Minister Grange (left) congratulates Reggae legend, Rita Marley after she received the Special Emperor of Reggae and World Music Award, which was posthumously bestowed on late husband and globally acknowledged King of Reggae, Robert Nesta ‘Bob’ Marley. The award was presented during the 37th International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRWMA) ceremony in Kingston.
• The hip
strip in Montego Bay, St James, was renamed Jimmy Cliff Boulevard in honour of
Reggae icon, Jimmy Cliff.
• Gordon Town
Square was renamed in honour of Louise Bennett-Coverley, affectionately called
“Miss Lou,” as part of activities to celebrate the centenary anniversary of the
birth of the late cultural icon.
• As part of
the centenary, the Ministry declared 100 days of celebration in
Jamaica and the Diaspora commencing September 1.
• The 25th
film in the James Bond series was shot in Jamaica.
• Ms. Grange
led a large delegation of performers, fashion designers and theatre groups to
CARIFESTA XIV in Trinidad and Tobago.
• Jamaica
elected as a Vice-President of the 40th Session of the UNESCO
General Conference.
Entertainment
• Work
commenced to build out Fort Rocky, outside Port Royal, as Jamaica’s first
designated Entertainment Zone.
• Other
locations were identified in Negril, Trelawny and Portmore where facilities
will be built to host entertainment.
Labour Day
• Thousands of
Jamaicans repaired and beautified schools and community facilities for Labour
Day.
• Signage and
pedestrian crossings were installed at Holland Primary School in St. Elizabeth;
Fair Prospect Primary in Portland; and Barrett Town All-Age and John Rollins
Primary in St. James, which were the national projects.
Jamaica continues to make major gains in empowering women
and girls and to help men and boys become positive role models in the society.
• Three
shelters are being prepared to accommodate abused.
• The Sexual
Harassment Bill was tabled in the House of Representatives.
• Young
Fathers Jamaica implemented to assist adolescent fathers to become outstanding
dad.
• #MentorMe2020
programme launched, which will target at-risk young men.
• Gender
Ambassadors Programme (GAP) developed to raise awareness and
facilitate activism on gender issues in schools.
• 67
sensitisation sessions held on gender-based violence, men and masculinity, and
gender mainstreaming.
• More than
780 girls were registered in the Women’s Centre Jamaica Foun-dation’s Programme
for Adolescent Mother between April and September.
• More than
255 were reintegrated into the formal high/secondary-school system, and
approximately 103 were placed into other institutions of learning.
Athletes Excel
Reggae Girlz captain, Khadija Shaw (centre), in action at the Concacaf Women’s Olympic qualifying games ta the National Stadium. Jamaica’s senior women’s football team defeated Barbados 7-0
• Jamaica
secured 12 medals, including three gold, at the IAAF World Athletic
Championships in Doha, placing third on the medal table behind the United
States and Kenya.
• The Reggae
Girlz created history when they competed in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in
France.
• The statue of sprinter, Veronica Campbell-Brown, was unveiled at the National Stadium.
• Cabinet
approved a contract for $71.5 million toreplace the Stadium East running track
in Kingston.
• Members of
the Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel were appointed in keeping with
the Anti-Doping in Sport Act and the World Anti-Doping Code.
• The NSWMA
received 12 compactor garbage trucks, valued at approximately US$1.74 million,
from the Government.
• A Heads of
Agreement was signed for wage increases to truck drivers over a four-year
period (April 1, 2017 – March 31, 2021) and deals with wages and allowances.
• Western
Parks and Markets (WPM) Waste Management Limited opened the Cambridge garbage
holding area, in St. James.
The initiative entailed the
destruction of mosquito and rodent breeding sites, and preventing lots from
being used as dumping sites.
• Western
Parks and Markets received a donation of two pickup trucks from the Tourism
Enhancement Fund (TEF), to bolster the agency’s new enforcement programme.
Jamaica Fire Brigade
(JFB)
• 16 new fire
units acquired.
• The Jamaica
Fire Brigade (JFB) received equipment, valued at over $30 million, from the
United States Embassy in Kingston.
• The Montego
Bay Fireboat Station in St. James was opened and two fire units and a fireboat
were handed over.
