Jamaica Achievements 2016

1ACHIEVEMENTS 2016 —

ACHIEVEMENTS2016

Inside• Country on Solid Growth Path – 2• Government Going for Sustainable Growth – 7• Major Strides in Tourism – 13• Thousands of Jobs to be Created in Bauxite Industry – 15• Local Government Uplifting Communities – 27• Promoting Sport and Culture for Development, Protecting Women – 29

PROSPERITYPROSPERITYPartnership ForPartnership For

2 — ACHIEVEMENTS 2016

A production of the Jamaica Information Service January 22, 2017

In his address to the nationon March 3 after assumingoffice, Prime Minister the

Most Hon. Andrew Holnessgave a commitment to fostera partnership between theGovernment and the Jam-aican people. He also pledgedto promote an inclusive, pros-perous society and to eradi-cate social and economicinequality.

The months that followed weremarked by the push to secureeconomic growth and jobcreation through initiativesthat seek to restructure thecountry’s bureaucratic systemto enable efficient and quickdecision-making and to improvethe ease and speed of doingbusiness to facilitate investments.

Growth of 2.3 per cent wasachieved for the July to Sep-tember quarter, the highestsince 2007.

Government Pushes For•Economic Growth• The Prime Minister estab-

lished an Economic GrowthCouncil (EGC), led by inter-national business tycoon,Michael Lee Chin.

• The EGC has so far pro-duced a Call to Actionreport, which outlineseight specific growth ini-tiatives, with the aim ofachieving five per centgrowth in four years. Adeclaration of intent hasalso been signed withprivate sector groups,unions and civil society.The EGC will monitor theprogress of the Govern-ment in achieving the growthtarget and will report tothe country.

• The Prime Minister announ-ced a tripartite monitoringframework for the Pre-cautionary Stand-ByAgreement (SBA) approvedby the Board of the Inter-national Monetary Fund(IMF) in November 2015.The new monitoring frame-work will assess the

fiscal and monetary indi-cators, as well as socialand public sector issuesaccording to the require-ments of the SBA.

Increased NHT BenefitsMindful of the link betweensocial development, the raisingof living standards and sustain-able economic growth, the PrimeMinister announced a rangeof increased National HousingTrust Benefits in his budgetpresentation to Parliament.

• The measures, which tookeffect June 1, include

interest-free loans forpersons earning lessthan $12,000 per week;reduction of interest ratefrom four per cent to twoper cent for contributorsearning between $12,001and $20,000 per week;while persons earningbetween $20,001 and$30,000 weekly are eligi-ble for loans at four percent, down from six percent.

• The NHT’s Home Grantsprogramme has been

adjusted so that contri-

butors who earn a maxi-mum of $12,000 weeklycan apply for a grant ofup to $1.5 million instead ofthe previous $1.2 million.

• Additionally, the amountfor which an applicantcan apply to buy a houselot has moved from

$1.5 million to $2 million.

• The Land AdministrationManagement Programme(LAMP) distributed 1,066new land titles for the yearand 668 clarified titles.

Partnership Agreement • In December, Prime Minister Holness signed a Partner- ship for a Prosperous Jam- aica Agreement which renews commitment to the social partnership model. The Agreement, to be spearheaded by the National Partnership Council, was signed by representatives of the state, civil society, private sector and the trade unions. It aims to significantly improve the country’s economic growth and social development over the next four years.

Prime Minister Hosts Foreign Leaders• President of the Bolivarian

Republic of Venezuela,His Excellency NicolasMaduro Moros, made anofficial visit to the islandin June, which led toagreements on trade, energy and culture.

• In July, Prime MinisterHolness hosted thePrime Minister of Trinidadand Tobago, Dr. KeithRowley, for meetings andconsultations which ledto a commitment of enhanced dialogue andcooperation between thetwo countries.

Regional Co-operation• The Prime Minister

appointed a 17-memberCaribbean Community(CARICOM) ReviewCommission, chaired byformer Prime Minister,Bruce Golding.

• The Government joinedother countries in the region to develop solutionsand strengthen initiativesto tackle the threat of international banks endingtheir correspondentbanking relationshipswith local and regional financial institutions.

• Prime Minister Holnessaddressed the UnitedNations General Assemblyin New York on September23. He proposed an ini-tiative that calls for highlyindebted middle-incomecountries to be given access to developmentassistance. He urged international support forthe move, which he saidwould allow countries toreceive assistance in theform of investment, favour-able trade, technologytransfer, security and energy.

Launch of Youth Advisory Board• The Government, in

November, launched thecountry’s first ever YouthAdvisory Council of Jam-aica, which comprises 16young people who willserve for the period 2016 -2018. Prime MinisterHolness said the newgroup embodies the Gov-ernment’s commitment totreat youth as full andequal partners in the decision-making process.

Ja House Fellowship• The Prime Minister launched the Jamaica House Fellow-

Country on Solid Growth Path

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (3rd left) showsthe ‘five in four’ with (from left) Member of the EconomicGrowth Council (EGC), Adam Stewart; EGC Chairman, MichaelLee Chin; and Vice-Chairman, Ambassador Nigel Clarke, duringa signing ceremony and call to action at the Courtleigh Auditoriumon November 7. A declaration of intent was signed to under-score the Government’s commitment to policies set out in thegrowth initiatives published by the EGC to achieve five percentgrowth in four years.

Cont’d on page 3

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left) hands overa title to Stedford Latouch, at a Land Administration andManagement Programme (LAMP) titling ceremony held onAugust 23 at Jamaica House. Some 220 land titles were presentedto recipients from across the island.


ship Programme, which offers qualified and highly motivated Jamaicans the opportunity to grow pro-

fessionally, while contri-buting to national devel-opment by serving aspaid Fellows at JamaicaHouse.

Advances in Security• The Prime Minister hailed

the successful staging ofExercise Tradewinds2016 for building thecountry and region’s

capacity to conductcounter-transnational

organised crime opera-tions. Phase II of the Exercise was hosted inJamaica jointly by the Jamaica Defence Force(JDF) and the UnitedStates Southern Com-mand (US SOUTHCOM)from June 20 to 28.

• Mr. Holness announcedthe creation of the Office ofNational Security Advisor(NSA), and the appoint-ment of former Chief ofDefence Staff, MajorGeneral Antony Anderson,to the post in November2015. The creation of theoffice of the NSA is acritical move in supporting

and coordinating Jam-aica’s national security

superstructure.

National Identification System• A White Paper was tabled

for the introduction of aNational IdentificationSystem (NIDS) in Jam-aica, which the PrimeMinister indicated is setfor roll out in January 2018.NIDS will be used to cap-ture and store personalidentity information forcitizens and persons res-ident in the island.

Access to Information • The Access to Information

Unit carried out a weekof activities in Septemberto observe ‘Right to KnowWeek’ under the theme:‘Right to Know... Powerto Change’. The campaignwas used to raise aware-ness of an individual’sright to access Governmentdocuments, while pro-moting freedom of infor-mation as an essentialingredient for democracyand good governance.

JSIF Committed To Development• Jamaica’s capacity to

produce clean Irish potato

seedlings has been enhan-ced with a $19-million allocation from the Jam-aica Social InvestmentFund (JSIF). Under theprogramme, the moneyspent annually to import90 per cent of Irish potatoseeds into the island willbe cut significantly, whilethe availability of first-generation seeds will beguaranteed.

• JSIF launched a NationalCommunity Tourism Portalto promote licensed

community-based tourism enterprises across the island. The portal is part

of the Government’sUS$15-million Rural Eco-nomic Development

Initiative (REDI) project,being implemented withfunding from the WorldBank.

• Through the REDI project,JSIF constructed sevenagro-processing facilitiesin seven parishes to sup-port Micro and Small ScaleRural Agro-processors.A Cocoa Drying and CuringFacility for the JamaicaCocoa Farmers’ Asso-

ciation was also con-structed.

• JSIF constructed andequipped 48 classroomsat five Primary and All-Age schools in St. Ann,Manchester and St.Catherine using the designand build constructionmethodology. More than7,000 persons benfittedfrom these interventions.The additional class-rooms will assist in

significantly reducing ortotally removing the

institutions from the shiftsystem.

• With funding from thePetro Caribe DevelopmentFund, JSIF has beenworking with the Ministryof Education to eliminatepit latrines in rural schools.During the year 18 Pri-mary and All Age schoolsreceived sanitation unitswhich will benefit approx-imately 1,200 persons.The schools are located inthe parishes of Clarendon,St. Catherine, Hanover,Manchester, St. Elizabethand St. Mary.

Country on Solid Growth Path… cont’d from page 2

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness interacts withchildren following a ceremony by the Land Administration andManagement Programme (LAMP) to hand over 220 land titlesat Jamaica House, on August 23.

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left) cuts the ribbon to open the 43rd staging ofExpo Jamaica 2016, at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on April 14. Others assisting(from 2nd left) are: President, Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA), Metry Seaga; ChiefExecutive Officer, FLOW, Garfield Sinclair; President, Jamaica Promotions Company (JAMPRO),Dianne Edwards; and President, Jamaica Exporters’ Association (JEA), Michelle Chong.

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (2nd left), cutsthe ribbon to officially open business process outsourcing (BPO)company, IBEX Global’s offices in Portmore Pines, St. Catherine,on October 27. He is joined by (from left) CEO of IBEX Global,Robert Dechant; President of Jamaica Promotions Corporation(JAMPRO), Dianne Edwards; and Country Manager of IBEXGlobal, Dalgleish Joseph. The office in Portmore opened with550 persons with a view to increasing that number to 1,000when the facility is fully built out.


Economic Reform Programme on TrackJAMAICA REAPED signif-

icant dividends from con-tinued steady implemen-

tation of the Economic ReformProgramme (ERP) throughoutthe year.

Notable among the gains were:

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Approval• The multilateral organi-

sation approved a three-year, US$1.64 billion pre-cautionary standby suc-cessor agreement to replacethe four-year ExtendedFund Facility (EFF).

• Jamaica passed its 14th

and final EFF quarterlyreview conducted by theIMF’s Staff Mission Teamnear the end of the year.The country was deemedto have consistently metthe key benchmarks, including the PrimarySurplus Balance, whichnow stands at 7.25 percent of Budget, as wellthe Net International Reserves (NIR), whichended the year at morethan US$2.4 billion.

• Revenue inflows werealso well above budget,with the outturn beingmore than $200 billion, or5.8 per cent higher thanprojected.

Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC)New members were selectedfor this committee, set upto oversee the programme’simplementation.

The entity will be co-chairedby Jamaica Money MarketBrokers (JMMB) Group ChiefExecutive Officer, Keith Duncan,and Bank of Jamaica (BoJ)Governor, Brian Wynter.

Mr. Duncan replaces SagicorLife Jamaica Limited’s Presi-dent and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Richard Byles, whoheld the position for the durationof the EFF’s implementation.

Multilateral Funding SupportJamaica continued to enjoyadditional funding support

from other multilateral organ-isations. These included:• A US$30 million World

Bank loan to further boostthe national disaster andclimate risk managementprogramme. The loan, tobe disbursed over a six-year period under theBank’s Disaster Vulnera-bility Reduction Project,will support the Govern-ment’s programme to reduce environmentalhazards.

The project, being implementedby the Jamaica Social Invest-ment Fund (JSIF), comprisesfour components. These targettechnical assistance for impro-ved disaster and climate resili-ence; risk reduction; contingentemergency response; and pro-ject administration.

Specific focus will be placedon disaster response and reco-very; creating a safer environ-ment for schools; and disasterrisk financing and insurance.

• A US$100 million Inter-American DevelopmentBank (IDB) loan to fundthe ‘Financial SystemReform Support Pro-

gramme’ aimed at facili-tating increased accessto business financing.

Economic GrowthThird quarter growth of 2.3per cent was recorded for theJuly to September period,representing the highest out-

turn since 2007. This was mainlyattributed to a 28.8 per centgrowth in agriculture and anover two per cent spike in thehotel and restaurant sector.

The Planning Institute of Jam-aica (PIOJ) projects fourthquarter fiscal year growth

ranging between one andtwo per cent for October toDecember, with a similaroverall forecast for 2016/17.

Employment UpThe total number of personsemployed as at July 2016stood at 1,186,900. This rep-resented an increase of 39,400persons relative to July 2015.

The Statistical Institute of Jam-aica’s (STATIN) Labour ForceSurvey indicated that this isthe highest level of employmentever recorded in a singlemonth.

The number of employed malesrose by 9,700 to 663,100 andemployed females by 29,700to 523,800. Youth employmentalso increased by 16,200 to152,100 persons.

Conversely, unemploymentdeclined to a five-year low of12.6 per cent for the period.

Inflation DownThe rate of inflation continuesto decline, with the outturnfor the September quarterfalling to 1.9 per cent. The BoJreported that this was 0.9 percent lower than the figure forthe June quarter. It further indi-cated that the September

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw (left), emphasises a point whileaddressing journalists during the 13th International Monetary Fund (IMF) quarterly review mediabriefing, at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) on August 19. Listening is Head of the IMFStaff Mission Team to Jamaica, Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan.

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw (left) and General Manager for theCaribbean Country Department of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Therese Turner-Jones, sign the US$50 million loan agreement under the Fiscal Structural Programme forEconomic Growth (FISPEG) III. The signing was held on December 19 at the Ministry of Financeand the Public Service, National Heroes Circle. Observing the proceedings are Senior NegotiationsOfficer, Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Nadine James (standing) and Senior OperationsAssociate, IDB, Brodrick Watson. Cont’d on page 6


Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (5th left), along with his wife and Member of Parliamentfor St. Andrew East Rural, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness (3rd right), lead Government Ministers intoGordon House at the Ceremonial Opening of Parliament on April 14. Others (from left) are: Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of EconomicGrowth and Job Creation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang;Minister of National Security, Hon. Robert Montague;Attorney General, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte; Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the PrimeMinister, Hon. Derrick Smith; Minister of Culture,Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. OliviaGrange; and Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie.

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left) makes a point during an interview with News Correspondent for

African and Caribbean Social Affairs at theBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),

Elaine Dunkley, at Jamaica House on April 7.

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left)greets Ardenne High School sixth form student, JoelleNotice (right), during the launch of the Global Partner-ship to End Violence Against Children, at the Office ofthe Prime Minister in Kingston, on November 24. Atcentre is teacher, Ardenne High School, Caniggia Palmer.

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (right) gives words of encour-agement to grade six student at Brown’s Hall Primary in St. Catherine, OmadeWilliams (centre), after gifting him with a tablet at the Office of the PrimeMinister (OPM) on May 11. Omade’s grandmother, Veronica Gordon, is at left.The Prime Minister donated devices to Omade and his younger brother, JoelFolkes, following a recent meeting with Omade, who had delivered a letter toOPM in which he had written about himself and his ideas on policies to helpJamaican youth. The Prime Minister urged him to utilise the tablet for school-work and assignments.


outturn represented the eighthconsecutive quarter in whichinflation declined, with the ratefor the 2016 calendar year pro-jected to fall below two per cent.

Improved International Rating Jamaica’s sovereign seniorunsecured and provisionalshelf ratings was upgradedfrom CAA2 to B3 by inter-national financial rating entity,Moody’s Investors Service,which revised its outlook forthe economy from stable topositive.

The factors supporting theseoutcomes include: significantand sustained consolidationand strong commitment bythe Government to reducethe national debt; and signif-icant improvement in the cur-rent account, as well as morefavourable external conditions.

Working GroupDuring the year, a WorkingGroup was established toaddress exchange rate move-ments. The Group has beenweekly basis for discussionsaimed at ensuring that theexchange rate reflects marketrealities and is in line with thecountry’s economic and socialgoals.

Income Tax ThresholdThe Government embarkedon phase one implementationof the new $1.5 million incometax threshold on July 1. Theundertaking, being carriedout in two segments, saw theinitial figure increased to$1,000,272, up from $592,800.Under the initial phase, per-sons earning up to $19,236weekly or $83,356 monthlywill pay no income tax. Thisprovides them with an addi-tional $8,489 on their salaries.This action by the Governmenthas benefitted more than250,000 Jamaicans.

The threshold will move to$1.5 million as of April 1 thisyear, resulting in personsearning up to $125,008 beingexempt from paying incometax. This will amount to anadditional $10,413 on theirsalaries.Income ranging between$796,536 and $6 million willcontinue to be taxed at 25per cent, while the rate onearnings exceeding $6 million, inJuly was increased from 25to 30 per cent.

