Growth & Jobs | Ensuring SEZs' security and safety - Money launderers, smugglers, keep out!

Jamaica, as a destination ready to facilitate business, has been attracting keen interest from local and foreign investors representing a range of industries, not only in business process outsourcing, but also in manufacturing, assembly, distribution and logistics.

Money launderers and smugglers of contraband may well be eyeing our doors, too, but the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA), which regulates and supervises the special economic zones in collaboration with respective security and regulatory agencies, is working to ensure that these undesirable activities are unable to penetrate Jamaica.

JSEZA's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Eric Deans, said that the relaxed oversight of free trade zones, worldwide, to allow goods into the space, has attracted legitimate players, but it also attracted the illicit players. It is therefore important that oversight and regulatory bodies are vigilant in protecting the industry against any such activities.

"A special economic zone, because it is actively involved in the process of trade, means that smuggling illicit goods and human trafficking are all possible within this environment," Deans said.

But he added, "No legitimate company wants to come to a zone or country that is not secured; that is not taking steps to protect their workers, their products and their intellectual property."

ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS THAT FLAG IRREGULARITIES

Deans said that keen attention is paid to protecting our clients' investment and the national interest. The authority engages in active monitoring while ensuring compliance of regulation by utilising a range of methods, including quarterly reporting requirements. The SEZ authority has also put in place electronic systems that flag irregularities and unusual activities.

When applications are made for a SEZ licence, due diligence is conducted by the JSEZA to examine the background of companies and players within the company in order to establish if they are fit and proper to conduct business in Jamaica. The applicant must provide proof that the location(s) and buildings where their operations will be housed have also received, or are in the process of receiving, approval from the respective local regulatory authorities. It should be noted that an SEZ designation is conferred on both the company and the physical address of the company.

Security of the space is of paramount importance, and inside the SEZs as well as its outer perimeter wall must be protected. In fact, the SEZ operators should be aware of activities that occur within the vicinity of the zones as well, the JSEZA head said.

Safety is also closely monitored as the authority seeks to ensure the protection of employees in keeping with international Organisational, Safety and Health Act standards.

The developer and occupant in the space are ultimately responsible for security and safety. When the public or workers enter the space, they should feel comfortable that there is a disaster mitigation plan in place and that there is an emergency response action plan, in the event of an incident within the sphere.

The SEZ authority is seeking to ensure that Jamaica's SEZ regime is governed based on international best practice and that the safety and security of the employees, investors, visitors and other stakeholders is paramount.

QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED

There are some questions that the JSEZ said must be answered by the developer and occupant of the SEZ:

- Is the employee aware of the emergency response action plan?

- Does the management have a role in coordinating and ensuring that it is up to date and workable?

- Has it been tested to ensure that it works?

Each operation in the special economic zone is open to the JSEZA's and all other regulatory authority's scrutiny to ensure compliance. The JSEZA therefore visits, conducts interviews, checks and tests in these spaces. The objective is to ensure that our workers are protected and that investors, both local and overseas, operate within the full ambit of the law.