BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — THE removal of bureaucratic red tape to enhance business, infrastructural and tourist-related developments and education were among the topics discussed as Prime Minister Andrew Holness met with business leaders in St Elizabeth last Thursday.

In a question-and-answer session following a short address, Holness pledged that in addition to seeking to solidify and sustain macro-economic gains his government was intent on encouraging business at the micro level so that the country could again experience the sense of a “booming economy” with the resultant increased employment.

The prime minister said the use of technology was essential as Jamaica made steps to remove bureacratic tangles and modernise its public and private sectors to create a more business-friendly environment.

He promised to probe issues surrounding the Lovers’ Leap attraction in Southfield, SE St Elizabeth which has been closed for some time.

Holness, who is also Minister of Education, said his government continued to look with favour at the possibility of converting the Sydney Pagon Agricultural School in Elim to a “post secondary community college-type institution”. But he emphasised that any such move would have to be dependent on an adequate replacement for the current secondary school.

The meeting between Holness and St Elizabeth’s business leaders preceded a mass rally of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) at the Black River town centre.