• A total of
150 firefighters islandwide were trained
in urban search and rescue, clearing of roadways, recovery of fatalities, and
transportation of persons to medical facilities and shelters.
• 109 recruits
graduated from the JFB’s training programme.
• Contracts
were signed to construct the $217-million state-of-the-art Port Maria Fire
Station in St. Mary and the $109.49-million Yallahs Fire Station in St. Thomas.
Parochial Road
Repairs
• The Trelawny
Municipal Corporation received $25 million to rehabilitate roads across the
parish.
• St. Ann
Municipal Corporation received an additional $30 million for road projects.
Water Shops Opened
Top Hill resident, Marilyn Thomas, drinks from the tap at the water shop constructed in the community.
• The Top Hill
facility in St. Elizabeth was built at a cost of $8.9 million and will serve
more than 1,500 residents.
• The
Retirement District Water Shop, also in St. Elizabeth, was built at a cost of
$9.7 million and will benefit approximately 3,000 residents.
• A
$9.5-million water shop was opened in Central Manchester, which will serve
residents of Bellefield, Banana Ground, Blue Mountain, Bombay, Virginia, Top
Bellefield, Davyton and Coffee Grove.
Municipal Corporations
• The Youth
Summer Employment Programme (YSEP) was expanded to include approximately 4,000
additional persons.
• 400 small
entrepreneurs in St. James received grants totalling $10 million through the
St. James Municipal Corporation’s Local Economic Development (LED) Programme.
• Sidewalk
restoration and improvement continued under the St. James Municipal
Corporation’s $100-million rehabilitation project.
• $8.5 million
allocated to councillors of the St. James Municipal Corporation to assist with
vector control in their divisions.
Social Development Commission
(SDC)
• The Social
Development Commission (SDC) provided grants totalling $1.1 million to 22 small
entrepreneurs and micro-businesses in St. James.
Other Projects
• Residents of
Ginger House and surrounding areas of Portland now have easier access to their
communities, following the installation of a new swing bridge at a cost of $7.1
million.
Several major initiatives were undertaken to improve
ser-vice delivery to citizens.
Notable were the upgrading of infirmaries, bolstering of the
country’s firefighting capacity, rehabilitation of parochial roads and the
construction of water shops to ease water shortage.
POOR RELIEF
DEPARTMENT
(Infirmaries, Indigent Housing)
Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie (right), guides wheelchair user Mr. Denroy Rowe, into his new studio unit at Hatfield in Manchester.
• Over $700
million is being spent by the Government to upgrade infirmaries and to expand social programmes at the facilities.
• The National
Health Fund (NHF) donated 12 new autoclaves, valued at $9.3 million, to
infirmaries islandwide.
• Work
commenced on a new $40-million female ward at the Manchester Infirmary, while
ground was broken for the construction of a new $45 million new male ward at
the Portland Infirmary.
• The Ministry
is spending $16 million to build a new administrative office on the grounds of
the infirmary in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth.
• $1.2
million was allocated to the Trelawny Poor Relief Department to undertake
repairs under the Indigent Housing Programme.
• Seven studio
units were handed over to elderly indigent persons at
Hatfield,
Manchester; Lime Hall and Mile End in St. Ann; Palmer’s Cross and St. John, in
Clarendon; and Point Hill, St. Catherine.
• Staff
members of the Poor Relief Department and Councillors in St. Elizabeth were presented with computer tablets. The
Department also received new computers and a printer to complement the mobile
devices.
• Education
grants totalling $1.5 million were provided to the Poor Relief Department of
each Municipal Corporation in the 2019/2020 financial year by the Ministry.
• Ground was
broken to construct a $140-million adult transitional facility in Kingston.
• Seventy
primary schools benefited from the expertise of some 130 teachers, who have
been trained to detect and successfully correct learning challenges in
students.
• The National
College for Educational Leadership (NCEL) launched ‘The Principal’s Voice’, a
magazine that provides principals with practical, hands-on strategies to
undertake improvements at their schools.
• Government
awarded a 10-year contract, valued at £12.2 million, to City and Guilds
International Limited for the testing and certification for grades 11, 12 and
13 students in Mathematics, English, Engineering and 16 Technical and
Vocational Education and Training (TVET) occupational areas.