BudgetEstimates of Expenditure,totalling $579.93 billion, weretabled by Minister Shaw at

the opening of the 2016/17Budget Debate in the Houseof Representatives in April.This was 28 per cent less thanthe $808 billion revised Budgetfor the 2015/16 fiscal year.

Recurrent (housekeeping)expenses were earmarked at$459.37 billion, while capital(development) spending was$120.56 billion.

Prior to this, the House ofRepresentatives approved aResolution that provided thenew administration, whichassumed office in March,with the sum of $83.83 billionto carry on its business until2016/17 Budget was finalised.

LegislationSeveral pivotal pieces of leg-islation were debated andpassed in the Houses of Par-liament. Notable among thesewere the:• Income Tax (Amendment)

Act This piece of legislation, which was approved by both Houses, aims to ensure that incentives provided to businesses under the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) junior market, are maintained.

• National Insurance Act Both Houses approved proposed amendments to the legislation, which now enables the Government to administer timely adjust- ments of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) benefits for pensioners and other beneficiaries.• International Financial

and Business Services Three key pieces of legislation that are expected to better position Jamaica as a place of choice to facilitate the administration of these provisions were passed.

They include: the General Partnership Act 2016; the Partnership Limited Act 2016; and International Corporate and Trust Service Providers Act.

The General Partnership Act will formalise the process for foreign alliances pur- suing business transactions

in Jamaica and facilitate mergers and conversion of such arrangements.

The Limited Partnership Act aims to accommodate commercial activities not deemed suitable for other categories of business arrangements in Jamaica.

The International Corpo- rate and Trust Services Act seeks to promote and maintain high standards of conduct, ethics and competence in these provisions.

• Banking Services (DepositTaking Institutions) (AgentBanking) Regulations:

The House of Represen- tatives approved the Reg- ulations, which will enable aspects of banking engagements to be trans- acted through agents authorised by the Super- visory Authority. The objective is to widen banking access beyond existing deposit taking institutions’ branch net works and electronic access channels, to include the use of third party- owned locations that will offer products and services alongside their own. These entities include gas stations, supermarkets, hardware stores, money transfer and remittance

operations, and lottery outlets.

The legislation is awaiting the Senate’s deliberations and approval.

Jamaica Customs Agency/ ASYCUDAThe Jamaica Customs Agency(JCA) is reporting significantstakeholder compliance with itsAutomated System for Cus-toms Data (ASYCUDA) worldsystem since its full imple-mentation in April.

ASYCUDA is a web-basedsystem designed to transformthe JCA to a paperless operationthrough its use of electronicdocuments.

The platform is capable of inter-facing with other governmentand non-government tech-nology systems, thereby faci-litating electronic applicationsfor permits and licences.

The overall benefits includesimplified procedure for cus-tomers, reduced waiting time,more accurate and consistenttax calculation, and safeguardingthe country’s revenue.

The facility has been imple-mented at all major ports ofentry in Kingston and MontegoBay, St. James, as well as theOcho Rios pier in St. Ann;Falmouth pier in Trelawny;and Ian Fleming InternationalAirport in Boscobel, St. Mary.

Economic Reform Programme… cont’d from page 4

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw (left),and World Bank Country Manager for Jamaica, Galina Sotirova,exchange signed copies of the agreement for the institution’sUS$30 million loan provision for the National Disaster and ClimateRisk Management Programme. The signing took place at theMinistry’s National Heroes Circle offices in Kingston in July.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service,Hon. Fayval Williams, addresses the opening of the 12th Inter-American Network on Government Procurement (INGP)conference, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, in St. James,on November 29.


Government Going for Sustainable Growth

Upon taking office inMarch 2016, Prime Min-ister, the Most Hon.

Andrew Holness, announcedthe formation of the Ministryof Economic Growth and JobCreation (MEGJC), which ischarged with drafting the blue-print to drive economic growthand sustainable development.

The Ministry brings togetherseven critical portfolio areas:Land, Environment, ClimateChange, Investment, Waterand Wastewater, Housingand Works. It has oversightfor 48 Agencies, Departmentsand Divisions, which areresponsible for approximately68 subject areas.

Throughout the year, the PrimeMinister met with directorsand heads of agencies in theMinistry where he urged themto ensure that a supportiveenvironment for the privatesector is facilitated. He saidthe Ministry was establishedto be the centre of policy dev-elopment, facilitation and imple-mentation in Jamaica.

Highway Projects• On March 23, the Prime

Minister officially openedthe North-South leg ofHighway 2000, whichwas constructed at acost of US$600 million.The 67-kilometre stretch

extends from the MandelaHighway near Caymanasin St. Catherine to Mam-mee Bay in St. Ann.

It strategically links thenorthern and southernsections of the island,and provides opportunitiesfor investment projects.

• The Government finalisedarrangements with theExport-Import (EXIM)Bank of China to accessloan funding for road

improvement projects inthe southeastern andsouthwestern sections of

Jamaica. The projectswill cost US$384 million,US$57 million of whichwill be provided by theJamaican Government.

• Work is advanced on thewidening of the Mandela

Highway from a four tosix lane carriageway. Thisproject, which started inAugust, is valued atUS$64 million and isbeing done through theMajor Infrastructure

Development Programme(MIDP).

Improvements to Roads and Bridges• The National Works Agency

(NWA) commenced theUS$20.5 million recon-struction of the MarcusGarvey Drive Road inMarch. This project

includes the widening ofapproximately 2.44 kilo-metres of roadway andthe installation of side-walks and a median.

• The $35 million realign-ment of the Grange Laneand Municipal Boulevardintersection to form afour-way cross road withPassagefort Drive wascompleted in November.This was funded by theRoad Maintenance Fund.

• The Harbour Head Bridgein Port Morant was replacedat a cost of $50 million.

Work is underway for the$700 million constructionof the Kupius Bridge inClarendon and the $35million installation of abridge at Rentcombe in

St. Catherine.

• Several road rehabilitationand drainage improvementworks were carried outby the NWA, including the$432 million improvementof the Tombstone to Guttersstretch in St. Elizabeth;the $700 million workfrom Mineral Heights toDawkins in Clarendon; and$400 million work fromRiley-Dias to Glasgow inHanover.

• The NWA also spent $65million on sea defenceworks along the Falmouthcoastline. The project,which was completed inNovember, involved theconstruction of retainingand parapet walls andthe reinstatement of

sections of roadway.

Facilitating Small Business • A Memorandum of Understand was signed

for US$7.2 million inloans and grants to bemade available to micro,small and medium enter-prises (MSMEs) in thetourism and agriculturalsectors, to finance climatechange adaptation initia-tives. This is being imple-mented under the Adap-tation Programme and

Financing MechanismProject, a component ofthe Pilot Programme forClimate Resilience (PPCR)in Jamaica, with fundingfrom the Inter-AmericanDevelopment Bank (IDB).

• Through the DevelopmentBank of Jamaica’s (DBJ)Innovation Grant fromNew Ideas to Entrepre-neurship (IGNITE) pro-gramme, 27 entrepreneurswere awarded up to $4million each in grants

totaling $37.5 million. Theentrepreneurs receivedup to 70 per cent of aproject cost, to implementinnovation activities inthe creation and growth

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growthand Job Creation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang (right), listens as ChiefExecutive Officer, Kingston Wharves Limited, Grantley Stephenson,outlines some of the expansion and new development initiativesbeing undertaken to transform the Kingston Wharves into apremier transhipment facility during a tour of the KingstonWharves by the Minister in October.

Work underway on the upgrading and extension of MarcusGarvey Drive in Kingston.

Cont’d on page 8

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growthand Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz (centre), and former MissionDirector for the United States Agency for International Devel-opment (USAID) in Jamaica, Denise Herbol (right), are shownan exhibit by Meteorological Officer at the Meteorological Service,Jamaica (MSJ), Rohan Brown, during a forum held at theKnutsford Court Hotel, New Kingston, in March, to mark WorldMeteorological Day. The event was organised under the JamaicaRural Economy and Ecosystems Adapting to Climate Change II(Ja REEACH II) Project, a four-year initiative funded by USAID.


of new firms in the productive sectors.

BPO Projects• In August, the Prime Min-

ister broke ground for63,000 sq.ft of

office space to facilitateexpansion of the growingBusiness Process Out-sourcing (BPO) industryin the Montego Bay FreeZone. This project is to becompleted in early 2017.In October, Mr. Holnessofficially opened the IBEXGlobal facility in Portmore,which had so far employed550 persons.

• The DBJ approved fourloans valued at overUS$37 million for thebuild out of BPO spacein Kingston and MontegoBay. The agency hascommitted to further loanstotaling US$58 million tosupport the build out of771,550 sq. ft of spaceto provide 16,720 jobs.

Wigton III• In June, the PM commis-

sioned into service WigtonIII, the 24-megawatt

expansion of the windfarm in Rose Hill, Man-chester. The new facility,which began supplyingenergy to the nationalgrid in March, is projected

to generate 63,072 mega-watt-hours annually.

Water Projects • An artificial groundwater

recharge system wascompleted at Innswood,St. Catherine and is nowoperational. Minister withresponsibility for Water,Works and Housing, theHon. Dr. Horace Chang,says the facility’s devel-opment reflects the Gov-ernment’s approach toeffectively manage andadminister the delivery ofwater.

• Ground was broken forthe installation of 4.6kilometres of pipeline forthe Hounslow to Newellwater supply project inSt. Elizabeth on July14.The project is beingundertaken at a cost of$60.5 million and willbenefit some 1,000

residents of Newell, Big-woods, Bethany and

environs. It is scheduledto be completed inMarch 2017.

• In September, the NationalWater Commission (NWC)signed a US$1 milliongrant agreement with theUnited States Trade andDevelopment Agency

(USTDA) to help fund aone-year energy efficiencyand renewable project,which will improve theNWC’s operations.

Development of Trans-shipment Sector • The Government success-

fully divested the KingstonContainer Terminal (KCT)to Kingston Freeport Ter-

minal Limited (KFTL).There is agreement bet-ween the Port Authorityof Jamaica and KFTL forthe development and

expansion of the terminal,Jamaica’s main trans-shipment port.

• The Port Authority of Jam-aica (PAJ) launched aPort Community System(PCS), to manage alltrade logistics processes.The PCS is an open elec-tronic platform, whichenables the secure

exchange of informationbetween public and pri-vate stakeholders in theport community. Followingits full implementation,the PCS will enable savingsof US$10 million annually.

• In November, Prime Min-ister Holness joined withGerman and local inves-tors in ushering a ship

repair industry into thelocal economy with thelaunch of German ShipRepair Jamaica (GSRJ)Limited. He pledged sup-port to the entity, whichhas established a rela-

tionship with the Carib-bean Maritime Institute(CMI), to train persons inship repair services.

Housing Developments• Work started in April on a

$7 billion residential sub-division developmentwith 760 houses inInnswood, St. Catherine.The subdivision, knownas The Orchards, is beingdone through joint venturebetween SCJ HoldingsLimited and Rivi Gardnerand Associates.

• Ground was broken andtwo model units show-cased for the WinchesterHousing Development inHanover. Some 1,003housing units, starting ata price of approximately$4.7 million, are to beconstructed by contractors,Selective Homes.

Protecting the Environment and Mitigating Climate Change• The Government received

a copy of a United NationsEnvironmental Programme

Gov’t Going for Sustainable Growth… cont’d from page 7

Minister of State with responsibility for Works in the Office of the Prime Minister, Hon. EveraldWarmington (centre), along with members of the National Works Agency (NWA) examine a sectionof a damaged roadway during a tour of Eastern Portland, in April, after sections of the parishwere severely affected by heavy rains.

Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Hon. Derrick Smith (3rd left),listens as Tourism Specialist at the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), Beverly Stewart (left),gives highlights of tourism projects being undertaken by the Fund, during a tour of exhibitions ata launch ceremony for the Fund’s 20th anniversary at Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston on October25. They are accompanied by JSIF’s Managing Director, Omar Sweeney (right) and Park Rangerfrom the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, Herma Dawes.

Cont’d on page 9


Gov’t Going for Sustainable Growth… cont’d from page 8

scoping study entitled‘Green Economy: ATool for Sustainable

Development,’ along witha separate documenthighlighting how a greeneconomy relates to

Jamaica’s national dev-elopment plan, Vision2030. The documentsprovide a response tothe country’s challenges,such as poverty,

inequitable sharing ofresources and environ-mental degradation.

• Jamaica was among thefirst countries in theCaribbean and withinthe wider group ofSmall Island DevelopingStates (SIDS) to com-plete its Biennial UpdateReport (BUR), which isone of the reporting

requirements for devel-oping countries that areparties to the UnitedNations FrameworkConvention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC).

• The Jamaican Governmentratified the Paris Agree-ment on Climate Change,which seeks inter-

national agreement tohalt or reverse the

adverse effects of climatechange, ahead of PrimeMinister, Andrew Holness’attendance at the

UNFCCC Conferenceof the Parties (COP22)in Morocco in November.

• The Ministry has embarked on a series

of consultations island-wide under its YouthEnvironmental Advo-cacy Programme (YEAP).Launched in the yearunder review, YEAP isaimed at increasingyoung people’s knowl-edge, understandingand appreciation of theenvironment.

• Some 1,000 volunteersparticipated in a beach

clean-up exercise atHalf Moon Bay in Hell-shire, St. Catherine,hosted by the NationalEnvironment and Plan-ning Agency (NEPA), aspart of activities for

International CoastalClean-Up Day (ICCD)on September 17.

• In May 2016, theForestry Departmentpartnered with the

Jamaica Money MarketBrokers (JMMB) Limitedin the reforestation of2.4 hectares of denu-ded lands in Silent Hill,Manchester. Over 1,000forest tree seedlings(mixed species) wereplanted. This is part ofthe agency’s Adopt- A-Hillside Initiative gearedat encouraging privatesector participation innational reforestationefforts.

• The Forestry Departmentalso visited 102 schoolsacross 13 parishes tobuild awareness aboutits functions and theimportance of forests.Public participation intree planting activitiesby the agency was

facilitated through thedistribution of morethan 22,000 seedlingsfor the annual LabourDay and National TreePlanting Day (NTPD)activities.

Beautification Programme • State Minister with responsibility for Works,

Hon. Everald Warmington,in November, announcedplans for ‘NationalClean-up and Environ-mental BeautificationInitiative’. The projectentails drain cleaning,harvesting of plasticbottles for recycling,and bushing.

Security Ministry Boosts Efforts in Crime FightingThe Ministry of National

Security spent billions ofdollars to equip and boost

the Jamaica ConstabularyForce’s crime fighting capa-bilities, by incorporating thelatest technology and tech-niques, providing equipment,upgrading infrastructure, andproviding vital training for itspersonnel.

These were facilitated under theMinistry’s five-pillar strategyto fight crime, which focused on:swift and sure justice; crimeprevention through socialdevelopment; situational pre-vention; effective policing; andreducing re-offending.

CCTVs• More closed-circuit tele-

vision (CCTV) cameraswere installed in majortowns across the island.These included: Mandeville,Manchester; MontegoBay, St. James; SpanishTown, St. Catherine;

Negril, Westmoreland;Kingston; Port Maria, St.Mary; and Christiana,Manchester.

Upgraded Police Stations/Facilities• Police stations were built

and upgraded across theisland through a com-bined investment of $331million from the JamaicaSocial Investment Fund(JSIF), the NationalHousing Trust (NHT) andthe Jamaica ConstabularyForce (JCF).

• Several mobile stationswere rolled out. The tem-porary and convenientposts offer local com-munities more contactwith police officers.

• A number of police sta-tions were renovated andrefurbished across theisland, including the

Negril Police Station inWestmoreland; DenhamTown, Kingston; LionelTown and Four Paths,Clarendon; and SpanishTown and Central Village,St. Catherine.

• The Whitehouse; Sav-anna-la-Mar, BethelTown and Whithorn

police stations in West-moreland were equippedwith a number of basicitems in order to improvethe work environment.

• The refurbished physio-therapy building at theMedical Services Branch,located at the NationalPolice College of Jam-aica in Twickenham Park,St. Catherine, was offi-cially opened. It providesrehabilitative services forJCF members.

Vehicle Acquisition• The Ministry procured

200 pre-owned, econo-mical vehicles to boostthe mobile capacity of theJamaica ConstabularyForce (JCF).

• Two motor cars, donatedby the National Road

Operating and ConstructingCompany (NROCC), wereadded to the JCF’s fleet.The vehicles will be usedto increase patrols on theNorth-South Highwaycorridor in an effort to

reduce road fatalities.

