driven investments to support future growth. 

 

He said for the country to move forward, productivity must exceed inflation, especially at a time when the environment and government policy allows for incentivised investment, expansion and modernisation. 

 

His call comes at a time when Jamaica's economic progress is expected to slow as a result of Hurricane Melissa. 

 

"In the last 10 years we have just added approximately a billion, maybe $1.5 billion to our GDP. As a nation that's not something that we should be proud of. We could do more. And therefore I use this platform to challenge the investors, now is the time to increase that 'I' in the equation of 'C' for consumption, 'I' for investment, 'G' for government, 'X minus M', export and import. Let's expand the investment, but not just any kind of investment. You want cutting-edge investment because the cutting-edge that incorporates technology increases your productivity," he stressed.

 

Dr. Holness said after Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica must now grow its way out of the sustained damage and disruptions. 

 

"This year we are going to be impacted in terms of the growth outturn. Five of our parishes have been badly hit. Agriculture, tourism and other enterprises will be affected. We are moving very quickly to stand up businesses in these parishes and to have the roofs of those who have been affected, repaired or replaced. But the only way for us to come out of this is to grow our way out of it. There is no international aid that can recover us. The days of us looking for some country or some benefactor to come and assist, those days are over," he asserted. "We must stand on our own two feet and recover by ourselves. That is the definition of an independent country."

 

The Prime Minister was speaking at the official opening of the new Wisynco brewery and manufacturing facility in St. Catherine on Tuesday.