ADVT.

PRIME MINISTERthe Most Hon.Andrew Holness

broke ground for an addi-tional 63,000 square feetof office space to facilitateexpansion of the growingBusiness Process Out-sourcing (BPO) industry,in Montego Bay, onAugust 25. The building, which isexpected to be completedby early next year, is beingconstructed in theMontego Bay Freezone. Speaking at the cere-mony, Mr. Holness saidthe new facility will fur-ther cement Jamaica’splace as a major player inthe global BPO sector. “The 63,000 squarefeet will increase BPOtype space by 10 per centwithin the Montego BayFreezone, and bring totalspace in the zone to665,000 square feet,” thePrime Minister said,adding that the countrycontinues to leverage its

position in the internation-al BPO market. Mr. Holness, in citingMontego Bay’s top posi-tion in the local BPO sec-tor, pointed out that it is a

major source of employ-ment for Jamaicans, whileproviding support for otherindustries. He noted that althoughthe BPO sector continues

to grow at a rapid rate,with 16 per cent growth inthe last financial year, theGovernment is pushing foreven further expansion ofthe industry.

PRIME MINISTER theMost Hon. AndrewHolness, says he expectsthe target of delivering1,200 land titles for the2016/17 financial year willbe achieved, and possiblysurpassed. He said this is largelyas a result of the signing ofa Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) betweenthe Land Administration andManagement Programme(LAMP) and the Develop-ment Bank of Jamaica(DBJ) for the provision ofa $90 million grant to fundthe initiative. Mr. Holness said some600 titles have been handedover since the signing ofthe agreement in 2014,with an additional 1,000now being processed. Thegrant assists beneficiariesin acquiring the land titles,as well as with incidental

costs, including the sur-veying of lands. The Prime Minister wasaddressing a ceremony, held atJamaica House on August 23,to hand over some 220 landtitles to individuals fromparishes across the country. He commended theDBJ, LAMP, as well as the

recipients for all the effortput into getting the titlesdone. “We are seeking toempower all Jamaicanswith a renewed sense ofownership and pride ... byensuring that each personhas a title for their land.We want every Jamaican

to have a vested interest inbuilding Jamaica land welove,” he said.

1,200 Land Titles to be Delivered for 2016/17

Economy Records Growth

Labour Force up by 53,100

THE PLANNING Insti-tute of Jamaica (PIOJ) isforecasting economic growthbetween 0.5 to 1.5 percent, for the July toSeptember quarter.

Newly appointed Dir-ector General, Dr. WayneHenry, said this is expectedafter the country recordeda 1.1 per cent out-turn forthe April to June period. Noting that economicgrowth for the first sixmonths of the 2016 calendaryear increased by 0.9 per

cent over the correspon-ding period last year, theDirector General said theout-turn for the 2016/17fiscal year is projected torange between one andtwo per cent. He was speaking at thePIOJ’s media briefing forthe April to June quarter,which was held at theInstitute’s head office inNew Kingston, on August 24. Dr. Henry said thequarter’s out-turn largelyreflected favourable weatherconditions which positivelyimpacted the agriculture,forestry and fishing industry,and contributed to the con-tinued strengthening of theglobal economy, notablyhotels and restaurants. Also in the mix wasimproved domestic demand,following stronger busi-ness and consumer confi-dence, and increased con-struction activities associ-ated with hotel devel-opments and new officespace facilitating the busi-ness process outsourcing(BPO) sector.

Planning Institute of Jam-aica (PIOJ) Director General,Dr. Wayne Henry.

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (right)hands over a land title to Donald Miller, one of over 220recipients of land titles at a ceremony held, at JamaicaHouse, on August 23.

THE CONSUMER AffairsCommission (CAC) is urgingparents to prioritise whenpurchasing textbooks forthe new school year. Speaking at a JIS‘Think Tank’ on August 24,Chief Executive Officer,Dolsie Allen, said parentsshould consult the schoolsto find out the recom-mended books for the firsthalf of the school yearbefore buying. “This will help you tobudget better. Do not pur-chase all the books fromthe list at once. Utilise theapproved list endorsed bythe Ministry of Edu-cation,” Mrs. Allen advised. She also recommendedthat parents utilise theNational Textbook RentalScheme or purchase pre-owned books as a meansof cutting cost.

The annual textbook sur-vey shows that the cost oftext books has increasefour per cent over last year. The CAC partneredwith the Ministry ofEducation, Youth andInformation to conduct theannual textbook survey

between July 25 andAugust 5, 2016 in 13parishes across Jamaica. Consumers can visit theCAC’s website to compareprices for particular text-books across stores at:http://www.consumeraffairsjamaica.gov.jm/

CAC Urges Parents to Prioritise When Buying Textbooks

Chief Executive Officer of the Consumer AffairsCommission (CAC), Dolsie Allen (left), addresses a JIS‘Think Tank’ on August 24. Director of Research at theCAC, Charmaine Thomas, is at the right.

GSAT Students Recognised

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (centre), breaks ground for the constructionof 63,000 square feet of new office space for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)sector in the Montego Bay Freezone, on August 25. Joining the Prime Minister (fromleft) are: President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Port Authority of Jamaica,Professor Gordon Shirley; Attorney General and Member of Parliament for WestCentral St. James, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte; Minister without Portfolio in theMinistry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang and Mayor ofMontego Bay, Councillor Glendon Harris.

Ground Broken for BPO Project

THE STATISTICAL Instituteof Jamaica (STATIN) isreporting that the country’slabour force increased by53,100 persons to 1,353,500as at April 2016. According to STATIN’sLabour Force Survey forthat month, 1,168,600 per-sons secured employment,representing an increase of40,100 over the corre-sponding period in 2015. Planning Institute ofJamaica (PIOJ) DirectorGeneral, Dr. Wayne Henry,speaking at the Institute’squarterly media briefingheld at its head office inNew Kingston on August24, said eight of the 16industry groups recordedincreased employmentlevels consequent on

recruiting a greater numberof persons. “The largest increaseswere recorded for hoteland restaurant services, up12,900 persons; construc-tion, up 12,500 persons;other community, socialand personal service activ-ities, up 8,800 persons; andmanufacturing, up 7,900persons,” he outlined. Meanwhile, Dr. Henrysaid the expansion in thelabour force was attributa-ble to several factors. These, he outlined,include an increase in theworking-age population,14 years and older, by4,100 persons and a con-traction in the number ofpersons outside the labourforce by 49,000 persons.

Dr. Henry said themain reasons for the con-traction were a reduction inthe number of individualsindicating they did notwant to work, by 43,300persons; a 5,500 decline inthe number of personsindicating that they werestaying home with depend-ents; and a 3,500 reductionin the number of personsindicating they were atschool part-time. The Director Generalsaid as a result of theexpanded labour force, theunemployment rate record-ed for April stood at 13.7per cent. This, he indicated, was0.4 per cent higher than thefigure for the correspon-ding period in 2015.

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (centre, back row); Cabinet Secretary,Ambassador the Hon. Douglas Saunders (left); and Permanent Secretary in theOffice of the Prime Minister (OPM), Audrey Sewell (right), with the 2016 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) awardees, who are children of staff members at OPM and the Cabinet Office, at a ceremony, held on August 24, at the OPM.