• The Jamaica CombinedCadet Force (JCCF)

acquired an airplane fromthe British Governmentwhich will be used in itsstudent pilot training pro-gramme. It replaces anairplane which becameinoperable 14 years ago.

• The Tourism EnhancementFund (TEF) provided $50million for the repair of100 police vehicles underan initiative dubbed

‘Operation Quick Fix’.

Equipment• A total of 3,500 less lethal

weapon kits were dona-ted by the United StatesGovernment for the

Jamaica ConstabularyForce (JCF). Under theLess Lethal Programme,the JCF will receive 7,000pieces of equipment,

including batons, hand-cuffs, utility belts andpepper sprays.

• One hundred and twenty(120) body cameras were

deployed in six police divisions across Kingston

and St. Andrew. The firstareas that benefitted

Minister of National Security, Hon. Robert Montague (2nd left),tries out the closed-circuit television (CCTV) system installed atthe Islington Police Station in St. Mary. The system was donatedby Quest Security. Others (from left) are Advisor to the Minister,Peter Jones; Assistant Chaplin for the Area Two police division,Lenford Newell; and head of the division, Assistant Commis-sioner of Police, (ACP) Fitz Bailey.

Cont’d on page 10


included St. Andrew Cen-tral, St. Andrew South,Kingston Eastern, KingstonCentral and the Motor-ised Patrol and Traffic

Divisions. Over time, thebody camera project, whichis a collaborative effortbetween the JamaicaConstabulary Force (JCF)and the United StatesEmbassy, will benefit therest of the Force.

• Five police stations in theCorporate Area receivedfirst aid kits to providepolice vehicles with therequisite tools to offercare to victims at accidentscenes. The police stationswere: Matilda’s Corner,Papine, August Town,Gordon Town and GrantsPen.

• The analytical capabilityof the State-run Instituteof Forensic Science andLegal Medicine wasboosted with the acquisitionof a scanning electronmicroscope (SEM) valuedat approximately $42.3million (US$328,000).Thestate-of-the-art equipmentwill enable the laboratoryto better analyse traceevidence such as gun-shot residue, paint andglass fragments, amongother elements, whichare collected by the

police from crime scenes.It was provided by theUnited States (US) Bureauof International Narcoticsand Law Enforcement

Affairs, with support fromthe US Embassy in Jamaica.

New Recruits• A total of 497 new recruits

joined the Jamaica Con-stabulary Force.

• The Jamaica DefenceForce (JDF) welcomed199 new soldiers to itsranks.

• The Department of Cor-rectional Services wel-comed 143 newcorrectional officers.

Training/WorkshopImproved and continuoustraining was a major strategyof the Ministry.

• Over 300 police personneland front-line respondersbenefitted from trainingto effectively recognise,deal with and respond tovictims of rape, sexualharassment and domesticviolence. The sensitivitytraining falls under theDomestic, Sexual andGender-based ViolenceProject, which is jointlyfunded by the British HighCommission and theUnited States Embassyin Kingston.

• Law enforcement personnel and Justices of the

Peace (JPs) in St. James,Trelawny and Westmore-land received training onseparation of gender (inlock-ups), caution statement,child diversions, amongother issues.

l Members of the JCF received training on the

Lottery Scam Act, bordersecurity, domestic violenceand conflict resolution.

• Representatives from Jamaica Defence Force

(JDF) Coast Guard, theMarine Police and Immi-gration Officers receivedtraining in port security.

• Police personnel receivedtraining in maritime andland operations as partof Exercise Tradewinds

2016, which is phase twoof the multinational securitytraining initiative led byUS Southern Command(US SOUTHCOMM).

• A Memorandum of Under-standing was signed bet-ween the JCF and UWIopen campus for membersof the Force to accesshigher education.

• Senior forensic officersattached to the Institute’sChemistry Division were

trained in the UnitedStates.

FBI Office And Lottery Scam Taskforce• Plans are in place for the

reintroduction of the Lot-tery Scam Task Force bythe Jamaica Constabu-lary Force and for the

establishment of an officeof the US Federal Bureauof Investigations (FBI) of-fice in Jamaica.

National Task Force Against Trafficking In Persons (NATFATIP)• Jamaica was upgraded

to Tier 2 from the Tier 2Watch List in the UnitedStates (US) Departmentof State 2016 TIP report.A Tier 2 ranking meansthat the country is makingimportant strides in tack-ling human trafficking andis well on the way to fullcompliance with inter-

national trafficking lawsand standards.

Townhall Meetings• The Ministry staged a

number of townhallmeetings across the islandwhich attracted hundredsof Jamaicans. The meet-ings were staged as partof measures to inform the

public of the Ministry’splans and programmes.

Stay Alert Mobile Application• More than 18,000 per-

sons downloaded theStay Alert App. The appallows persons to sendphotos and videos to thepolice control centre.There is also a panicmode to alert law

enforcement in times of crisis.

Citizen Security And Justice Programme (CSJP)• Residents of Majesty

Gardens, in Kingston,benefitted from parentingand skills training as wellas infrastructure devel-opment, through the Inner-city Renewal Programme(IRP). The programmewas offered through col-laboration with Governmentagencies and the privatesector, for the improvementand sustainability of inner-city communities.

• Fifty young people fromthe CSJP communitiesbenefitted from coun-selling and support servicesto help them better under-stand and cope with

Security Ministry Boosts Efforts… cont’d from page 9

National Security Minister, Hon. Robert Montague (2nd left), isassisted by British High Commissioner to Jamaica, His Excel-lency David Fitton (left); and senior Jamaica Combined CadetForce (JCCF) officer, Lieutenant Colonel Victor Beek, tocommission a Cessna airplane at the Caribbean Aviation TrainingCentre at Tinson Pen Aerodrome in Kingston. The aircraft,donated by the British Government, will be used in the JCCF'saviation training programme.

State Minister in the National Security Ministry, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (centre),cuts the ribbon to officially open the renovated physiotherapy building at the National PoliceCollege in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine. Observing are Chief Executive Officer of the NationalHealth Fund (NHF), Everton Anderson (left), and then Police Commissioner, Dr. Carl Williams.

Cont’d on page 12


Protecting the Poor and Vulnerable

The Ministry of Labour andSocial Security continuedto provide support to the

most vulnerable in societythrough several social securityprogrammes.

SOCIAL SECURITY PATH Programme• The Government pro-

vided over $3.85 billionto beneficiaries of theProgramme of Advance-ment Through Health andEducation (PATH).

Over 2,000 students on the PATH programme will benefit from a $30 million provision under the extension of the Transportation Allowance Grant (TAG), a pilot project. Each child will benefit to the tune of $3,000 monthly.

• Sixteen persons were selected to be Youth Ambassadors for PATH.

The young leaders willengage 3,000 students in30 schools over the next12 months.

• Amendments to The National Insurance (Amend-

ment) Act, which will allowfor the National InsuranceService to be reviewedevery three years insteadof every five, was passedby the House of Repre-sentatives.

• The Government, underthe Caribbean Community(CARICOM) Trade andCompetitiveness Project(CTCP), provided assistivesoftware for the blindand visually impaired.The software is availablethrough the JamaicaCouncil for Persons withDisabilities (JCPD).

• The Early StimulationProgramme (ESP) offi-cially opened a new $30million facility in Portland,with funding from theDigicel Foundation. Morethan 100 children withspecial needs will benefitfrom diagnosis and earlyintervention services.

• The Abilities Foundationwas approved as thetesting site for MicrosoftLiteracy Certification forPersons with Disabilities.

• The Jamaica Empower-ment Partners for Per-sons with Disabilities(JEPP), which comprises60 members from agencies

serving persons withdisabilities, was estab-lished to advance the

inclusion agenda of thedisabled. The group willfocus on priority goals forthe sector such as accessto information, supportand essential services,employment and work-force integration.

• The National Council forSenior Citizens (NCSC)celebrated 40 years ofadvocacy and serviceunder the theme: ‘Show-casing Our Legacy, Pro-moting Inter-generationalSolidarity’. The senior cit-izens participated in anumber of activitiesthroughout the year tomark the milestone

anniversary.

LABOURThe Ministry gave specialfocus to the issue of decentwork as well as facilitatingemployment opportunitiesand improved wages. In Par-liament, Minister ShahineRobinson tabled nine Instru-ments adopted from theInternational Labour Organi-zation’s (ILO) Annual GeneralConference for ratification,including Convention (189)which speaks to Decent Workfor Domestic Workers.

• The National MinimumWage and the MinimumWage for Industrial

Security Guards were increased to $6,200 per

40-hour work week and$8,854 per 40-hour workweek, respectively.

• Some 8,794 workerswent to Canada and6,210 to the UnitedStates to participate inthe Overseas Employ-ment Programme.

• More than 500 staffmembers at the Ministryparticipated in an Occu-pational, Safety andHealth (OSH) Bill sensiti-sation session in prepa-ration for passage of thelegislation.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson (2nd right) greets staff of KingstonContainer Terminal during a tour of the facilities in May.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson(left), shares a light moment with members from the ‘RecycledTeenagers’ dance group at the press launch for the 40th anniversaryof the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC) in May.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson,presents Synshazzae Higgins with an award for more than 40years of service to the Canada/Caribbean Seasonal AgriculturalWorkers Programme (CCSAWP). Occasion was the 50th anni-versary and awards ceremony of the programme held at theMeliá Braco Village resort in Trelawny on November 13.


trauma due to crime andviolence. The youngstersfrom the CSJP’s centralregion, covering theparishes of St. Catherineand Clarendon, participatedin psycho-educationalworkshops.

• Forty-five at-risk youthbenefited from an intern-ship through a Memo-randum of Understandingsigned by the CSJPPhase III and the JamaicaPublic Service Company(JPSCo) valued at $8.7million.

Counter Terrorism And Organized Crime Investigation Branch (CTOC) • The Counter Terrorism

and Organized Crime Investigation Branch

(CTOC) seized morethan $1.5 billion worth ofitems found in breach ofIntellectual PropertyRights (IPR), over thepast 12 months. The itemsseized resulted from 32major operations con-ducted islandwide, whichled to 112 interviews, 25arrests for serious IPRbreaches and 12 convic-tions. Some of the itemsconfiscated includedover six million CDs,DVDs, 33,000 counterfeitfoot-wear, 25,000 piecesof apparel, counterfeit

cigarettes, bleachingcream, T-shirts, rum andhandbags.

• ‘Operation Uplift’, whichis aimed at strengtheningthe fight against Traffickingin Persons (TIP), was offi-cially launched. OperationUplift will continue tofocus on investigation,training and heighteningawareness, with investi-gations to be expandedinto asset forfeiture.

• More than 31 tacticaloperations were con-ducted by the Anti-

Trafficking in PersonsUnit with 12 victimsidentified and rescued.Approximately 24 per-sons were arrested andcharged; six for human

trafficking offences and18 for offences such asliving off the earnings ofprostitution and rape,and misleading and

deceptive conduct.

Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency(PICA)• PICA began undertaking

measures to introduce afacial recognition featurein the production ofpassports as a means ofguarding against identitytheft. The feature wasinitially introduced at the15 immigration kiosks atthe Norman Manley

International Airport, inKingston, and the Sang-ster International Airportin Montego Bay.

• The agency took its mobileunit service to residentsof May Pen, Clarendon;Port Maria, St. Maryand surrounding areas.

Department of Correctional Services• A pilot project for the

electronic tagging of inmates was officially

launched and is beingconducted to assess theuse of electronic moni-toring devices for low-risk offenders. Theinitiative will allow low-risk offenders to servetheir sentences withintheir communities with

Department of Correc-tional Services (DCS)

supervision, and accessto rehabilitation support.

• The Departmentlaunched an active HIVprogramme in juveniledetention facilities. Theinitiative provides in-mates 12-18 years withthe requisite medication.

• The teaching and learningprocess of juveniles wasenhanced by imple-menting a ‘learning bydoing’ concept.

• Twenty-one former remandees and wards of

the State received busi-ness start-up grants val-ued at over $6 million,through an Organizationof American States (OAS)initiative. Dubbed ‘PitchIt’: Learning and Investingin Your Future, the projectseeks to improve the livesof youth in conflict withthe law, by addressingtheir emotional, social,educational and eco-nomic challenges.

• Twenty-six Departmentof Correctional Services(DCS) officers partici-pated in a two-weekmultinational trainingprogramme, in CannonCity, Colorado, USA,which was hosted by theCorrectional ManagementInstitute (CMI). The engage-ment covered severaltopics, including: casemanagement duties andresponsibilities; offenderprogrammes for successand reintegration prepa-ration; alternatives tocorrections; parole oper-ations and early releasesupervision; and searchesand shakedowns.

‘Kick Out Crime and Violence’• The Department for Inter-

national Development(DFID) of the UnitedKingdom (UK) signed a$20.7 million grant agree-ment with ‘Fight forPeace’ in Jamaica, toprovide positive alter-

natives for inner cityyouth. ‘Fight For Peace’is open to young peopleaged 7 to 29 years livingin the communities ofHannah Town, DenhamTown, Trench Town,Fletcher’s Land, ParadeGardens and Tivoli

Gardens, in Kingston.

Self-Contributory Health Insurance Scheme For Security Guards• Over 20,000 registered

security guards are tobenefit from a self-

contributory health insurance scheme pro-

vided through GuardianLife. It includes an indi-vidual plan for $997 permonth, a family plan for$1,473 per month, and a$2,725 scheme to facilitatehigher categories ofwage earners.

Security Ministry Boosts Efforts… cont’d from page 10

Former Chief of Defence Staff Major General Antony Anderson (2nd left) and United StatesAmbassador to Jamaica, Luis G. Moreno (left) boarding one of two vessels donated by theUnited States to the JDF.

Rank and file members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force(JCF) display body-worn cameras during the launch at thePolice Commissioner’s Office in St. Andrew.


Major Strides in Tourism

Jamaica’s status as a des-tination of choice fortourists was further under-

lined by record earnings gen-erated from significant visitorarrivals during the year.

Visitor Arrivals & Earnings• Jamaica achieved a

major milestone whenthe island welcomed arecord 3,836,847 visitorslast year. This surpassedthe 3.6 million visitorsrecorded in 2015, repre-senting a 3.9 per cent

increase.

Stopover arrivals totalled2,181,282, representing a2.7 per cent increase,while the 1,655,565 cruisepassengers gracing theisland’s shores, was 5.5per cent more than 2015.

Jamaica also registeredrecord arrivals during theChristmas season, with60,886 stopover visitorsand cruise passengerstravelling to the islandbetween December 22and 28. This was an 11.1per cent increase overthe corresponding periodin 2015.

Preliminary figures showthat gross foreign ex-

change earnings for 2016totalled US$2.55 billion.This was 6.3 per centmore than the US$2.4billion generated in 2015.

New Markets• Jamaica continued its

successful new andemerging marketingthrust, with focus beingplaced on Latin Americaand Eastern Europe.

Primary among the factors facilitating this undertaking was relaxation of the visa travel requirements for countries in those newly targeted regions. A similar gesture extended to China is yielding significant visitor travel from that country, particularly for recreational purposes.

The Ministry also initiated the process to cement a multi-destination marketing arrangement with other countries such as Cuba, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Hotel Construction Nearly 2,400 new hotel rooms were added to the country’s stock. Among the notable properties were: RIU Reggae - 450; Royalton Blue Waters - 225; Royal

Decameron Cornwall -142; AM Resorts’ Breathless Resort – 150; Zoë Try Montego Bay - 50; Gran Bahia Principe - 400; Moon Palace -750; and Melia Braco - 230.

An additional 1,035 rooms, now under construction, are slated to come on stream in 2017.

They include: Royalton Negril Resort & Spa - 600; The Hideaway at Royalton Negril Resort -166; Azul Sensatori - 51; Azul Beach - 98; and Spanish Court West - 120.

In addition, 32 high-end rooms and eight two-bed room apartments are being built at The Renfrew in Kingston, while redevel- opment work is underway at the former Wyndham New Kingston Hotel which was acquired by the Courtleigh Hotel Group.

Shovel-Ready Projects• Karisma Hotels and Resorts will be undertaking

the US$1 billion ‘Sugar-cane by Karisma Jamaica’,the largest single hoteldevelopment in Jamaica’shistory, for which they

signed a contract withthe Ministry.

