Minister of Mining and Geology, Floyd Green, says the additional cost that will accompany the establishment of the new ministry will be minimal.
This, as critics question whether the establishment of a new ministry is not contrary to the Holness administration’s thrust to cut costs.
Mahiri Stewart reports.
Minister Green was speaking on Nationwide This Morning on Tuesday. He says under the new ministry, there won’t be any need to hire additional staff or lease new office space.
The new Ministry of Mining and Geology was established last week and operations got underway on Monday, November 2 with a high-level meeting.
The meeting included Darlene Morrison, the former financial secretary who has been reassigned as permanent secretary in the new ministry.
The opposition has described the reassignment as a demotion. It has also questioned whether the new ministry was created to facilitate the removal of Morrison as financial secretary.
Minister Green has pushed back.
Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has given the ministry a four-point agenda.
This includes a new royalty and tax regime and a critical minerals strategy that looks at recovering valuable minerals from bauxite residue.
There’s also a charge for the mining and geology ministry to determine a reliable supply of affordable aggregates for communities rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa.
The second priority for Minister Green is to bring Cabinet a plan to transition the Jamaica Bauxite Institute into a minerals institute.
Third, is environmental protection, including a public digital licensing system, a national register of mined-out lands awaiting rehabilitation, and action on the auditor general’s recommendations.
The fourth priority is to divest the government’s interest in Clarendon Alumina Production and its stake in Jamalco to end or sharply reduce taxpayers’ exposure to operating losses and capital calls.
The ministry has 30 days to submit its implementation plan to the prime minister.