• Textbooks
and appropriate electronic and other supplies were provided to support the
National Standards Curriculum and other curricula for grades 1 to 13 at a cost
of approximately $817 million.
Teaching Council Bill
• Cabinet
signed off on the draft Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) Bill, which seeks to
establish a governing body for the teaching profession and a licensing and
registration regime for all Government-paid teachers.
Twinning of Schools
• Some 52 high
schools are participating in the Twinning of Schools initiative, which aims to
expose students to academic and extracurricular programmes that are not
currently available at their own institutions.
Childcare and
Protection
• $23.5
million was spent to renovate the Homestead Place of Safety in Stony Hill, St.
Andrew, making life more comfortable for the 44 young girls who reside there.
• Just over
$1.2 billion was allocated to the Special Education Unit.
• Two
Diagnostic Centres were opened for the assessment of students with special
needs as well as providing short-term intervention.
Early Childhood
Minister with responsibility for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Karl Samuda (left), engages with students at the Savanna-la-Mar Inclusive Infant Academy in Westmoreland during a tour in October. Looking on are teachers, Dahlia Richards (seated) and Angella McKoy (right).
• The Care
Bear Early Childhood Development Centre on Waltham Park Road, St. Andrew, was
expanded through $12 million in funding from the Government of Japan.
• The Office
of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) launched Child Justice Guidelines Posters to
equip justice sector stakeholders to deal with children coming in contact with
the justice system.
• The Early
Childhood Commission (ECC) launched the First 1000 Days app and an Early Childhood Parent Partners Directory.
PATH
• More than
$600 million was allocated to pay examination fees for high-school students who
are on the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH).
• Improved
School Feeding from three to five days.
• 47
full-tuition scholarships valued at $177.66 million per annum were provided to
needy students, who started their Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery
(MBBS) degrees at the University of the West
Indies
(UWI), Mona.
Information Division
• Implementation
of the Records and Information Management (RIM) Programme was advanced.
• The RIM
Oversight Committee approved the RIM System Implementation Plan.
• Cabinet
submission for the issuing of drafting instruction for new National Archives
and Records Management Bill was drafted and is awaiting final comments from the
Attorney General’s Chamber.
• Terms of
reference developed and finalised for the procurement of consultancy services
to conduct strategic review of the Jamaica Archives and Records Department.
• Public
Sector Data Collection and Information
Sharing (DCIS) Policy
finalised and is to be submitted to Cabinet.
• Draft terms
of reference developed for the design and implementation of a DCIS Pilot
between the Ministries of Education, Youth and Information, and Health and
Wellness.
• Charter
developed for DCIS Implementation Oversight Committee
• Introduction
of an Electronic Content and Media Policy to provide an
enabling
environment for the sector.
• Draft
Cabinet submission for amendments to the Broadcast and Radio
The Government continued its investment in education, with
billions expended for the upgrading and
expansion of school plants, and the provision of critical resources to enhance the environment for
teaching and learning.
Infrastructure Improvement
Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (2nd right), is briefed on work being done by students of Penwood High School in St. Andrew, inside the institution’s new state-of-the-art information and communications technology (ICT) centre, by Chairman, Gregory Pullen (3rd left), and Principal, Donna McLaren (right), during a tour of the facility which is equipped with 42 computers.
• Increased
maintenance grant for secondary level schools.
• 269 school
canteens upgraded.
• Almost 7,000
pieces of furniture were repaired before the start of the new school year at a
cost of $19.65 million.
• Work has
started on expansion and upgrading of several schools as part of efforts to
eliminate the shift system. The institutions are:
– Cedric Titus High
– Exchange All-Age
– Muschett High
– Albert Town High
– Old Harbour High and
– Friendship Primary
• A $35
million educational assessment and resource centre was built on the grounds of
the Church Teachers’ College in Mandeville.
• A fully
equipped learning centre valued at $10 million opened at Rock River Primary
School in Clarendon.
• Campbell’s
Castle Primary School in South Manchester was rebuilt at a cost of more than
$51 million.
• A kitchen
and canteen valued at $14 million was constructed at the Middleton Primary
School in St. Thomas.
• A special
education unit was established at Chetolah Park Primary School in Hannah Town,
Kingston at a cost of $13 million.