The project is being developed in Llandovery, St. Ann, and will provide 5,000 new rooms, at least 8,000 direct jobs and indirect employment for 10,000 additional persons, on completion.

Attractions• The Prospect Outback

Attraction in St. Mary hasbeen expanded and re-branded as the ‘Yaaman’Adventure Park.

The development, which was officially opened by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, was undertaken at a cost of US$1 million by Dolphin Cove Limited, which owns and operates the property. Yaaman Park offers horse- back and dune buggy rides and a ‘wet and dry’ tour, among other activities. It provides direct employment for approximately 200 persons and an additional 150 indirect jobs.

Beach Development• A total of 12 beach parks

are now being upgraded

under the National BeachDevelopment Programme.

One of these, Burwood Beach, in Falmouth, Trelawny, which was renovated at a cost of $28 million, was officially handed over to the Trelawny Municipal Council.

The facility, which can be accessed free of cost, now boasts sanitary conve- niences, a children’s play area as well as showers, with plans to add a restaurant and bar.

Funding Support• The Tourism Enhancement

Fund (TEF) has partneredwith the National Export-Import (EXIM) Bank toprovide a $1 billion revolvingloan facility to enable theupgrading of small andmedium-sized propertiesand attractions.

• The Ministry has part-nered with JN SmallBusiness Loans Limitedto establish a $20 millionloan facility for the oper-ators of small resorts andattractions in TreasureBeach in St. Elizabeth.

The provision, which forms part of the Ministry’s National Community Tourism Policy, will enable beneficiaries to access up to $2 million.

It aims to assist stakeholders to diversify the sector’s product offerings by facilitating community developments.

Growth Agenda• The sector is being repo-

sitioned to contributesignificantly to the Gov-ernment’s goal of fivepercent economic growthover the next four to fiveyears, while also generatingintra-sectoral growth.

To this end, five pillars of tourism growth have been established with the aim of generating US$ 5 billion in earnings, while attracting five million visitors and generating 125,000 direct

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (right), presents a com-memorative plaque to ‘Harmony of the Seas’ Captain, JohnnyFaavelen, in recognition of the ship’s inaugural call to Jamaica inNovember. ‘Harmony of the Seas’, which is the world’s largestcruise vessel, docked at the Falmouth port with over 8,000passengers and crew.

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (2nd left), is presentedwith the award of ‘World’s Leading Personality for OutstandingServices to Travel’ by World Travel Awards President andFounder, Graham Cooke (2nd right), at the 23rd Annual WorldTravel Awards ceremony in the Maldives in December. Ministerwithout Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and JobCreation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang (right), and a World TravelAwards hostess share the moment. Cont’d on page 14


jobs and 15,000 new hotel rooms.

These include: tapping into new markets; developing new products; promoting investments; building new partnerships; and human capital renewal.

Linkages Network• The newly established

Tourism Linkages Net-work will be pivotal in thisregard. The Network willfocus on developing sevenstrategic areas aimed atdiversifying the sector’sproduct offerings whileenhancing its competi-tiveness.

These include: Manufac- turing; Agriculture; Gas- tronomy; Sport and Enter- tainment; Health and Well- ness; Shopping; and Knowledge, which will be spearheaded by Technical Working Groups under the chairmanship of Sandals Resort International’s Chief Executive Officer, Adam Stewart.

Cruise Ship Port of Calls• On December 6, Jamaica

welcomed six cruise ships,which docked in Kingston,Ocho Rios, Falmouth andMontego Bay, bringingover 10,000 passengers.

These included: the ‘Monarch’, the largest vessel to call on Kingston, which was hosting a cruise ship for the first time in three years; the ‘Norwegian Epic’ and ‘Coral Princess’ which were hosted by Ocho Rios; the ‘Thomson Dream’ and ‘Aida Amar’ which stopped in Montego Bay; and the world’s largest cruise ship ‘Harmony of the Seas’, which made its second appearance in Falmouth, following its inaugural call on November 22.

This is the highest number of cruise ships to dock in Jamaica in one day since 2012, when a record seven arrived. The country also welcomed the ‘Carnival Vista’ which

made its inaugural call in April, docking in Ocho Rios.

National Cruise Council• A 13-member Board,

chaired by businessman,Michael Belnavis, hasbeen appointed to liaiseand monitor cruise ship-ping activities on behalfof the Government. Itaims to incorporate theprivate sector into astructured and organisedframework, therebyallowing them to estab-lish contacts with thepowerful Florida Carib-bean Cruise Association(FCCA) and other bodiesdealing with cruise gov-ernance across the region.

National Community Tourism Portal• This newly established

web-based platform aimsto facilitate and promotelicensed community-based enterprises island-wide.

It forms port of the Gov- ernment’s US$15 million Rural Economic Devel- opment Initiative (REDI) being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), with World Bank funding support.

Stakeholder TrainingDestination Assurance Initiative• A total of 100 district

constables were trainedunder this joint initiativewith the Ministry of

National Security. Theseofficers, who will functionunder a special arm ofthe Jamaica ConstabularyForce (JCF), have beendispatched to boost safetyand security in resort areas.

These include: Kingston; Montego Bay; Ocho Rios, Port Antonio; Falmouth; and Negril. It is expected that their presence will serve to significantly reduce tourist harassment.

Artisans• A total of 180 artisans

were trained and certifiedunder the US$500,000

Craft Enhancement Proj-ect. Participants weretrained in small businessplanning and product

development and craftcreation utilising variousmaterials.

The project formed part of a larger regional project undertaken by the Orga- nization of American States (OAS).

Jamaica House in Rio • Jamaica was the toast of

the 2016 Rio de JaneiroSummer Olympics in Brazilin August, where thecountry mined 11 medals,including six Gold, threeSilver and two Bronze, andearned rave reviews forits ‘Jamaica House’ hos-pitality hub that attractedover 20,000 patrons.

The success of the hub, which provided patrons with a taste of local culture and cuisine, resulted from aggressive marketing initiatives spearheaded by the Ministry and Jamaica Tourist Board.

There is great anticipation of significant benefits to be derived from both endeavours.

LegislationWork continues to create thelegislative framework that willfacilitate the sector’s ongoingdevelopment. Among theseare the:

• Timeshare Vacation Act –which paves the way forJamaica to formally intro-duce timeshare vacationschemes into Jamaica’sproduct offerings, therebydiversifying their provisions;

• Travel Agency Act –which is being amendedto facilitate a regulatoryframework for the sub-sector based on worldclass standards and

industry best practices;

• Tourism Workers PensionAct – Cabinet approveddrafting of this piece oflegislation which aims tocreate a much neededscheme that will benefitseveral categories of

employees. They include:Red Cap porters, craftvendors, ground trans-portation operators andhotel workers.

This clears the way for amendment to the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) Act to enable the disburse- ment of $1 billion seed funding for the scheme.

The facility will be admin- istered by similar fiscal arrangements governing other pension schemes, with contributions being tax-free.

AIRBnB MoU l The Jamaica Tourist Board

(JTB) and home-sharingaccommodation company,

AirBnB have signed aMemorandum of Under-standing (MoU) to estab-lish a cooperation frame-work to further boost anddiversify the country’stourism product.

The partnership will help to expose visitors to Jamaica’s rich culture and showcase the country’s globally-renowned warm hospitality.

Awardsl Jamaica capped a remark-

able year by copping nineprestigious World TravelAwards (WTA) at the 23rd

annual presentations inMaldives, Southern Asia,in December.

Heading these is the World’s Leading Personality Award for Outstanding Services to Travel, which was pre- sented to Minister Bartlett.

This was his second such for the year, following the WTA Caribbean Leading Personality Award in Sep- tember.

Jamaica also picked up awards in Maldives for being adjudged the World’s Leading Cruise Destination and World’s Leading Wed- ding Destination.

Other awards included: the World’s Leading Luxury Hotel Villa (Ian Fleming Villa at Goldeneye); World’s Leading New Island Resort (Melia Braco Village); World’s Leading Villa Resort (Round Hill Hotel and Villas); World’s Leading Family Resort Brand (Beaches); World’s Leading All-Inclusive Company (Sandals Resort International); and World’s Leading Caribbean Attrac- tions Company (Island Routes Caribbean Adventure).

Norman Manley International Airportl Meanwhile, the Norman

Manley International Air-port was deemed theMost Improved Airport inLatin America and theCaribbean by AirportsCouncil International(ACI).

The world’s largest cruise ship, ‘Harmony of the Seas’, dockedat the Falmouth port in Trelawny.

Major Strides in Tourism… cont’d from page 13


Thousands of Jobs to be Created in Bauxite Industry

The Government securedthe re-opening of theAlpart alumina refinery in

St. Elizabeth, with will createjobs for thousands of Jam-aicans over the next threeyears.

Bauxite Industry• The plant, formerly owned

by UC Rusal, was sold toChinese-controlled com-pany Jiquan Iron & SteelCompany Limited(JISCo) in July.

• Some 700 Jamaicans areto be employed in 2016/17 following first phaseupgrading works at acost of US$200 million.

• JISCo will be investingUS$2 billion to establishan industrial zone at Nain,employing more than3,000 persons. The indus-trial zone will comprisebauxite mines, an aluminarefinery, a coal-fired powerplant, a local electricitynetwork, rolling wire mills,and a range of aluminumproducts, among otherenterprises.

• There was a seamlesstransition of ownership ofThe Noranda JamaicaBauxite operation in St.Ann.

• New owners of the com-pany, Dada Holdings,

acquired the plant fromNoranda Aluminum HoldingCorporation for a pur-chase price of $24.4 million.Noranda will pay out out-standing liabilities amountingto US$19 million to Jam-aica over the next threeyears.

• The Jamaican Governmenthas partial ownership inthe company, which

employs more than 800people, and has the

capacity to produce upto 5.2 million metrictonnes of premium-gradebauxite annually.

• Under the new arrange-ment, the Governmentwill be abandoning theBauxite Levy in favour ofa profit-sharing arrange-ment with the new owners.

• Cabinet approved a Jamalco-proposed project

for the construction of anatural gas-fired cogen-eration plant to provide94 megawatts (MW) ofbaseload capacity to thenational grid.

• The plant, to be con-structed at the Jamalcofacility in Clarendon, willalso provide steam to theentity’s refinery, leadingto lower production costfor alumina. Americancompany New FortressEnergy (NFE) has beenengaged to construct thecogeneration facility at acost of some US$160million. It is projected forcompletion in December2018.

Minerals Industry • A three-year programme

aimed at positioning thecountry to take advan-tage of the lucrative min-erals sector was launchedin October.

• The 13.1 million-euro Development Minerals

Programme, beingfunded by the EuropeanUnion (EU), is being

undertaken in six African,Caribbean and Pacific(ACP) states. The pro-gramme seeks to buildthe profile and improvethe management of Neg-lected Development Min-erals (NDM), whichinclude industrial andconstruction minerals,and dimension and semi-precious stones.

• The project, being imple-mented by the UnitedNations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP), willalso strengthen the cap-acity of key stakeholderssuch as small-scale miningenterprises, communitygroups, business devel-opment centres, and reg-ulatory agencies.

JUTC • The Government is to

spend $1.3 billion thisfiscal year to increase thebus fleet.

• Thirty-five buses were acquired at a cost of $500

million and deployed inSeptember, bringing thefleet to 500.

• Four refurbished buseswere also brought intoservice.

• Bus service was exten-ded to sections of Claren-don in September. Thisbenefited school routesin and around May Pen,particularly GarveyMaceo High in southwest Clarendon.

Rail Service • A sum of US$250 million

will be invested in the resuscitation of the coun-

try’s cargo and passengerrail service by the Gov-ernment and several

investors, includingUnited States (US)

company Herzog Inter-national.

• A non-binding Memo-randum of Understanding(MOU) to formalise thearrangement was signedby the Ministry of Trans-port and Mining, through

the Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC), and

Herzog Jamaica Limited,which is a subsidiary ofHerzog International, inDecember.

• The project will be under-taken in segments.Phase one will see thedevelopment of the Mon-tego Bay to Appleton leg,with work to get underway before the start ofthe winter tourist seasonin 2017. The others arePhase 2a – Spanish Townto Ewarton, SpanishTown to Clarendon Park;Phase 2b – Appleton toClarendon Park; Phase 3– Spanish Town toKingston; and Phase 4 –Connecting Vernamfieldto the existing main line.

Aviation• A new state-of-the-art air

traffic control tower, con-structed at a cost ofCDN$20 million, wascommissioned into serviceat the Norman Manley

International Airport.

• The tower will greatly enhance the reliability

and efficiency of thecountry’s air navigation

Cont’d on page 16

Air Traffic Controllers on duty at the Norman Manley Inter-national Airport in Kingston

Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Michael Henry (right), speaks with China’s Ambassador toJamaica, His Excellency Niu Qingbao, during a function for the official handover of 35 new busesto the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), held at the entities training depot on LyndhurstRoad in Kingston.


system, in addition to enhancing the work environment for the air

traffic controllers.

• It is part of a $4.92 billionupgrading project, whichis expected to be com-pleted by October 2017.The work includes themanufacturing and instal-lation of a new state-of-the-art air traffic man-agement system, newL-Band primary andMode-S radar technology

as well as the installationof a voice communicationand control system.

CMI• The Caribbean Maritime

Institute (CMI) has received$402 million in grantfunding from the Petro-Caribe Development Fundfor the establishment ofa Festo Authorised andCertified Training (FACT)Centre for specialisedengineers.

• The centre, which isslated to become oper-

ational in September2017, will be the first ofits kind in the English-speaking Caribbean andwill offer world-classtraining and certificationin robotics, mechatronicsand automotive engineering.

• The Caribbean MaritimeInstitute (CMI) enteredinto a partnership withthe Sam Sharp Teachers’College to provide tertiarytraining for skills in themaritime industry.

Road Safety • The public was invited to

provide feedback on thenew Road Safety Act,which is before Parliament.The bill covers areassuch as the establishmentof the Island Traffic

Authority and its functions;the road code; classifi-cation of vehicles; revo-cation of certificates offitness; application, grantand refusal of learners'permit or drivers' licence;and offences relating tothe licensing of a driver.

• Jamaica adopted the International Organization

for Standardization (ISO)Road Traffic Safety Stan-dard aimed at reducinginjuries and deaths.

• The standard, which focuses on the specific

requirements for RoadTraffic Safety Managementsystems, also outlines theprocesses needed for thedevelopment and imple-mentation of the RoadTraffic Safety Policy.

Thousands of Jobs to be Created… cont’d from page 15

Agriculture Reaps Massive Growth

The Ministry of Industry,Commerce, Agriculture &Fisheries implemented

several programmes and ini-tiatives which led to consis-tency of supplies, sustainableincomes for farmers andentrepreneurs and facilitatedstrong growth of the sector.

The Ministry also continuedto foster the development of

the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises through theprovision of loans, grants,technical assistance and cap-acity building.

Growth in the Agricultural Sector• After growing by 13. 5%

for the April to June 2016quarter, agricultural pro-duction accelerated by28 per cent for the July

to September quarter,compared to the corre-sponding period in 2015.The sector was expectedto grow by 30 per centfor the final quarter of theyear ending December.

Support for Irish PotatoFarmers• The Government is pro-

viding some $1.1 billionto assist farmers under

its Irish Potato ExpansionProgramme, to meet atarget of 1,200 hectaresof production. Nearly $50million of this will be ingrants while the rest willtake the form of inputs aswell as extension servicesprovided by the RuralAgricultural DevelopmentAuthority (RADA).

Farmers will be trained under the project in spray calibration, new planting techniques, and appropriate use of fertilisers.

The National Potato Expansion programme is part of the Government’s overall strategy to strengthen Jamaica’s food security by reducing imports, boosting self-sufficiency as well income for farmers.

Onion Development Programme • There has been a 50 per

cent increase in localonion production with theimplementation of theOnion Development Pro-gramme (ODP). This pro-gramme is aimed atsatisfying up to 70% oflocal demand, comingfrom a low of twelve

per cent at the end of2015.

Expansion of Agro-parks • A tenth agro-park is to be

established in Spring

Garden, Portland, withfocus on the productionof bananas, plantains,sweet potato and peppersfor the local and exportmarkets.

• The agro-parks initiativeis being expanded withsome 3,000 acres of irri-gated lands at EbonyPark and Spring Plain inClarendon.

The programme is aimed at modernising the country’s agricultural sector and increasing production, in order to reduce the import bill, and to boost employment.

