Speech
Andrew Holness  ·  2026-09-17 22:06

The Real Challenge Facing Jamaica's Development Is Efficiency

We do these groundbreaking exercises because we must show the public inconvertible evidence that the government is working. It is meeting the expectations. And it is not just merely promising. It's not PR. In 18 months from now 18 months is good enough time, sir? Yeah, no, we have the commitment of Councillor Nicholson. So, you're not going to take 3 months to get the approvals. Right? So, once we cut out those sometimes, you know, look, I'm not going to say the steps are unnecessary. I I'm not going to say that. But, what can be done in parallel shouldn't be done sequentially. What don't make sense now don't ask for it just because you have the power to ask for it. Facilitate the development. Let it go ahead. So, within 18 months, we should be back here handing over the 700 houses to 700 deserving households. You know, what great an impact that would be. I hear I hear the contractor saying they have done it before. Armadale Beach Park. Good. So, we have the contractors who can do it. So, you hear the public undertaking. You know, I speak this way because I see all the projects come across my desk. All of them. One of them would be the Resilience Park in Portmore. That was a project on the books for many years. That's not my original idea. I took the project and said, "Okay, we can do this project." And I got the UDC to take it over and to fund it. I was promised the project for last year Independence. Then I was promised it for Christmas. I was promised it for April. I And what I'm saying here, as I speak to the the people of the country, it is not for want of the entities trying in in other words, it's not for want of the UDC supervision or for the planning from my office that we keep missing the deadlines. There are many other issues that are outside of the scope of the government to address. And there are many projects in pipeline that prevent the conversion of the capital budget. That is, when we go to Parliament and we say we have how many billions of dollars we are spending on capital. The efficiency and effectiveness of our contracting partners to take the capital budget and convert it into the capital works is a big part of the problem. So, can you imagine if we had had that park a year ago? The welfare of the society would be much better, much higher. But, that welfare gain is delayed the longer it takes for us to convert the capital budget. So, it's not a want of money, no. I'm not saying we are awash with cash. But, the money that we have, let us convert it quickly. That's the issue. So, every time I take a microphone, I am preaching about efficiency. I really need it to get into the psyche of the Jamaican people that that is the real challenge for us now, efficiency. Let me commend the NHT and the HAJ for working in partnership to bring these houses to the public. Again, let me commend the contractors, M&M. Uh they have been long-standing enterprise contractors in Jamaica. I have great confidence that they will be able to deliver these houses on time and within budget. And again, our partners, the local government, a critical partner in the development of housing and construction generally. We look forward to your support and facilitation