No big bill

Minister of Mining and Geology Floyd Green speaks at a post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday as Information Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon looks on. (Photo: Garfield Robinson) AS the Government tightens its belt and orders a review of public spending, it has created a new Ministry of Mining and Geology. But Minister Floyd Green insists taxpayers will hardly feel the cost, arguing that the ministry is being built largely from resources and positions that were already in place. Green, who also has responsibility for agriculture and fisheries, said the new ministry would not require the Government to recruit additional staff, establish new agencies or provide separate office accommodation. He made the comments at Wednesday’s post-Cabinet press briefing, where he outlined the ministry’s plans and defended its creation against the backdrop of the Government’s drive to reduce expenditure and redirect resources towards national recovery. Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness recently announced a series of spending restrictions, including a moratorium on non-essential overseas travel and a pause on official vehicle purchases until March 31, 2027. The Government has also ordered a review of public-sector property leases, discouraged hotel retreats and reinstated restrictions on official Christmas parties. The measures are part of a wider effort to control spending as Jamaica continues to recover from last year’s Hurricane Melissa. The creation of another ministry therefore raised questions by many about the cost of expanding the Government’s administrative structure at a time when it is urging public bodies to spend less. However, Green, said mining already had much of the technical structure needed to operate as a ministry because it had previously been a ministry before being reduced to a division. “So mining used to be a ministry years ago, and then it moved and became a division. But it never changed its structure in relation to the various technical officers that you have. So we have a director of mining who happens to be here with us, we have a commissioner of mining who is here with us, we have two deputy commissioners of mining, [and] all of those positions were already there,” Green said. He also noted that the Jamaica Bauxite Institute and Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited are also existing agencies, while the new ministry will share human resources and accommodation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. “So no new entities have been established or are being established. Additionally, we are practising a shared service model. Again, this is something that the Ministry of Finance has been pushing forward. So we are not developing new human resources and new accommodations. All of that will be shared with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. So when you look at the cost for the new ministry, it is genuinely minimal,” he said. He said the new structure was intended to speed up work in a sector that the Government believes can play a greater role in economic growth, particularly as Jamaica rebuilds following Hurricane Melissa. He revealed that the ministry’s main task will be to expand the country’s mining industry beyond its traditional focus on bauxite and alumina, while improving the benefits Jamaica receives from its mineral resources. Green said the bauxite and alumina sectors had been affected by two major hurricanes, setting back production and making a fresh approach necessary. One of the areas being targeted is the system used to collect revenue from bauxite production. Green said the Government was reviewing the levy formula, which dates back to the 1980s, with work already involving the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, the mining division and the Ministry of Finance. He said the proposed changes were expected to be brought to Parliament in the coming weeks. But the Government also wants to make greater use of Jamaica’s limestone resources by encouraging companies to process the material locally instead of exporting it for further manufacturing overseas. Green said Jamaica had chemical-grade limestone, which is used in products such as antacids and toothpaste, and that the ministry would develop incentives to attract investors to process it here. Green said the intention was to encourage companies to invest in Jamaica and create more value from the resource before it is sold. “How do we get companies to invest in Jamaica to do the value-adding here? In order to do that, we need to craft an incentive regime that will say to investors, this is what we have to offer, this is what we think can work, and we want you to come here,” he said. The ministry is also expected to play a role in preparing the country for possible gold and copper production. Green said international companies were working with Jamaican firms to explore the potential, but stressed that it was too early to say whether commercially viable deposits existed.