FISHERIESLevy on Conch Exports Reduced• The levy on each pound

of conch exported wasreduced from US$0.75 toUS$0.50, as part of effortsto get the exporters toexpand their businessesand further develop theconch industry.

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture & Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, successfully piloted a resolution in Parliament for conch exporters to be granted permission to pay the levy for the 2016 season in instalments.

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon.J.C. Hutchinson (2nd right), presents a bag of Irish potato seeds to farmer, Anthony Johnson (2ndleft), during an Irish potato Stakeholders’ Seminar in New Market, St. Elizabeth. Sharing in theoccasion (from left) are St. Elizabeth RADA Parish Manager, Nathan Samuels; Chief TechnicalDirector in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Dermon Spence, and ShakeeraThomas, representing Glastonbury Purveyor Company, producer of the Irish potato seeds. Cont’d on page 17


General Consumption Tax (GCT) Act Amended to Benefit Sector • The Act was amended to

allow for the expansionof the list of zero-rateditems for the agriculturalsector. The amendmentis to ensure that farmershave affordable accessto modern equipmentand inputs, thus improvinggrowth and exportprospects.

Training• Some 640 young people

from rural communitiesreceived training and cer-tification in heavy equip-ment operation, smallequipment repairs,housekeeping and api-culture. The course wascertified by the HEARTTrust/NTA and is part of athree-year programmeimplemented by the Ja-maica 4-H Clubs throughfunding from the SugarTransformation Unit.

• Students at the Collegeof Agriculture, Scienceand Education (CASE)are to benefit from prac-tical training in dairy pro-duction under a five-yearMemorandum of Under-standing (MoU) signed inJuly. The $30-millionagreement will, amongother things, see Seprodoffering internship oppor-tunities to CASE students.

Climate Change Resilience• Over 2,700 grants were

made to small farmers toassist in the productionof approximately 1,000hectares of crops to gen-erate over $1.2 billion offarm income. The fundswere also used for theinstallation of 14 waterharvesting, small-scale ir-rigation and productivityschemes.

• Provision of 100 grantswas made to small farmersto establish land hus-bandry infrastructure ontheir farm holdings tohelp prevent soil erosion.They also received training

in climate-smart bestpractices.

• To support year-roundagricultural production,over 240 small famers

received small-scale on-farm drip irrigation

systems through theMinistry.

National School Garden Programme Relaunched• A programme aimed at

establishing a garden inevery school was

re-launched in October2016. A new feature willbe the establishment of abreakfast programme inthe schools.

Under Phase 1 of the programme, each of the 13 participating schools will receive seeds, fertilizer, irrigation systems, small hand tools, chemicals, knapsack sprayer, fencing, water storage tanks and livestock in some instances.

Training to be provided will include land preparation, plant and animal hus- bandry, record keeping, small business development, management and marketing.

Agriculture Reaps Massive Growth… cont’d from page 16

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda (left), exchangesgreetings with Chief of Mission, United States Agency for International Development Agency(USAID) Jamaica, Maura Barry Boyle (2nd right), prior to the opening ceremony for the climatesmart agriculture symposium at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on September 13.Others (from 2nd left) are Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Reginald Budhan; andDeputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in Kingston, Eric Khant.The two-day sym-posium, which was organised by the USAID-funded Jamaica Rural Economy and EcosystemsAdapting to Climate Change II (Ja REEACH II) project in collaboration with the Ministry, washeld under the theme ‘Growing Agriculture and Incomes in the Face of Climate Change’.

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Karl Samuda (2nd left), examines peppers being shown by Newport-Fersan Limited's Business Development Manager, Hedda Rose-Pitter (left), at the Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Showin May Pen, Clarendon, on Saturday, July 30. Looking on, from 3rd left, are Newport-Fersan’s Managing Director, Dennis Valdez;and Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) President, Norman Grant.

Cont’d on page 18


MICRO, SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISE(MSME) OFFICEThe MSME Office was estab-lished to serve as the focalpoint for implementation andmonitoring of the MSME andEntrepreneurship Policy. TheOffice seeks to tackle thecross-cutting issues acrossGovernment to ensure thetimely achievement of theaction items outlined in thepolicy, as well as the deliverablesunder the Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework(MTF) 2015- 2018.

The Office supervises the Gov-ernment of Jamaica/EuropeanUnion (GOJ/EU) Small andMicro Enterprise Credit Scheme,and the Government of Jam-aica/Government of the Nether-lands (GOJ/GON) Project.

Jamaica Business Development Corporation• The Jamaica Business

Development Corporation(JBDC) and First Angels

Jamaica (FAJ) signed athree-year Memorandumof Understanding (MOU)under which micro, smalland medium-sized enter-prises (MSMEs) will receiveassistance to deliver win-ning business pitches.This comes under theJBDC’s Accelerator Pro-gramme which waslaunched in November andwill select and train

entrepreneurs to set upand operate a business.

Launch of REACH• The Regional Entrepre-

neurial Asset Commer-cialisation Hub (REACH)was launched in November.REACH aims to build thecommercialisation capa-bilities of competitivelyselected Caribbean entre-preneurs and firms. Theproject, executed by theUniversity of the West

Indies, will provide insti-tutional capacity building,training, and mentorshipin three main areas:

1. Technology commercialisation 2. Creative industries intellectual asset management, and 3. Product branding value capturing.

Opening of COJ Western Office • A branch of the Companies

Office of Jamaica (COJ) wasopened at the Office of thePrime Minister (Western),in Montego Bay.

BSJ Launches Focal Point• The Bureau of Standards

Jamaica (BSJ) launchedthe National AccreditationFocal Point (NAFP) Jam-aica in August. The NAFPprovides assistance throughinformation, training andmentorship to certificationand inspection bodiesand laboratories seekingto attain international

accreditation.

Consumer Alert Initiativel The Government reintro-

duced the Consumer

Alert Initiative, which entails the publication of

survey data on the mostcompetitive product pricesoffered by merchants.

Information is given onsupermarket products;fuel, including gasolineand diesel oil; and bankingfees.

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw (left) and Industry, Commerce, Agri-culture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Karl Samuda (2nd left), share a laugh as they examine cassavaused in the production of Red Stripe Beer. The occasion was a tour of the company’s plant onSpanish Town Road on August 3. Managing Director of Red Stripe, Ricardo Nuncio; and head ofCorporate Relations, Dianne Ashton Smith, also share in the exchange.

Chief Executive Officer of the Jamaica Business DevelopmentCorporation (JBDC), Valerie Veira (left), points out featuresof the JBDC’s 15th anniversary logo to the agency’s Cor-porate Communications Manager, Suzette Campbell. Thelogo was unveiled at the launch of the JBDC’s Small BusinessExposition and Conference which was held at the JamaicaPegasus Hotel in New Kingston.

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. KarlSamuda (right), listens as Technical Representative for Canadianentity Lambert Peat Moss Inc., Ramon Alvarado (left), providesdetails on a bag of plant seeds produced by the company, whichwas on display during a stakeholder seminar at Caymanas Golfand Country Club in St. Catherine on September 20. The seminarwas jointly staged by Lambert Peat and Jamaica Floral ProductsLimited/Evergrow Garden Centre under the theme ‘High QualityGrowing Media at the Root of High Quality Seedling Growthand Crop Production’. Also listening (from 2nd left) are LambertPeat’s International Sales Manager, Richard De Quesada; andJamaica Floral Products Limited/Evergrow Garden CentreGeneral Manager, Burrell Scarlett.

Agriculture Reaps Massive Growth… cont’d from page 17


Expanding Health Benefits

Ensuring that prescriptiondrugs were available ataffordable prices, partic-

ularly for the elderly; providingmodern equipment, introducingnew policies to make thehealth sector more efficient,and tackling the Zika Virus(Zik-V) were among the HealthMinistry’s major achievements.

BUSTAMANTE HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN New Children’s Heart Centre• Construction of a new

US$10 million Children’sHeart Centre com-menced at the Busta-mante Hospital forChildren in Kingston. It isexpected to be openedthis year.

The new centre will facilitate at least 150 cardiac surgeries per year. Last year, the hospital performed 41 of these surgeries.

The facility has been made possible through the col- laboration of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) and several public and private stakeholders. It will cater to children between the ages of zero to 12 years, who have heart ailments and are in need of specialist cardiac care.

• Diagnostic services atthe hospital have alsobeen improved with theinstallation of a new$68.5 million fluoroscopyunit. It is the second ofits kind in the public sector,and the first for children.The unit will reduce theprocessing time for X-raysfrom 90 to 15 minutes.

University Hospital of The West Indies• The National Virology

Laboratory at the Univer-sity Hospital of the WestIndies (UHWI), was

upgraded at a cost of$10 million. It is used totest for viral infections.

The facility is the only such facility in the island, and is crucial to obtaining quick results when persons are diagnosed with Influenza (H1N1), rubella, measles, and other respiratory illnesses.

• The UHWI has extendedits surgery hours from4:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.,to reduce the waitingtime at the health facility.

This forms part of the Ministry of Health’s overall plan to improve efficiency of healthcare delivery and reduce the waiting time for patients.

Mandeville Regional Hospital • The Mandeville Regional

Hospital received equip-ment valued at over $80million. The machineswhich are now in use atthe High DependencyUnit at the hospital arepart of the Programmefor the Reduction of

Maternal and Child Mortality(PROMAC), funded bythe European Union (EU).

Fight Against Zika Virus• As part of its fight against

the Zika Virus, the Ministry

spearheaded scores of‘Search and Destroy’missions across the islandto eradicate mosquitobreeding sites, and toeducate households onways to keep the pestsfrom breeding.

This was bolstered by several public education campaigns

targeting as well as working through different organisations to disseminate health messages.

• The Government estab-lished a Fund with an

initial $50 million to pro-vide support for the familiesof babies born with Zika-related microcephaly.

New Policies• The Government imple-

mented a policy whichrequires insurance card-holders to make contri-butions to the publichealth system when theyutilise the cards to obtainmedication.

• Cabinet also approvedthe Charities Policy Pro-cedures Guidelines forGifts and Donations, tomake it simpler for localand international groupsand individuals to sup-port health facilities onthe island.

Drugs • The National Health Fund

(NHF), an agency of theMinistry of Health, com-menced its $70 millionincrease of subsidy ofdrugs, respiratory devicesand diabetic supplies for

children from zero to 18years, a 100 per cent

increase.

• The Ministry of Healthhas embarked on a pilotproject to speed up thetime persons can gettheir prescriptions filled.

The Public Sector Pharmacy Partner Programme, which will be rolled out over the next three months, will see the Ministry, through the NHF, partnering with a number of private phar- macies to facilitate speedier dispensing of medication to persons issued with prescriptions at public hospitals and clinics.

Upgraded Service • A Reduction in Waiting

Time Project was intro-duced in seven hospitalsunder a $350 million pilotin April. This is to signifi-cantly reduce patientwaiting time at the

Accident and Emergency(A&E) rooms. Full roll outof the service is expectedby April 1 this year.

The initiative was introduced at the Bustamante Hospital for Children

Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (right), cuts the ribbon to officially open theDrug Serve Pharmacy at the Kitson Town Health Centre in St. Catherine. Others (from left) are:Parish Manager for St. Catherine Health Services, Beverly Needham; Chief Executive the NationalHealth Fund (NHF), Everton Anderson, and Public Health Nurse at the facility, Christeen Smart-Guy.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Winston De La Haye (left), administerspolio drops to young Mickayla Edwards, during the officiallaunch of the 14th Vaccination Week in the Americas at theEmancipation Park in New Kingston on April 23. Others observing(from right) are: Director of the Pan American Health Organization(PAHO), Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, and Mickayla’s mother, CarlaPeart. Cont’d on page 21


Commissioning of renew-able energy plants,increased savings from

energy efficient initiatives, theaccessibility of free Govern-ment data online and theresumption of net billing wereamong some of the achieve-ments of the Science, Energyand Technology Ministry.

ENERGYRenewable Energy Plants Commissioned• Wigton Wind Farm, Wigton

III, officially commissionedinto operation, continuingtransmissions to the

national grid. It is expectedto generate 63,072megawatt hours annuallywith its new facility

consisting of 12 twomegawatt wind turbines,a 9.6 km transmissionline, and a new substationconstructed by the Spanishfirm Gamesa.

• BMR Jamaica Wind Farmat Potsdam, Malvern, St.Elizabeth officially com-missioned into operation.It will provide energy tothe Jamaica Public Servicegrid at US12.9 cents perkilowatt hour.

• Liquefied Natural Gas(LNG) arrived at theBogue Power Plant in St.James, Montego Bay inOctober.

• The Energy Efficiencyand Conservation Pro-gramme (EECP) continuedthe installation of BuildingManagement Systems atthe Kingston Public Hos-pital (KPH), Tax Adminis-tration Jamaica (TAJ),Donald Sangster Building,and Montego Bay Reve-nue Service Centre. Severalentities acquired dedicatedInternet Protocol (IP)

addresses for the externalmonitoring of their energy

consumption usage/ patterns.

• The EECP installed atotal of 1,000 square

metres of solar controlfilm at the Ministry of

Education’s Head Officeand at the May Pen Rev-enue Service Centre.

Energy efficient air conditionretrofitting was also com-pleted at the May PenRevenue Service Centre.Retrofits were also com-pleted at the Blood Bank.

TECHNOLOGYJamaica Open Data Portal Launch• In July, the Ministry offi-

cially launched the Jam-aica Open Data Portal tomake government datamachine readable andmore easily accessibleonline. It was supportedby the United Kingdom’sDepartment for Inter-

national Development(DFID), in collaborationwith the World Bank.

The move made Jamaica the first English-speaking Caribbean nation to launch an Open Data portal, joining more than 40 such programmes in the world. Additionally, an Open Data Policy is being developed and training has taken place to build capacity among government officials on managing the portal and creating open budget data visualisations for the portal.

Consultations on the Proposed Information and Communications Technology Bill • Between July and Sep-

tember 2016 the Ministryfacilitated two work-shops with the dual pur-pose of informing andinviting comments fromGovernment and privatesector stakeholders onthe provisions to be

included in the proposedInformation and Commu-nications Technology(ICT) Bill. When passed,

Science, Energy and Technology Ministry Pushes Renewables

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology Dr. the Hon. AndrewWheatley (right) uses a laptop to access the Open Data Portalat its launch on June 24 in Kingston. Country Manager for theWorld Bank, Galina Sotirova (left) looks on. In the background(from left) are Chief Information Officer in the Ministry, LouisShallal, and Director of Technology, Gary Campbell.

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (right) cuts the ribbon to officially commission into service Wigton III, a 24-megawattexpansion of the wind farm in Rose Hill, Manchester, on Thursday, June 2. To his right is Minister of Science, Energy and Technology,Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley. Also pictured are (from left): Member of Parliament for Manchester Southern, Michael Stewart;Former Mayor of Mandeville, Brenda Ramsay; Chairman of Wigton Windfarm Limited, Duane Smith; President and Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo), Kelly Tomblin; and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Science, Energyand Technology, Hilary Alexander. Cont’d on page 21


in Kingston; Spanish Town Hospital, St. Catherine; May Pen Hospital, Clarendon; Mandeville Regional Hospital, Manchester; Cornwall Regional Hospital, St. James; and St. Ann’s Bay Hospital, St. Ann.

• The Ministry of Healthplans to engage privatesector pharmacists toassist in delivering cer-tain basic services pro-vided at publichealthcare institutions.

Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said legislation to this end is being reviewed to determine the extent of the pharmacists’ involvement.

• Care for newborns atthe Westmorelandbased Savanna-la-MarGeneral Public Hospitalhas been enhancedwith the acquisition ofa Special Care Unit at acost of $24 million.

Accreditation • Work has started to develop a national policy that outlines the

country’s road map towards the accreditation of facilities within

the health sector. Theinitiative, titled a

‘National Policy onHealth Sector QualityAssurance’, will formpart of the Ministry’s10-year strategic plan.

Under the initiative, Jam- aica will partner with Accreditation Canada to strengthen and standardise health sector assurance in the island. Accredi- tation Canada, through its standards and accreditation programmers, works with healthcare organizations to help them improve quality, safety and efficiency, so they can offer patients the best possible care and service.

Health Care…cont’d from page 19

the ICT Bill will replacethe existing Telecommu-nication Act, which waspromulgated in 2000.

Launch of Mobile Postal Service• Launched in the community

of Steer Town in St. Annin August, the Mobile PostOffice is an initiative ofthe Postal Corporation ofJamaica and is expectedto serve over 50 commu-nities and adjoining dis-tricts currently without astatic postal point.

