Fiscal discipline enabling capital investments – PM

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says fiscal discipline is enabling the Government to make capital investments in critical areas to improve the infrastructure and position the country for growth.

He was speaking on Wednesday at the official commissioning into service of the Jamaica III Utility Vessel acquired by the Port Authority of Jamaica.

The state-of-the-art vessel, which replaces the 42-year-old Jamaica II, will be used primarily in the maintenance of navigational buoys and beacons at the island’s ports.

Additionally, it will be utilised to carry out upkeep on the two offshore lighthouses – Morant Cays and Pedro Cays – which mark the territorial limits of Jamaica’s sea space and assist with maintenance of other offshore assets.

Addressing the ceremony, held at the Harbours Department, Newport East, Holness said that the acquisition of the Jamaica III is in line with the Government’s thrust to modernise public infrastructure and equipment and leverage technology for the country’s benefit.

“Ten years ago … this country made the decision – not a partisan decision, everybody agreed with this – that we are going to ensure that all our economic decisions are on the basis of fiscal discipline, and now we are reaping the dividends from that national decision around good fiscal management of our public affairs, that we are now able to make capital investments like these,” he noted.

The prime minister said that having vessels such as the Jamaica III, along with the resources of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Coast Guard, which recently acquired an additional offshore patrol boat, will serve to boost national security and “help us to really focus on the maritime economy – the blue economy”.

President and Chief Executive Officer of the Port Authority of Jamaica, Professor Gordon Shirley, in his address, revealed that the Jamaica III is the first of its class to be deployed in the hemisphere.

“It is a vessel equipped with advanced technologies that provide it with great manoeuvrability, versatility, power, precision, which allow it to perform a range of activities that will substantially enhance the capabilities of our Harbours Department,” he outlined.

He added that the acquisition is part of a larger programme to enhance Jamaica’s competitiveness in the maritime sector.