NEWLY appointed Minister of Energy, Science and Technology Dr Andrew Wheatley says he will not discontinue the policies of the previous People’s National Party Administration, but will focus on improving them while bringing new ideas to ensure that Jamaica realises growth.

A positive Dr Wheatley, while speaking with the

Jamaica Observer Monday after being sworn in as minister at a ceremony at King’s House in St Andrew, said he was ready to assume his duties.

“I feel very positive. I believe it is a ministry that we can really use to push Jamaica forward in terms of the theme that we campaigned on: ‘From poverty to prosperity’.“

During the election campaign, which ended with a Jamaica Labour Party victory on February 25, the now Government’s message was one of moving Jamaica from poverty to prosperity. They also outlined a 10-point plan that would get the country there. Dr Wheatley, who retained his St Catherine South Central seat after defeating the People’s National Party’s Courtney Spence by more than 5,000 votes, also outlined a 10-point plan for the development of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

“The components of this ministry speaks to some critical elements for growth and creating prosperity for the people of this country,” Dr Wheatley said. “We have already put in place plans; the 10-point plan for the ICT sector will also be expanded, of course.”

The minister, who was quite vocal as Opposition spokesperson on science, ICT and digital society development, told the

Observer that his Government is cognisant of the challenges in the energy sector, which fell under the purview of then Opposition spokesperson on mining and energy, Robert Montague.

“We will be looking at what is currently there and improve on the programmes or policies or projects that are there to ensure that we are not about scrapping what the previous administration had in place. We are going to fully examine what they did and, of course, improve on them because we have ideas as it relates to how we want to see the energy sector grow,” Dr Wheatley explained.

“And, of course, we all can appreciate the importance of energy when it comes to growth, production in particular,” he continued. “What makes Jamaica uncompetitive on the world market is that the cost of energy is very high in Jamaica, so it is paramount for us to lower our energy costs to attract investment.”

He does not, however, forsee any area within his portfolio that will be particularly challenging.

“I believe that I have a competent team of persons and I will be drawing persons with special expertise from all cross-sections of Jamaica to ensure that we put a team in place that appreciates our main objective,“ Dr Wheatley explained. “There will be challenges, but I don’t think they are unsurmountable challenges.”

Eager to hit the ground running, Dr Wheatley told the

Observer that he was going directly to the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology, which is located at the PCJ Building in New Kingston, after the swearing-in ceremony.