CYBER SECURITYGovernment EmployeesTrained in Cyber Security• The Cyber Incident Response Team trained

80 Government information and communi-

cations technology expertsover two days in Novem-

ber. The training is aimedat enhancing the educa-tion of these ICT profes-sionals in basic cyberstandards that should beadopted.

• In July, the Ministry col-laborated with the Jam-aica Bankers Association(JBA) to launch a cybersecurity public educationand awareness campaignin an effort to heightenawareness about the

potential risks associatedwith using the Internetand social media plat-forms, and to promotesafeguards to reducevulnerabilities. The cam-paign was supported bythe JBA at a cost of $15million.

KingstOOn 2016• The KingstOOn 2016 Animation Conference

and Afro-Descendant

Film Festival was held onMarch 12 and 13 at theEdna Manley College ofthe Visual and PerformingArts and included profes-sional animators, studioexecutives, students,

educators, artists, investorsand animation enthusiastsfrom across the Carib-bean, diaspora and aroundthe world.

SCIENCEJamaica Wins Caribbean Youth Science Competition• Titchfield High School

defeated 28 teams repre-senting six countries towin the Caribbean YouthScience Forum (CYSF)Competition 2016 inSeptember. Studentswere required to use

recyclable materials to

design a system to purifyat least one litre of waterwithin 30 minutes thatwas fit for consumption.

Opening of Science Labs• The Scientific Research

Council (SRC) openedfour of eight science labsin participating primaryand secondary schoolsunder its Improving Inno-vation Capacities in theCaribbean (INVOCAB)project. INVOCAB isbeing done in conjunctionwith the Trinidadianagency, National Instituteof Higher Education,

Research, Science andTechnology (NIHERST)and is a science-basedproject geared at helpingstudents to improve per-formance in science andtechnology subjectareas.

Science, Energy and Technology… cont’d from page 20

A shipment of Liquefied Natural Gas which arrived at the Port of Montego Bay aboard the feeder ship, ‘Anthony Veeder’, onOctober 22.


Fast-Tracking Public Sector TransformationThe Government remains

committed to undertakingpublic sector transform-

ation as a priority under theEconomic Reform Programme(ERP).

This move is to assist in con-taining public sector wages to9 per cent of Gross DomesticProduct (GDP), while furtherenhancing the efficiency withwhich State entities deliverservices.

The commitment has beenreaffirmed under the new three-year, US$1.64 billion suc-cessor precautionary stand-byagreement reached with theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF).

Public sector transformationis a central component of thenew agreement, which wasapproved by the IMF ExecutiveBoard in November, and is acarryover from the four-yearExtended Fund Facility whichthe new arrangement hasreplaced.

• Public Sector Trans- formation Oversight

Committee A Public Sector Transfor- mation Oversight Committee (P-STOC) has been appointed to oversee the undertaking, which will be guided by a Cabinet- approved Action Plan. It is co-chaired by Cabinet Secretary, Ambassador Douglas Saunders, and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) Vice President, Danny Roberts.

Its membership comprises representatives of the public and private sectors, trade union movement, academia and civil society.

• Salary Negotiations The Government concluded salary negotiations with 97 per cent of public sector bargaining units for the 2015/17 contract period. The groups signing Heads of Agreement for a seven per cent increase include: Pharmacists, Nurse Practi-

tioners, Medical Consultants, Probation Officers, Health Education and Promotion Officers, Matrons and Assis- tant Matrons at infirmaries, the Police Officers Asso- ciation (POA), the Probation Aftercare Officers’ Staff Association, the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association (JMDA) and the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA). The agreement with the JCSA also included tertiary education grants; the establishment of a work- place policy; and transportation for workers utilising the government employee transport service.

• Public Sector PensionReform

The Government remains committed to implementing the proposed contributory public sector pension scheme by April this year.

The Bill to formalise proposals for the arrangements was re-tabled in the House of Representatives by Port- folio Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw.

It proposes that Government workers contribute five per cent of their salary towards their pension; and that benefits be computed using an average of the final five years of the beneficiaries’ salary instead of the final pay, as now obtains.

Additionally, retirees would still have the option of receiving either a lump sum of their entitlements and a reduced pension or full pension benefits.

Capacity Strengthening and Infrastructural Development JamaicaCustoms Agency • Marine Surveillance The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) is now better equipped to support the operations of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Marine Division and Jam- aica Defence Force (JDF) Coast Guard.

The agency’s fleet of patrol boats has been increased to two, following the acquisition of a 27-foot Boston Whaler vessel. The agency has also obtained two additional boats which are being refurbished.

• Motor Vehicles The agency’s mobile fleet has been increased with the acquisition of six new motor vehicles, purchased at a cost of $36.1 million. The units, inclusive of three pick-ups, a truck, a bus and motor car, will serve to boost the JCA’s border protection capa- bilities and administrative operations.

• Infrastructure Development

Several sections of the head office at Customs House, Newport East in Kingston, have been renovated and upgraded at a cost of just over $31 million. The work includes the construction of a Transport and Property Services Unit, refurbishing of the canteen and paving of the driveway.

Additionally, the agency opened its Alison Moore

Multipurpose Room, named in honour of the entity’s first female Commissioner, at Customs House.

The room is used to host meetings and business functions, and also serves as recreational space for staff.

Tax Administration JamaicaTax Administration Jamaica(TAJ) now has a WesternTraining Centre in Montego Bay.

It caters to the training needsof TAJ employees and those ofother agencies. The facility isalso available to host similarsessions for the public.

Public Sector Corporate Governance AwardsThe Ministry partnered withthe Private Sector Organizationof Jamaica (PSOJ) to establishthis initiative to recognise andreward public bodies estab-lishing high standards of cor-porate governance disclosureand practices.

Additionally, it aims to promoteawareness of and adherenceto the principles of goodcorporate governance andencourage improvements inthe standard of disclosure.

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw(right), and State Minister, Hon. Rudyard Spencer (centre), arebriefed by Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) Customs Officer, PeterLimtom, before taking a trial run in the ‘Skip McLaughlin’ followingthe vessel’s commissioning at the Jamaica Constabulary Force(JCF) Marine headquarters in Newport East, Kingston.

State Minister for Finance and the Public Service, Hon. RudyardSpencer (left), presents a signed copy of the 2015/17 Headsof Agreement to Probation Aftercare Officers’ Staff AssociationPresident, Kerryann Davis (right). Looking on is President ofthe Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees(UCASE), which represented the group, Vincent Morris. Thesigning took place at the Ministry’s offices in Kingston.


Speedy resolution of immi-gration issues betweenJamaica and the twin

island republic of Trinidadand Tobago and appointmentsof Jamaicans to key diplomaticpositions were some of thehighlights of the Ministry ofForeign Affairs and ForeignTrade. Leaders Visit• Prime Minister Dr. Keith

Rowley of Trinidad andTobago led a high-levelteam for a working visitto the island in July. Out-comes from the visit toJamaica included the

finalisation of a Draft ActionPlan which strategicallyoutlines cooperation pro-grammes and activitiesrelated to the followingissues:

• The Status of Implemen-tation of the CSMERegime in Jamaica andTrinidad and Tobago,

including the Free Move-ment of Skilled Nationals,Trade in Services, the Right of Establishment,Trade in Goods, and theMovement of Capital.

Other points of discussionwere:

l Immigration relations between Jamaica and

Trinidad and Tobago;

l The Caribbean Court ofJustice;

l The ruling in the Shanique Myrie Case,

l The treatment of Nationals;

l Consular Matters, includingthe detention of nationalsand Work Permit/ Resi-dency Processing and

l Air Services/Transportation.

Visit of Caricom SecretaryGeneral • Caribbean Community

(CARICOM) Secretary-General Irwin LaRocquevisited Jamaica for dis-cussion on a number ofissues. Among them were:

• Information disseminationamong Caricom youth

• Reform of the Community;including the Secretariat,

• Challenges with corres-pondent banking

• Cricket

• The free movement of CARICOM nationals.

Other Visits• Venezuelan President,

Nicolas Maduro Morosvisited Jamaica and heldtalks with Prime Minister,the Most Hon. AndrewHolness; Foreign Affairsand Foreign Trade Minister,

Senator the Hon. KaminaJohnson Smith and otherCabinet Ministers. Amongthe discussions held wasa recommitment to thePetroCaribe Agreement;the expedited agreementon the Refinery UpgradeProject; strengthening ofcultural ties, including asystem to provide musicaltraining for young people.

• His Imperial Highness(HIH), Prince ErmiasSahle-Selassie, arrived inthe island for a nine-day

visit in commemorationof the 50th anniversary ofthe State visit of hisgrandfather, the late

Emperor of Ethiopia, HisImperial Majesty (HIM),Haile Selassie.

• Director General of theWorld Trade Organisation(WTO), Roberto Azevedo,visited Jamaica and par-ticipated in a number ofmeetings with Governmentofficials and represen-tatives of the public andprivate sectors. During thisvisit it was announcedthat Jamaica ratified theWTO Agreement onTrade Facilitation.

Diplomatic Relations• The year also marked 50

years of diplomatic relationsbetween Jamaica andMexico, Spain and Panama.

• Fourteen Government Officers from the Office of

the Prime Minister, Jamaica Defence Force

and Foreign Affairs andForeign Trade completeda six-month SpanishTraining Programmehosted by Argentina.

• A Framework Agreementfor the establishment of aJoint Commission bet-

ween Jamaica andPanama was signed bythe Minister of ForeignAffairs and Foreign Trade,Senator the Hon. KaminaJohnson Smith, on June26 during her visit toPanama for the openingof the expanded PanamaCanal. The agreementprovides a mechanismfor a structured bilateralcooperation programmein the areas of commerce,tourism, logistics, languagetraining and civil aviation.

Regional and InternationalEngagements• At the African, Caribbean

and Pacific (ACP) Councilmeeting in April, MinisterJohnson Smith led thesuccessful lobby for theapproval of intra-ACPfunds to support the fightagainst the mosquito-borne Zika Virus. Jamaicaalso made interventionson the Economic Part-nership Agreement (EPA),the future of the ACP andthe ACP-EU relationship,sustainable developmentand climate change.

• The Minister attendedACP Summit in PapuaNew Guinea to discussthe future of the ACP andthe ACP-EU relations.

• The Minister attended themeeting of the Councilfor Foreign and CommunityRelations (COFCOR) inKingstown, St. Vincentand the Grenadines inMay. It focused mainly onthe CARICOM-UnitedStates of America Summitand other CARICOM-

European Union cooperation matters.

• Jamaica participated inthe Mexico-Jamaica

Bi-national Commissionsmeeting in Mexico City inMay, which ended withJamaica signing anagreement on the avoid-ance of double taxationand the prevention of fis-cal evasion with respectto income tax. Both

Foreign Affairs Ministry Protects Interests of Jamaicans

Cont’d on page 24

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, shares alight moment with President of the United Nations Association of Jamaica, Dr. Lucille Buchanan,during a meeting at the Ministry in July.

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Senator the Hon.Kamina Johnson Smith, meets with members of the NationalCouncil on Costal Zone at the Ministry in July.


Laws Passed to Strengthen Financial, Justice and Security SectorsThe country’s financial, jus-

tice and security agendawas advanced through Par-

liament’s enactment of severalpieces of legislation in 2016.

Legislation Passed1. The Insurance (Amendment) Act2. The Firearms (Amendment) Act3. The Maritime Drug Traf- ficking (Suppression) (Amendment) Act4. The Local Government (Financing And Financial Management) Act5. The Local Government (Unified Service and Employment) Act6. The Judicature (Resident Magistrate's) (Change of Name) Amendment) Act7. The Special Economic Zones Act8. The Local Governance Act9. The Judicature (Supreme Court) (Amendment) Act10.The Representation of The People (Amendment) Act11.The DNA Evidence Act12. The Appropriations Act13. The Jury (Amendment) Act14.The Interpretation (Amendment) Act, 201615.The Financial Administration and Audit (Amendment) Act, 2016 16.The Financial Services Commission (Amendment) Act, 2016 17.The Law Revision (Amendment) Act, 2016 18.The National Insurance (Amendment) Act, 201619.The Legal Reform (Miscel- laneous Amendments) (Restorative Justice) Act, 201620.The Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act21.The Children (Guardianship and Custody) (Amendment) Act22.The Betting, Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Act23.The Jamaica Racing Commission (Amendment) Act

24.The General Partnership Act 201625.The Partnership Limited Act 201626.The International Corporate and Trust Service Providers Act 2016

Legislation Tabled1. An Act to Amend the Public Management Act 20162. The Caribbean Maritime University Act 20163. The Pensions (Public Service) Act 20164. The Constitution (Amend- ment) (Established Fund) (Payment of Pensions) Act 20165. The Integrity Commission Act 20166. The Arbitration Act 2016

Motions Approved1. The House of Represen- tatives unanimously approved a motion calling for the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba by the United States (US).2. Joint Select Committee to Review the Sexual

Offences Act and other similar legislation.

Capacity Building1. The Parliament hosted Madame Fu Ying, Chair-

person of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China in May.

2. The National Youth Parlia- ment was held in November

Prime Minister the Most. Hon. Andrew Holness and other Government Ministers at the State Opening of Parliament on April 14.

Foreign Affairs Ministry Protects… cont’d from page 23countries also signed aMemorandum of Under-standing (MoU) on theestablishment of a Mexi-can Chair at the Universityof the West Indies (UWI)and the renewal of thecollaboration agreementbetween the NationalAutonomous Universityof Mexico and UWI.

• Jamaica assumed Chair-manship of the Carib-bean Forum of ACPStates (CARIFORUM) inJuly and also the role ofthe CARIFORUM HighRepresentative for theCARIFORUM/EU Eco-nomic Partnership Agree-ment (EPA). Jamaicachaired the 24th Meetingof the CARIFORUMCouncil of MinistersMeeting held in November.

• Jamaica was also repre-sented at the United

Nations Conference onTrade and Developmentheld in Nairobi, Kenya,in July

• Jamaica initiated discus-sions with the UnitedKingdom on the impli-cations for trade of itsdecision to withdrawfrom the EuropeanUnion (Brexit).

Key Appointments• Audrey Marks was appointed Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United

States for a secondtime. She was also

appointed PermanentRepresentative to the

Organisation of AmericanStates (OAS).

• Seth George Ramocan was appointed as Jam-aica’s High Commis-

sioner to the UnitedKingdom.

• Trudy Deans was appointed Jamaica's

Consul General to NewYork.

• Antonia Hugh was appointed Jamaica’s High

Commissioner to thePeople’s Republic of China.

The Diaspora• Diaspora Task Force was

established. Led by Dr.Rupert Francis, alternateDiaspora advisory boardmember for the west andmid-west USA and retiredcaptain in the JamaicaDefence Force, the taskforce seeks to leveragethe Diaspora network ofcriminal justice practi-tioners to support theGovernment, key agenciesand other partners intackling crime.


The Government, in 2016,abolished auxiliary fees atthe secondary level and

increased funding to insti-tutions from $ 2.6 billion to$5.3 billion.

• Under the policy, tuitionsupport per student wasincreased from $11, 500to $19,000.

• A total of $300 million wasallocated to hire part-timesixth-form teachers. Therewere also increased amountsfor utility payments andlaboratory resources,among other things.

• In June, the first paymentof more than $1.4 billionwas disbursed to schoolsenabling the early prepa-ration for the new aca-demic year. Additionalamounts were paid in twotranches in Septemberand December.

• The highest level of fundinghas been provided toschools that accommo-date students with thelowest attainment onentry, who have the great-est difficulty in learning,and who are from thepoorest socio-economicbackgrounds.

Additional Secondary Education support• Approximately $800 mil-

lion was spent on text-books for the new schoolyear.

• Wards of the state andstudents on the Pro-gramme of AdvancementThrough Health and Edu-cation (PATH) receivedsubsidies for additionalCaribbean Secondary

Education Certificate(CSEC) subjects.

Alternative Pathways to Secondary Education (APSE)• 47 schools were placed

on the programme, whichaims to introduce sevenyears of secondary edu-cation.

Technical Vocational Education and Training(TVET)• A sum of $140 million has

been allocated to provideTVET training and equip-ment for schools.

Career Advancement Programme (CAP)• $800 million was allocated

for CAP, representing anincrease of more than$190 million over the

previous last year. CAP isbeing offered in 110 insti-tutions with over 8,000students enrolled in sec-ondary-level institutions,community colleges,teacher-training collegesand private institutions.

