With 2024 now in full swing, Prime Minister Andrew Holness says his administration will be placing special focus on increasing productivity this year to boost economic growth.

In his New Year’s message (January 1), Holness stressed that Jamaicans must produce more this year with the integration of technology and business processing engineering in public service.

“All Jamaicans must produce more in 2024. We will seek to gain greater efficiencies in service delivery and output through greater integration of technology and business process engineering in the public service,” he said.

Adding that: “Performance management must become the mantra of all Jamaica, as this is how we will sustain our economic growth.”

The prime minister urged Jamaicans not to undervalue the importance of a strongly performing economy, noting that this is the key to ensuring that “we can fix our roads, hospitals, water supply, or pay our public-sector workers close to market wages as we have done under the Compensation Review.”

“We believe in prosperity for all. That is why we doubled the minimum wage; that is why we engage young people in programmes to develop work readiness like the (Learning & Investment for Transformation (LIFT) programme. That is why we introduced the social pension for elderly persons not covered in the social safety net.

“That is why we introduced programmes to assist persons who have lost limbs due to lifestyle diseases; that is why we have developed the social housing programme to provide housing to the poorest in our society, along with many other programmes specifically targeted to those who cannot participate in the economy through employment and income. No one will be left behind,” Holness said.

He noted that the government is set to expand economic activity and make the necessary investments in human capital and security to support economic expansion.

Holness further highlighted that the country has undertaken transformational projects and recovered strongly following the COVID-19 pandemic due to the good stewardship of the administration.

“Our economy has recorded 10 consecutive quarters of positive economic growth since the pandemic, with low unemployment rate of 4.5 per cent, net international reserves at US$4.5 billion as of November 2023, a remarkable 55 per cent increase in export earnings for the first quarter of 2023, and a projected debt-to-GDP ratio of approximately 74 per cent by the end of this fiscal year,” said the prime minister.