KINGSTON, Jamaica--Prime Minister (PM) Andrew Holness says he intends to make Jamaica the most modern country in the Caribbean by the next twenty years.
“Jamaica must develop … we have lost 40 years,” he said.
“We have a generation or two that has not benefited and we have to catch up, so that we can help that generation. So, the government is going to do what it must to ensure that this country is developed.”
Speaking at the recent official opening of Fontana Pharmacy’s newest branch, the prime minister noted that there has been minimal infrastructural development in the country over the last 40 years, and the government is now intensifying sustainable development.
“For many years, we had literally a disinvestment in our infrastructure. For a period of about 40 years, there was very little investment in infrastructure and in particular, in our buildings, not to mention the investment in the communities that were developed and built in the ’50s and ’60s, so urban blight set in,” Holness said.
Consequently, the prime minister said many of the country’s structures are now “sick buildings” and face challenges with air quality and are no longer fit for purpose, as they cannot accommodate the administration of private or public sector affairs.
“So, there really needs to be now another phase of construction or the putting up of new buildings, and totally retrofitting the old ones, because what we now have is just simply not adequate to carry the demands of the society,” he noted.
The prime minister pointed out that one of the greatest challenges is that the proposition for new buildings often runs into conflict with people’s vision for their community.
“There’s a very palpable tension when we see new development happening versus how people would want to see their community remain,” he said, adding that the debate concerning the different developments will have to be managed, so as not to remain at a stalemate and cripple the society.
“One thing you can be assured of is that I believe in doing something. So, you can be assured that yes, there will be the debate, there will be the back and forth, there will be adequate opportunity for ventilation and where good points are made, they will be incorporated, but we will develop Jamaica. We will make Jamaica the most modern country in the Caribbean and I will give myself 20 years for that.”
In the meantime, the prime minister urged business people who are developing and building not only to ensure that the developments benefit the community, but that their corporate social responsibility component factors in the environment. ~ Caribbean360 ~