• A Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) was

signed with the Ministryof Economic Growth andJob Creation to managethe Geographical Infor-mation Systems (GIS)technology in 57 secondaryand tertiary schools.

Primary Schooling• The maintenance grant for

all primary schools wasincreased by 40 per cent.

• $77 million was providedfor the implementation ofthe National StandardsCurriculum (NSC). Thisnew curriculum focuseson project-based andproblem-solving learning,with Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathe-matics/ Science, Tech-nology, Engineering, Artsand Mathematics (STEM/STEAM) integrated at alllevels. The roll out hasbegun at Grades 1, 4, 7, 8and 9.

• 13,000 teachers weretrained for the phased

implementation of the NSC.

Early Childhood• $30 million was allocated

to reactivate the early intervention programme

for children up to threeyears, as well as theirmothers. The initiativeaims to provide stimulationfor children before theyenter the formal educationsystem. It addresses

nutritional and psychosocialgaps to ensure better

education and trainingoutcomes.

• 18 institutions were certifiedand plans are being madefor 100 more to be accre-dited by August this year.

• Early childhood educationteachers benefitted froma further 15 per cent

increase in salary.

• Under the Housing, Opportunity, Prosperity

and Employment (HOPE)programme teachers from800 early childhood insti-tutions were trained andplaced in schools.

Government Abolishes Auxiliary Fees at Secondary Level

Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (centre), cuts the ribbonto open a new classroom block at the Mandeville Primary and Junior High School on November2. Looking on are Managing Director of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), Omar Sweeney(left), and Head Boy of the school, Kevanny Gayle.

Additional classrooms constructed at the Discovery Bay All-Age School to remove the institutionfrom the shift system. They were built through the Jamaica Social Investment Fund’s (JSIF) BasicNeeds Trust Fund (BNTF) programme. Cont’d on page 26


Special Education• The Special Education

Unit placed 133 new stu-dents at a cost of $16.8million for the 2016/17academic year.

Teacher Development• The Ministry offered 300

scholarships for personsto be trained as teachersof mathematics, scienceand technical education.Another 300 teachers ofvarious subjects benefitedfrom in-service training toupgrade their qualifications.

Safety and Security• Over 1,000 representatives

of schools were trained insafety and security tech-niques and 400 youngpeople recruited to beplaced in schools assafety and security officers.A total of 276 have

already been placed.

• The Caribbean MaritimeInstitute (CMI) cadet pro-gramme was introducedin 10 schools in September.Some 100 police youthclubs have been intro-duced in 100 schools.

Infrastructural Development• $706.4 million was allo-

cated for the InfrastructureDevelopment Programmefor the 2016/2017 fiscalyear to undertake reno-vations and extensions toprimary and secondaryschools and constructionof a Diagnostic and EarlyChildhood Centre at SamSharpe Teacher’s College.

• Windsor Castle All-AgeSchool in Portland andHorace Clarke High in St.Mary were outfitted withscience laboratories underthe European Union

(EU)-funded Improving Innovation Capacities in

the Caribbean (INVOCAB)Project, which is managedby the Scientific ResearchCouncil (SRC).

• The Japanese Governmentprovided approximately$88 million to effect

improvements to a numberof schools.

• A total $76 million was allocated for the Ministry’s

Sanitation Programme.

• 34 schools were removedfrom the shift system.

HEART Trust/NTA• The HEART Trust/NTA

launched its up-skillingprogramme to enablepersons to enhance theiron-the-job skills. Over2000 persons have beentrained so far. This pro-gramme involves collabo-ration with the JointCouncil on Tertiary Edu-cation (JCTE).

Youth Services• Youth Information Centres

(YIC) were restructuredwith the objective ofbringing alienated andmarginalised youth backinto the economic main-stream and giving them asense of belonging. TheYIC engaged 1,000 youngpeople in training in per-sonal development,

entrepreneurship, youthleadership, advocacy,counseling, and behaviourmodification.

• 700 secondary schoolstudent councillors weretrained under the Ministry’sgovernance programme.

• The National Youth Par-liament was re-convenedin November.

• A total of 16 youth wereselected to serve on theYouth Advisory Council ofJamaica (YACJ) to assistwith the development, implementation and mon-itoring of Governmentpolicies. The YACJ waslaunched in November aspart of the thrust of Gov-ernment to boost youthparticipation.

• The National Youth Service(NYS) placed 6,000 youthin summer jobs, an

increase over the 5, 200employed in 2015. TheGraduate Work Experienceprogramme was strength-ened with 500 collegeand university graduatesplaced, up from 312 in2015.

• A total of 160 youth withmild intellectual disabilitieswere prepared for theworkplace.

• $233 million was allocatedto the Jamaica Valuesand Attitude Programme(JAMVAT), an increase of$100 million over the pre-vious year. Under JAMVATstudents are placed in

different sectors of theworkforce to conduct 200hours of voluntary service.Students attending 33tertiary institutions areparticipating in the pro-gramme.

• $1.6 billion was allocatedto the New EmploymentOpportunities for Youth inJamaica (NEO-Jamaica)project, which is beingspearheaded under theYouth Upliftment ThroughEmployment (YUTE)

initiative of the PrivateSector Organization ofJamaica (PSOJ). It isbeing jointly financed bythe Inter-American Devel-opment Bank’s (IDB) andlocal stakeholder partners.

• 10,000 unattached youngpeople, ages 17 to 29, areexpected to benefit overa three-year period. Par-ticipants will receive

vocational training and jobplacement opportunitiesthat are to be provided byapproximately 100 partner

companies, which willalso offer internships.

Children Services • A Memorandum of Under-

standing was signed inJune for the implementationof the Transitional LivingProgramme for Childrenin State Care (TLP-CSC).The programme focuseson job and life skills trainingand mentorship.

• The Smiles Mobile coun-selling centre continuesto reach children in needof support. The team,comprising two psycho-logists, one social workerand a part-time psychiatrist,provides psychosocial

intervention for 673 childrenacross 10 facilities in theSouth East Region, theMetcalfe Street Remand

Centre and the Rio CobreCorrectional facility.

• The team provided assessment and treatment

for 1, 302 children in care.Officers assigned to theCDA Intake ServicesDesk and those stationedin government-run resi-dential child care facilitiesconducted 6,805 individualcounselling sessions and1,173 group sessions.

• The Break-the-Silencecampaign was strength-ened with an $11 millioninjection from the JamaicaSocial Investment Fundand the Caribbean Devel-opment Bank.

• The “Our Children Ja”campaign was launchedto improve citizens’knowledge about the education, health, protectionand parenting of children.

INFORMATION DIVISIONInformation Policy• The Ministry is introducing

an overarching informationpolicy to cover the access,dissemination and preser-vation of Government

information. This includesthe development of afunding model for sus-tainable public broad-casting.

• The Ministry will continueto roll out initiatives underthe Education BroadcastingNetwork working with thePublic Broadcasting Cor-poration of Jamaica (PBCJ).

Gov’t Abolishes Auxiliary Fees… cont’d from page 25

State Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. FloydGreen (centre), peruses a chart on display at one of the EarlyChildhood Commission’s (ECC) booths during the agency’s cer-tification fair at Jamaica College in St. Andrew, on Friday, August26. Looking on (from left) are ECC Officer, Donna Wilson; andformer Chairperson, Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughn.

Students who gathered at the Tivoli Gardens High School, inKingston, release balloons at the official launch of the 2016-2017school year.


Local Government Uplifting CommunitiesThe Ministry of Local Gov-

ernment and CommunityDevelopment continued its

active outreach in communities,impacting the lives of manyJamaicans, particularly themost vulnerable.

National Clean-Up Campaign • One of its major challenges

was to help in containingthe spread of mosquito-borne diseases such asthe Zika and ChikV, byeliminating mosquitobreeding sites in andaround communities.

• The scope of works included drain and gully

cleaning; removal ofgarbage and old tyres,

refrigerators, stoves,washing machines andother bulky items; bushing,distribution of nets tocover water drums; aswell as mobilisation andtraining of health informationand public educationthrough town hall meetings,distribution of flyers andtown criers.

Municipal Corporations• Following amendments to

legislation earlier thisyear, parish councils havebeen renamed municipalcorporations, with secre-tary managers or townclerks renamed chief

executive officers.

• Audits were undertaken inseveral of the island’smunicipal corporationsincluding, Manchester, St.Catherine, Hanover.

• The Trelawny MunicipalCorporation received $29million from the EqualizationFund to undertake beauti-fication, road maintenance,drain cleaning and garbagedisposal in the parish.

• The St. James MunicipalCorporation received $13million from the TourismEnhancement Fund (TEF)to upgrade and beautifysidewalks along two majorthoroughfares in MontegoBay. Areas under thisproject include Sam

Sharpe Square, City Centre,St. James Parish Librarygrounds, the historicDome and the ‘The Clock’at the top of BarnettStreet.

• The St. James Parish Municipal Corporation also

beefed up its cadre ofmobile municipal wardens,who work with membersof the Jamaica ConstabularyForce (JCF) to ensure thatlaw and order is main-tained across MontegoBay. The Council alsoemployed approximatelyeight anti-litter wardens.

• The St. Thomas MunicipalCorporation is crafting asustainable developmentplan for the parish whichis slated to be completedwithin the next 18 to 24months.

• The construction of a newMunicipal CorporationBuilding in Westmorelandis over 70 per cent

complete.

• Work began on the $50million family-friendlyrecreational space in down-town Kingston which isbeing built by the Kingstonand St. Andrew Corporation

Anti-Litter Law• The Ministry began pur-

suing measures aimed atstrengthening the anti-

litter law. Among theseare amendments to signi-ficantly increase the finesand custodial sentencesfor breaches.

• Several public educationcampaigns were under-taken regarding the properdisposal of commercialand domestic waste.

• A new cadre of municipalpolice officers receivedtraining at the NationalPolice College of Jamaicaat Twickenham Park, St.Catherine. Also, the Min-istry reviewed the com-plement of municipalofficers at the NationalSolid Waste ManagementAuthority (NSWMA).

Improved Infrastructure • More than 7,000 resi-

dents of Giddy Hall andits environs in South WestSt. Elizabeth will benefitfrom a new communitycentre, to be built at a costof just over $11 million.The centre is being fundedthrough a grant under theGovernment of Japan’sGrant Assistance for

Grassroots and HumanSecurity Project, and willreplace the existing 65year-old facility, which hasdeteriorated badly.Among the facilities to beinstalled are a computerlab, a library, a fashion

designing centre and anart and craft centre.

• A special committee wasestablished to spearhead

development and renovationof the May Pen Cemetery.Activities to be under-taken are: restoration ofvandalised graves whichwill be carried out in col-laboration with the PublicHealth Department;

repairs to the perimeterfence and access roads;and general landscaping.

• Ground was broken forthe construction of a $20million Cambridge Com-munity Development

Resource Centre in St.James. The facility, to belocated in the Cambridgetown square, is being builtthrough funding by theUnited States Agency forInternational Development(USAID) under its Com-munity Empowermentand Transformation Project(COMET) Phase 2. Thebuilding will provide spacefor community meetings,a homework centre, aswell as educational andsocial events. A policepost will also be estab-lished, as part of measuresto improve police/

community relations.

Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie (centre), andPermanent Secretary in the Ministry, Denzil Thorpe (left), assist a resident of Majesty Gardens inSouth West St. Andrew dispose of an old refrigerator, during the implementation of the nationalclean-up programme in the community.

Minister of Local Government and Community Development,Hon. Desmond McKenzie (second left), examines the plans forthe pilot ‘water shop’ to be erected at Pennants in Clarendon.Explaining details of the project is Director of Technical Servicesin the Ministry, Dwight Wilson (right). Cont’d on page 28


Road Improvements• The 2.2 kilometres of upgraded roadway in

Lime Hall, St. Ann, was officially opened. The road,

repaired at a cost of $16million, will benefit over2,000 residents.

• The Lyndale Housing

Scheme road was reha-bilitated by the St. MaryParish Council at a costof over $13 million throughfunds provided by theLocal Government

Ministry.

• Access to the RivertonCity disposal site in WestSt. Andrew has signifi-cantly improved with thecompletion of rehabilitationwork on the 1.65 kilometresof roadway leading to thearea. Undertaken througha US$1.8 million grant fromthe Mexican Government,the project included theconcrete paving of theroadway and installationof a proper drainage.

Water Infrastructure• Ground was broken for

the establishment of minorwater systems in Pennants,Clarendon. This projectwill see the constructionof mini water posts withat least six 1,000-gallonwater tanks at various

locations. Similar projectswill be replicated islandwide.

• Repairs were undertakenon minor water systemsin St. Thomas and Port-land which were damagedduring heavy rains in May.

Infirmaries• Work began on the new

female ward at the St.James infirmary in Albion,Montego Bay. The St.James Municipal Corpo-ration, which is spear-heading the initiative, hasalready raised $10 millionof the projected $28 mil-lion to complete the works.The project, which is slatedfor completion in 2017, willhave 11 triple occupancyrooms; bathroom facilities,common areas, an exami-

nation room and a recep-tion area. The infirmary

accommodates 48 maleand 12 female residents.

• Ground was broken inPortland for the com-mencement of infrastruc-ture work on the PortAntonio Infirmary.

• 15 persons received newhouses through partner-ship with Food for thePoor.

• Food for the Poor alsopartnered with the Min-istry to construct two drop-in centres in Hanover andSt. Ann valued at $24

million.

Poor Relief• Twenty-four million dollars

was allocated in the2016/17 Budget to upgradethe Poor Relief Department’sdrop-in centre on HanoverStreet in downtownKingston.

Markets• Tender documents for the

construction of the new$68 million Port Maria

market in St. Mary marketare being reviewed. Thetwo-storey facility, to bebuilt at the site of thepresent market, will houseapproximately 70 vendorson the first floor, while thesecond floor will facilitatebusiness space for entre-preneurs. This modernbuilding will have two

external staircases, an elevator and access aids

for the physically chal-lenged, in keeping withthe building code. The newmarket will also have waterharvesting, solar powerand light-emitting diodes(LEDs), among its features,as well as adequate properparking space.

• Renovation works werecarried out at the Papine,Ocho Rios and SantaCruz, Buff Bay and ClarksTown markets.

National Building Act• The revised Building Act,

which will facilitate improved oversight and

regulation of the built

environment as well as theadoption and efficient

application of the NationalBuilding Code, has beentabled in Parliament. It aimsto replace the Kingstonand St. Andrew BuildingAct and the Parish CouncilsBuilding Act.

Street Light ComplaintsDeskl A complaints desk has

been established at theMinistry to deal with mattersrelating to street lights.

Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB)l The Government signed a

US$987,822 contractwith Rosenbauer for theacquisition of two newtrucks for the JamaicaFire Brigade (JFB).

• Three new fire trucks valued at US$1.36 million

were added to the JFB’sfleet. The trucks were

deployed to the parishesof Kingston, St. Jamesand St. Ann, which have ahigh volume of calls anda large number of vulnerablecommunities.

• Work commenced on oneof the three new fire stationsthat will be constructed inMontego Bay, St. James;Yallahs, St. Thomas; andPort Maria, St. Mary. Fin-ancing for the project fallsunder the Disaster Vulner-ability Project, funded bythe World Bank

• Numerous safety and security equipment were

acquired by the Brigade.

• Terms of reference for an agreement between theJFB and the JamaicaConstabulary Force (JCF)are being finalised. Theagreement will strengthenthe capacity of the JFB toforensically investigatefires.

• The JFB expanded itsEmergency Medical

Services (EMS) to offer arange of first responderservices at the stationlevel. These include:basic burn and wound

care, blood pressurechecks, blood sugartests, general first aid andadvice on minor traumaincidents. Ambulanceswere also procured.

• A $1.7 million disasterrisk-reduction sensitisationprogramme was launchedtargeting primary schoolstudents island-wide. Itaims to heighten theyoungsters’ awarenessof the dangers and chal-lenges posed by naturaland other hazards. Theproject will be undertakenin four phases, beginningearly this year.

• Fire fighting kits werehanded over to teams intwo communities whichcompleted critical trainingin Bush Fire Management.The project, which received£70,000 (J$12.6 million) infunding from the BritishHigh Commission, beganas a pilot under the

National Community Fireand Life Safety EducationProgramme in the MavisBank community in St.Andrew and Nain in St.Elizabeth.

