PRIME Minister Andrew Holness says the 1.8 per cent economic growth predicted by the Planing Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) for the previous quarter of 2018 is a sign that the country is on the right growth path.

Speaking to Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters in Brown’s Town on Sunday, the prime minister said that he usually would not talk about growth below two per cent. However, he said, in the context of the figures since July/September quarter of 2017, he was happy with the 1.8 per cent the PIOJ has estimated.

“Real growth that we want to see is above two per cent, but I am happy about this 1.8 per cent growth that is estimated,” he said.

He noted that there was 0.8 per cent growth in the July/September 2017 quarter, followed by 1.1 per cent in the October/December quarter, 1.4 per cent for the January/March quarter of 2018, and the newly estimated 1.8 per cent for the April/June quarter of 2018.

The event was held to present Minister of Education, Youth and Information Senator Ruel Reid as the JLP’s new candidate for St Ann North Western.

Said Holness: “What this is telling us is that the economy is on the right track; so it seems to me that the (government’s) policies are having the right effect on the economy.

“If we maintain this path, if we maintain our economic strategies, you will start to see growth increase of two per cent. So, I am saying to you, the people of the country, my Jamaican family, keep the faith with your government. We are doing the right things,” he added.

He also noted the 10 per cent increase in the agricultural sector, for which he credited Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Audley Shaw, and Shaw’s predecessor Karl Samuda.

Additionally, he pointed to improvements in the bauxite sector, especially with the intervention of Chinese investors JISCO at Alpart, as well as the widespread growth in construction.

Holness said this proved that the government was not depending on any one sector to provide growth.

“Our growth strategy is looking at how we can add value to the resources that we have here,” he said.

He also shared that more Jamaicans were investing in their own homes, resulting in a 25 per cent improvement in the number of mortgages, as more Jamaicans were taking money from the bank to invest in their own residences.

He attributed this to the fact that mortgages have become more affordable, including through the National Housing Trust.

Holness pointed out that, for the first time, the foreign exchange reserves had climbed beyond $3 billion, after falling to some US$800,000 in 2013 which, he noted, would not have been enough to finance three months of imports.

“There is confidence in the economy and the economic policies of the government,” he boasted.

“It means that with such an economy jobs will be created. and we are committed to keep driving down unemployment; we are getting more Jamaicans employed. In fact, more Jamaicans are employed now than at any other time in [the] history of independent Jamaica,” he noted.

But, Holness said that the government’s focus was not only on the economy, but also on the poverty, which he noted has declined by four per cent.

“We are not just spending money on roads and building houses, but we have now increased the PATH programme to five days per week — so, we are investing in the total safety net of the most vulnerable,” he said.

However, he said he was happiest about the impact on crime by his Government’s policies, especially on murders.

“You can’t enjoy prosperity if you dead, and so the objective of the JLP is preserve your lives, and some steps have been taken,” he said, also noting that security was a “pre-condition for economy growth”, he stated.