WESTERN BUREAU:
THE MINISTRY of Commerce is to expand its services and administrative capabilities in western Jamaica on February 20, when it establishes a Western Regional office in Montego Bay. The Regional office will be located at the UGI Building on Market Street in the 'Second City', where the Ministry is to share offices with the Bureau of Standards.
According to Phillip Paulwell, Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology once the office is up and running he and his Permanent Secretary Dr. Jean Dixon will be spending two days per week in western Jamaica, attending to the development needs of companies and investors.
This move he explains is part of a new thrust spearheaded by his Ministry, to assist businesses outside of the Kingston Metropolitan Region.
He pointed to an added bonus for commercial interests in western Jamaica: "On the first weekend after the office is opened in Montego Bay, I will spend time visiting
the Call Centres and Freezones and meeting with the operators to get first hand knowledge of some of their problems."
The Commerce Ministry is convinced that the western end of the island is fertile territory for the development and expansion of information technology activities, but noted that the region has not been getting enough attention from the public and private sectors.
INTERFACE
Insisting on the need for the Ministry to interface more with business interests, Mr. Paulwell noted that there are several companies anxious to go the route of expansion, "Job stability and the level of turnover in employment is much lower in Montego Bay than in Kingston... and many of the Call Centre companies have said to me that they do want to expand more and more in Montego Bay."
Meanwhile, showing cautious optimism at the Ministry's move to have a foothold in western Jamaica, Mark Kerr-Jarrett, President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce has expressed the hope that the latest development will bring increased investments and increased productivity for the west; and "not increased bureaucratic red tape".
"The move to the west by the Ministry of Commerce, Science and Technology should be one of relocation of services offered by the Ministry and not one of relocating additional red tapes and burdens to businesses," warned Mr. Kerr-Jarrett. "I hope for example, someone who wants permits for exports and imports will not have to make trips (journey) into Kingston. The Commerce Ministry also needs to take a serious look at how to garner investments, especially foreign investments for western Jamaica."
The need for improved infrastructure in western parishes, the need for a Montego Bay by-pass, proper traffic management in the city and efficiency on the part of government in expediting applications for permits and licences are deterrents to increased productivity and investments, which the Boss of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce wants the Commerce Ministry and other arms of government to address, as a matter of urgency.
