Fitz-Henley challenges Jamaicans to boost productivity
Published:Saturday | February 3, 2024 | 9:18 AM
Government Senator Abka Fitz-Henley has challenged Jamaicans in the public and private sectors to work more efficiently in order to increase their levels of productivity.
While calling for personal accountability in assessing productivity levels, Fitz-Henley said his challenge was not only directed to “line staff”, but also middle and senior managers across the public and private sectors.
He encouraged persons at the managerial level to introduce systems to incentivise and motivate workers to be more efficient in their use of time on the job and increase their output.
“If key sectors led by the captains of industry across society took on this challenge in a direct and focused manner, I believe Jamaica will be a better place in 2024, a more productive place,” he said on Friday as he closed the State of the National Debate in the Upper House.
According to the government senator, since the year 2000, Jamaica’s labour productivity rate has decreased on average by 0.6 per cent annually.
He said that the Government is playing its part in the productivity push by reforming the public sector, including the digitisation of services, the introduction of enterprise systems for human resource teams, and the move to make available more buses in order to reduce the time spent in commute.
Responding to criticism by the parliamentary Opposition that the Government was failing to make a significant dent on crime in the country, Fitz-Henley dismissed as “false” the notion that the administration has been tardy in introducing policies to tackle the problem.
LOW AND SLOW GAINS
“In fact, there is much irony in the fact the suggestion of being slow has come from Senator [Peter] Bunting, who when he had his time at the wicket, attended upon a platform and tearfully lamented that no matter the effort he and his team put in, the gains were slow and low, and sobbed about intervention which he thought was not within his human capabilities,” he said.
“Jamaicans will recall that those comments led to concern that the then minister, who now as opposition spokesman parades as the ultimate problem solver, was waving the white flag and then led to calls for him to step down.”
Fitz-Henley said that the Government is aware of the complex nature of crime in Jamaica, and even as it has achieved “a significant reduction in violent crime year-on-year, we have and are taking steps to fix the problem, over the medium to long term”.