• Fire-fighters received continuous training

throughout the year in abid to ensure their stateof readiness to effectivelyrespond in the event of anearthquake.

• 100 recruits were trainedand deployed while

hydrants were repaired.

ODPEM• Some 300 schools in

Kingston and St. Andrew,St. Thomas and St.Catherine simultaneouslystaged earthquake drills.

• The agency launched the Jamaica EducationalSeismic Network, underwhich seismographs wereinstalled in a number ofschools in partnership withthe Earthquake Unit andthe Ministry of Education,Youth and Information.

Local Gov’t Uplifting… cont’d from page 27

Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon.Desmond McKenzie (2nd left), breaks ground for the new Port-land Infirmary in Port Antonio. Others (from left) are: PortlandMayor, Councillor Wayne McKenzie; Matron of the PortlandInfirmary, Janet Golaub; and Chairman of the Board of Supervision,Dr. Lee Martin.

Cont’d on page 29


NSWMA• A nine-member Enter-

prise Team was estab-lished to manage theestablishment of a waste-to-energy system as wellas to outsource solid-waste collection andsolid-waste management.

• Additional garbage truckswere procured to boostthe company’s fleet. Thetrucks are expected toarrive early 2017.

• The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF)

provided just over 2,000bins and two wood-chipping machines,valuing nearly $22 million,to the National Solid Waste Management

Authority (NSWMA).These will be used toassist in improvinggarbage collection anddisposal in 30 communitiesunder a waste separationand compost projectbeing undertaken withinput from RecyclingPartners of Jamaica.Funding has been pro-vided by the WorldBank.

• The NSWMA removeddebris which partly con-tributed to floodingalong sections of lowerMarcus Garvey Drive inKingston.

• The communities ofRollington Town inKingston and CaribbeanEstates and CaymanasCountry Club in St.Catherine participated ina $7.5 million recyclingpilot project, slated toimpact 2,000 house-holds. The Waste Red-uction through WasteSeparation, Waste

Diversion and RecyclingProject aims to reducethe high volume of plasticbottles at the Rivertondisposal site.

Thirty-one new municipal police officers joined six local government authorities across the island after

completing a six week training course at the National Police College in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine. They were assigned to the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), the St. Catherine, Portland, St. Mary, Man- chester, and St. James parish councils. They will enforce municipal laws and regulations and help to maintain public order.

Social Development Commission (SDC)• Approximately 4,500

jobs were created at thecommunity level underthe Local Economic

Development (LED)Support Programme.The programme, whichis being implemented bythe Social DevelopmentCommission (SDC), aimsto stimulate sustainableeconomic developmentthrough the growth ofthe micro, small andmedium-sized enterprise(MSME) sector andcommunity economicenterprises. It is beingfunded by the CanadianInternational DevelopmentAgency (CIDA) under itsCaribbean Local Eco-nomic DevelopmentProject (CARILED).

• Hundreds of persons invarious communitieswere trained in project,financial and moneymanagement, leader-ship, record keepingand organisationalstrengthening.

• The SDC also assistedindividuals in the area ofentrepreneurship and inthis regard, 244 localeconomic developmentsupport plans werecompleted, as well as55 business modelscompleted and 73

project proposals devel-oped. In addition, 306capacity building

sessions were held.

Local Gov’t Uplifting… cont’d from page 28Promoting Sport and Culture for Development,Protecting Women

Promoting sport and cul-ture as vehicles of devel-opment as well as adopting

initiatives to address gender-based violence and empowerwomen highlighted the thrustof the Ministry of Culture,Gender, Entertainment andSport in 2016.

The Bureau of Gender Affairsconducted public educationsessions on the identification,reporting and prevention ofdomestic, sexual and gender-based violence at variouslocations throughout the island.

Protecting Women and Girls• A National Strategic Action Plan to Eliminate

Gender-Based Violence(NSAP-GBV) was drafted.The action plan, which isto go before Cabinet inMay, will serve as a moni-toring and enforcementmechanism to facilitate aholistic approach towardthe elimination of gender-based violence in Jamaica.It was crafted by the

Bureau of Gender Affairsand other stakeholders.

• The British High Commis-sion and the United StatesEmbassy in Kingston pro-vided £21,136 for a Dom-estic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Project.Approximately 300 policepersonnel and front-lineresponders are to benefitfrom training to respondto gender-based violence.

• Sensitisation sessionswere held with 50 publicsector workers on gendermainstreaming under theNational Policy for GenderEquality.

• The Ministry conducted28 sensitisation sessionsaimed at building aware-ness of gender issuesamong Jamaicans.

• The He-for-She campaignwas launched, which

engages boys and men inpromoting the health andwell-being of women and

girls. It is a spinoff of theUnited Nations (UN) Sec-retary-General’s flagshipprogramme, EveryWoman, Every Child.

• Fifty-eight adolescentmothers were registeredto sit the Caribbean Sec-ondary Education Certifi-cate examinations (CSEC)under a programme

devised by the Women’sCentre of Jamaica Foun-dation (WCJF). Additionally,477 adolescents werereintegrated into the

educational system.

• An Attend-On-DemandEnrolment Programmewas implemented by theWCJF. This is to facilitateolder girls who wish to

attend the institution toaccess specified servicesrather than the full slate ofactivities.

Culture and Heritage• Measures were under-

taken to protect the Blueand John Crow Mountains

World Heritage Site, including the erection of

signage at two of threegateways leading to thearea. Also, recommen-

dations were submittedand accepted by the

Ministry of Transport andMining concerning modi-fications of boundaries forprospecting licences.

• A World Heritage Eco-nomic Opportunities work-shop was held to reachover 150 persons living inand around the Blue andJohn Crow Mountains.The workshop facilitateddirect interface betweencommunity members andstakeholders from sectorssuch as agriculture,tourism, and manufacturing.

• A contract was signedwith the InternationalFund for Cultural Diversityin May to undertake therevision of the NationalCulture Policy to reflectcurrent trends and to

Cont’d on page 30

Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Minister, Hon. OliviaGrange (right), accepts a book on Miss Lou and Jamaica Culturefrom Poet Laureate of Jamaica, Professor Mervyn Morris(centre), at the launch of the Miss Lou Archives at the NationalLibrary of Jamaica on October 20.


position the cultural andcreative industries todrive economic growth.The Ministry conducted15 consultations with non-governmental organisations,cultural practitioners,Ministries, Departmentsand Agencies, as well asother stakeholders to

discuss the policy.

• The Institute of Jamaica,which keeps and displaysJamaica’s historical arte-facts, hosted five exhibits,two displays and events,including a heritage festivalto showcase various

aspects of Jamaica’s culture.

• The Louise Bennett Coverley Archives was

launched in October atthe National Library of

Jamaica. The archive is acollection of her unpub-lished and published

material, including personaland professional corres-pondence, radio scriptsand photographs. Thecatalogue is accessiblefrom the library’s website.

• Cabinet approved thepurchase of the remainingsix lots on the Pinnaclelands in Sligoville, St.Catherine, to declare thearea a heritage site for theRastafarian community.

• The Creative ProductionTraining Centre (CPTC)re-launched its JamVisioncable channel, formerlyC-TV, in May as a meansto promote Jamaica’s

cultural content regionallyand globally. The CPTCalso recorded and cus-tomised literary arts con-tent to support the learningoutcomes of the CXCEnglish B syllabus. Thiscontent will be madeavailable to the Ministryof Education for use as ateaching tool in all highschools

• Sound and light equipmentwas procured for the

auditoriums at St. AndrewHigh, Manchester High,Guys Hill High and Jam-aica College.

Athletes Development and Well-being• 1,300 athletes signed on

to the Jamaica AthletesInsurance Plan, which isbeing funded by the SportDevelopment Foundation,Culture Health Arts Scienceand Education (CHASE)Fund, National HealthFund (NHF), and theTourism EnhancementFund (TEF). Guardian LifeInsurance Company isproviding Group Health

Insurance and Allied Insurance Brokers/ Sagicor

is providing Personal Accident and Life Insurance.

• The Special Incentive Planwas introduced under theJAAA Athletes Develop-ment Fund to provide

assistance to athletespreparing for the 2016Olympics.

Rewarding Outstanding Performances• Athletes who participated

in the 2016 Olympics andParalympics were hon-oured by the Ministry

during three days of cele-brations titled: “Salute toour Rio Ambassadors.”They were lauded for theirachievements and pre-sented with cash awardsfor their outstanding

representation of thecountry

Sport for Economic Development • Work started on the dev-

elopment of a NationalSport Museum. The Min-istry has hired a consultantto develop a strategicbusiness plan and the landhas been approved byCabinet and the NationalLand Agency for the

construction of the facility.

• The Ministry funded thestaging of two majortrack meets – Jamaica

International in May andRacer’s Grand Prix inJune, to expose top

athletes to internationalcompetition.

• Work commenced on therenovation of sport infra-structure across the

island. Refurbishing hasstarted on the TrelawnyStadium and the NationalArena with assistancefrom the Tourism

Enhancement Fund (TEF),Social DevelopmentFoundation (SDF) andcentral Government.

• A power protection sys-tem valued at over $1

million was installed atthe National IndoorsSports Centre.

• Two refresher courseswere facilitated with 76doping control personnelon doping procedures.

• The first ever symposiumon the Heritage of Sport,highlighting the signifi-cance of safeguarding

Jamaica’s rich sport her-itage and the relevance ofsport in national develop-ment was held in April.The event was held incollaboration with theUniversity of Technology(UTech).

Promoting Sport and Culture… cont’d from page 29

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (centre), presents an award to World and Olympicsprint champion, Usain Bolt (left), at a ceremony to honour the 2016 Rio Olympic athletes, at theNational Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on October 15. Sharing the moment is Culture, Gender,Entertainment and Sport Minister, Hon. Olivia Grange.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange (centre), assists inunveiling a World Heritage gateway sign in Papine, St Andrew, leading to Jamaica’s first WorldHeritage site, the Blue and John Crow Mountains Heritage Site.


Advancing Justice Reform

The Ministry of Justicemade significant strides inimproving the justice sys-

tem through the rehabilitationof court houses, the provisionof equipment, training of criticalstakeholders, and amendingcrucial pieces of legislation.

Infrastructure Development• Contracts valued at $36.4

million were signed forthe supply and installationof louvres at the SupremeCourt and for the repair ofthe car park, which servesthe Civil Division of theKingston and St. AndrewParish Court.

• Partial refurbishing workwas done at the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Courtat a cost of $17.34 million.

• A sum of $6.28 millionwas allocated to facilitaterepairs to the St James

Parish Court in MontegoBay

• Electrical works were undertaken at the Half-

Way-Tree Parish Court ata cost of $3.6 million.

• Remedial works were undertaken at the Court

of Appeal, Public BuildingWest at a cost of $3.2million.

• Painting and minor repairswere carried out at theFamily Court, St. Andrewat a cost of $3.1 million.

• Roof repairs and paintingwere done at the RambleParish Court in Hanoverat a cost of $2.5 million.

Technological Improvements• Video link technology was

installed at the Half-Way-Tree and Supreme Courtsto facilitate witnesses

who cannot be physicallypresent in the courtrooms. The technology

will also be installed in 19additional courts.

• Three mobile unitsequipped to facilitate

witnesses giving evidenceremotely were acquired,and digital audio recordingshave been installed insome court rooms.

• Eighty-five computerswere procured for theparish courts, the Officeof the Director of PublicProsecution (DDP), Officeof Attorney General, andthe Office of the Parlia-mentary Counsel.

• Photocopiers were pro-cured and installed at allparish courts to facilitatecommittal proceedings;and preparatory workwas advanced for a newcase management system,which will digitise thecourts.

• The Attorney General’sDepartment was providedwith 25 new desktop andlaptop computers underthe Government ofCanada-funded JusticeUndertaking for SocialTransformation (JUST)Programme. The com-

puters, along with backupstorage devices and aprojector, form part of theprogramme’s CDN$19.8

million business processreform and technical

assistance provision,being facilitated throughCanada’s Global AffairsInitiative.

• Also under the JUST programme, 15 desktop

computers were providedto improve the jury man-agement system at theSupreme Court. Also pro-vided were a high-densityserver, data backup andstorage and firewall pro-tection devices.

• Service delivery by theAdministrator General’sDepartment (AGD) wasimproved as a result of aUS$696,300 software

upgrade. The new systemhas the capacity to processall aspects of estate

administration, from trustadministration to financialand investment-relatedactivities.

Capacity Building • The European Union (EU)

provided a $3.3 billion(€22 million) grant underthe Justice System

Reform Project. The allo-cation is the single largestby the EU to the pro-gramme. Some $3 billion,to be managed by theGovernment, has beenearmarked for budgetarysupport, while the EU willadminister the remaining$275.4 million.

• Some 2,000 communityleaders across the islandwere sensitised on issuesof justice, including resto-rative justice, mediation,drug court and drug abuse,human trafficking, childdiversion and legal aid.

• More than 200 Justices ofthe Peace (JPs) receivedmandatory training inareas such as roles andfunction, identification

parade procedures, andmonitoring of police lockups.

• Judges and court staffwere trained in humanrights and managing

Cont’d on page 32

Justice Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck (right), and Attorney General, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte(left), peruse the specifications on boxes containing 25 computers which have been provided forthe Attorney General’s Department under the Government of Canada-funded Justice Undertakingfor Social Transformation (JUST) Programme. The computers, along with backup storage devicesand a projector, were handed over by Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica, His ExcellencySylvain Fabí (centre), during a ceremony at the Office of the Attorney General in New Kingstonon November 8.

Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck (right), in discussion withfrom left: Pastor, Roger Shaw, Reverend Ian Muirhead, and Prin-cipal, Windward Road Primary, Norman Malcolm at the RestorativeJustice meeting for School Administrators held at the Ministry’soffices on Constant Spring Road on October 7.


complex cases such asthose involving cyber-crimes and fraud.

• The number of judges inthe Court of Appeal wasexpanded from seven to12. Some 10 additionaljudicial clerks were

employed to assist withlegal research for AppealCourt judges.

• Approval was given forthe Chief Justice to

employ four Masters tostrengthen the technicalcapacity of her office.

• The Ministry’s Case Inventory Management

Backlog Reduction Strategycontinued during the

calendar year.

• Committal proceedingsrules were prepared,

resulting in matters beingexpedited from parishcourts to higher levels ofthe court system. Preli-minary enquiries wereabolished for serious

offences such as murders,rapes and arson.

• The statistical and datacapture project was

extended to 13 parishesto track the movement ofcases in parish courts.Monthly reports capturedata such as number ofnew cases, cases

disposed of, types of offences, etc.

• Cabinet approved the establishment of a Judi-

cial Education Instituteunder the Office of theChief Justice.

• The Ministry hosted aworkshop and a confer-ence on human trafficking,while the 4th North Amer-ican and Caribbean Inter-national Association ofProsecutors (IAP) Confer-ence was held at theMontego Bay ConventionCentre, St. James.

• The Counter Terrorismand Organised Crime

Investigation Branch (C-TOC) launched a new

strategy, dubbed ‘OperationUplift’, aimed at strength-ening the fight againstTrafficking in Persons (TIP).

• The Office of the DPP’sProsecutor’s Manual forJamaica was officiallylaunched under the JUSTprogramme.

• The Ministry commencedthe sensitisation ofschool leaders, guidancecounsellors and boardmembers to introducerestorative justice in1,000 schools island-wideas a way of reducing

violence and resolvingconflicts within theschool environment.

Legislation Passed in Parliament• The Restorative Justice

Act which makes provisionfor the implementation ofrestorative justice proce-dures in the formal justicesystem.

• Jury (Amendment) Act

• Interpretation (Amendment)Act

• Restorative Justice Act

• Children (Guardianshipand Custody) (Amendment)Act

• Judicature (ResidentMagistrate’s) (Amendmentand Change of Name)Act

Legislation Tabled in Parliament• Integrity Commission Bill

• Arbitration Bill

Judges Sworn into Higher Office• 11 judges were sworn

into office during the year.

Advancing Justice… cont’d from page 31

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness greets 33-year veteran educator, GeraldineAllen, while congratulating recipients of the Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation forService to Education at Jamaica House on June 23.

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (centre) shares a moment with studentsof Wolmer’s Girls’ School, who all scored grade ones in their Caribbean SecondaryExamination Council (CSEC) mathematics test in 2016. The 33 girls accompanied byPrincipal, Colleen Montague (right) called on the Prime Minister at Jamaica House inOctober.

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Jamaica Achievements 2016

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