Minister of National Security, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, says the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) continues to be Jamaica’s flagship agency in border management, providing unquestionable quality service to its customers.
Dr. Chang, who was speaking to reporters following a tour of the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St. James, on August 18, said it is against this background that the role of PICA is so important, adding that a strong border security framework is critical to Jamaica’s economic and developmental goals.
He argued that improvements to the country’s border management systems guarantee the safety and security of persons utilising “our ports of entry” for legitimate purposes, ensuring that visitors to the island have a welcoming, safe, and efficient experience upon entry.
“As the number of passengers transiting our ports of entry increase, we have had to make the necessary investments over time to maintain ease of entry and security at the ports. Over time, the Sangster International Airport has been seeing increasing growth in passenger volumes coming through the airport, because of the growth in the tourism Industry,” Dr. Chang noted.
“The records will show that between 2003 and 2022, approximately 66.7 million passengers have transited the Sangster International Airport. This increase in passenger volume has created serious challenges, as the infrastructure that was in place was not designed to deal with the volumes of flights and passengers coming through the airport,” he added.
The Minister said the Government has approved the most significant investment in the expansion of the Sangster International Airport since its construction in 1947, noting that upon completion, the tourism capital of Montego Bay will have the most modern airport facility in the Caribbean.
(more)
PICA’s Role…2
He added that “providing minimum quality standards in government services” is a requirement of “this Government”, arguing that “this focus on quality customer service” to internal and external customers was highlighted by the recent launch of the Government’s Service Excellence Policy.
“Prior to this, however, PICA had long sought to expand, digitise and improve its operations to ensure that Jamaicans at home, in the diaspora, and those utilising our ports of entry will have the most welcoming, safe and efficient experience,” the Minister said.
“Since 2016, the agency has taken a more aggressive approach to improving the quality of its operations. Today, PICA is widely accepted as the number-one agency for quality service,” he added.
He said that PICA’s ISO 9001:2015 certification for passport services, its establishment of a Document Forensic Laboratory through partnership with the British High Commission, the completion of pre-initiation activities for the Electronic Gates (E-Gates) initiative, and the conclusion of upgrade to the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS), under the government gateway portal for travel and identity facilitation, are but some of the accomplishments earned by the agency over time.
“In addition, PICA has adopted a new strategic direction to enhance travel facilitation through a risk-based data-driven inspection system. This also includes the rollout of the online passport application and adult passport renewal application systems, and the mobile passport offices,” the Minister noted.
