Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced the establishment of a 21–member high-level COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force to devise plans for the gradual reopening of the economy which is being ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Holness told a Jamaica House press conference Monday evening that the government will now be shifting its attention to the economic recovery.
“Just to be clear, this is not a talk shop…This is about the nuts and bolts, putting in place the logistics…it’s about getting to the nitty gritty of the subject.
“It’s not a body for grandstanding and a whole lot of talk. This is about action,” the prime minister emphasised.
He said the task force will be chaired by the Minister of Finance and Public Service, Dr Nigel Clarke.
The other members are:
*Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries – Audley Shaw
*Minister of Tourism – Edmund Bartlett
*Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation – Daryl Vaz
*Minister of Science, Energy and Technology – Fayval Williams
* Professor Gordon Shirley – Port Authority of Jamaica
*Ivan Anderson – Managing Director – National Road Operating and Constructing Company Limited
*Keith Duncan – President, Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ)
*Lloyd Distant – President, Jamaica Chamber of Commerce
*Richard Pandohie – President, Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association
*Omar Robinson – President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association
*Donovan Wignall – President of the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise
*Helen Davis White – President, Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions
*Lenworth Fulton – President, Jamaica Agricultural Society
*Gloria Henry – President, Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica
*Joe Matalon – Past president of the PSOJ
*Chris Zacca – Past president of the PSOJ
*William Mahfood – Past president of the PSOJ
*Nadine Spence – Gender activist
*Adam Stewart – Deputy Chairman of Sandals International
*John Byles – Tourism attraction operator
*Professor Alwyn Wint – Member of the National Partnership Mechanism
According to Holness, “All of this, of course, has to be done in conjunction with the Ministry of Health because all the economic activities that we’re going to do should be viewed through the prism of the Ministry of Health”.
