Holness revs economy - Rolls out works ­project from Dunrobin to Mandela

DETERMINED TO resuscitate an ailing economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has reaffirmed his intention to roll out a long-touted works scheme to boost business confidence and sop up sagging labour.

Addressing the House of Representatives yesterday evening, Holness announced that the Length Man programme will commence shortly to ease the economic shock that has sparked negative economic forecasts.

A precise date was not announced.

“The programme will utilise community labour and will commence with high-traffic corridors and interparish roadways,” Holness said.

A pilot project will be undertaken to give the Government wiggle room to identify weaknesses.

“The selected corridor will be the Dunrobin Avenue to Twickenham Park corridor, which will encompass Washington Boulevard, Dunrobin Avenue, and the entire length of the Mandela Highway project,” Holness announced.

Holness said the pilot will span approximately seven constituencies – St Andrew North West, St Andrew North East, St Andrew Eastern, St Andrew West Central and “one or two constituencies in St Catherine”.

Holness is the member of parliament for St Andrew West Central.

“We will be in touch with the members of parliament for the selection of the workers,” Holness said, before stressing that Length Man was not just a “bushing programme”.

“This is a programme about the preventative maintenance and data gathering of the critical infrastructure of the country, particularly those infrastructures under the direct supervision of the NWA,” the prime minister said, referring to the National Works Agency.

“The Government is trying to balance lives and livelihood,” he added.

CONSTRUCTION REPRIEVE

Holness also announced that the construction industry is to be included in the relevant exemption schedules under the Disaster Risk Management Act.

“The construction industry is now considered an exempted industry and members of this industry should be able to move about during the period of the curfew ... .

“It does not mean that they are not under the general health rules. They are still required to wear a mask and maintain social distancing,” Holness said. He stressed that worksites were required to install hand-washing stations.

The prime minister made the declarations a day after announcing the establishment of an Economic Recovery Task Force, comprising academics and industry leaders, as the driver to re-engage the gears of the economy. As tens of thousands of jobs have haemorrhaged and businesses shuttered, the International Monetary Fund projected that the Jamaican economy could contract by 5.6 per cent.

“As a country, we have to begin to prepare for the reality of learning to coexisit with the [COVID-19] and this we will have to do for sometime to come. We have to transition into a new normal for which we are able to maintain the function of our economy while keeping safe …,” argued Holness.

The World Health Organization said on Monday that countries should be cautious moving forward with reopening plans.

The WHO’s executive director for Health Emergencies Program, Dr Michael Ryan, said that as countries balance the need to weigh lives versus livelihoods, a resurgence of cases and subsequent reclosing of economies could cause even greater economic distress.

“If the calculation is made and then restrictions are eased too early, you may be back in a situation where lockdowns have to reimposed, which could have a greater impact on livelihoods,” Ryan said.

“There are no easy answers.”