• The National
Education Trust (NET), in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan, officially
handed over two new classrooms and replaced windows at Fair Prospect Primary
School in Eastern Portland, at a cost of approximately $11 million.
• The Western
Hospitality Institute in Negril has benefited from grant funding of
approximately $10 million (US$85,094.00) from the Government of Japan for the
renovation and expansion of the facility.
• A rainwater
harvesting system was installed at Iris Gelly Primary School in Kingston by the
National Education Trust (NET) through funding under the Japanese Government’s
Grant Assistance for Grass- roots Human Security Project.
• A new eLibrary
project was launched in partnership with La Sierra University in California,
enabling students to access thousands of current textbooks and more than 100
instructional videos, by plugging a free preloaded flash drive into their
computers and uploading the software.
Primary Exit Profile
(PEP)
• 41,617
primary school students sat the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exam for the first
time.
Curriculum Expansion
• The
curricula for community colleges were expanded to incorporate the Bachelor of
Science in Nursing; Bachelor of Science in Social Work; Associate of Applied
Science in Agro-Processing and Business Management; and Associate of Applied
Science in Health and Wellness Tourism.
• The National
School-Leaving Certificate Programme (NSLC) was introduced, under which
students who successfully complete the secondary education programme will be
awarded a certificate.
Minister of Health, Dr. Hon. Christopher Tufton (right), places his hand over the imaging platform of the new mammography machine at the UIniversity Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), while Dr. Derria Cornwall explains the breast imaging process.
• Work
continued on the $3.5 billion renovation at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in
St. James.
• The Accident
and Emergency (A&E) Department at the Princess Margaret Hospital in St.
Thomas was officially reopened following an extensive rehabilitation and
expansion exercise.
• New
elevators were installed at Princess Margaret, Spanish Town, and Victoria
Jubilee Hospitals. Approxi-mately $200 million is being spent to install 14 new
elevators at hospitals in the South East Regional Health Authority.
• Ground was
broken for the building of the Western Children and Adolescent Hospital, a gift
from the People’s Republic of China.
• The Stony Hill Health Centre in St.
Andrew was renovated, expanded and equipped at a cost of $80 million.
• Black River
Health Centre in St. Elizabeth was expanded and upgraded at a cost of $13
million under the Reducing Waiting Time Initiative.
Adopt-A-Clinic
Programme
• 19 clinics
have been adopted.
• The donor
commitments for the clinics total $57.4 million over a three-year period, which
is $19.1 million per year.
Cancer Care
• University
Hospital of the West Indies opened a $78 million Mammography Unit.
Tackling the Dengue Virus
• The Enhanced
Vector Control Programme was launched.
• $1 billion
earmarked to support enhanced measures to contain the spread of the dengue
virus.
• Of the sum,
$469.9 million went towards procurement of 31 mounted fogging machines; 35
fogging vehicles; ultra-low volume flushing solutions; 25 handheld fogging
machines; 150 cases of Natular tablets for water treatment; and continuing the
engagement of 1,000 vector workers into March 2020.
• Approximately
$302.5 million was spent for solid waste removal, and $227.5 million for sensitisation.
• New vehicles
were acquired to enhance vector control
• Communities,
schools, and drains were inspected and fogged.
• Some 6,000
notices were served on persons failing to destroy mosquito breeding sites on
their properties
Training of Nurses
• Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) signed with the Government of the United Kingdom to
train 13 critical care nurses, beginning June 2019.
The Government continued to make significant investments to
improve water supply systems islandwide.
• Over 50
water facilities rehabilitated.
• Major
upgrades and replacements of water and sewer mains within the Corporate Area
• Reduced
National Water Commission (NWC) water losses from over 60 per cent to about 40
per cent in the Corporate Area.
• A record
$800 million investment in rural water which brought water to thousands of
Jamaicans who never had it in parishes including Clarendon, St. Elizabeth and
St. Mary.
• NWC
customers who were severely affected by drought conditions benefited from a
debt write-off under a Bill Redemption system.
• $630 million
Essex Valley Water Supply Project in Junction, St. Elizabeth commissioned and
more than 20,000 residents in 3,300 households are receiving potable piped
water supplied by the NWC.
• Residents of
several communities in West Rural St.
Andrew are benefitting from the installation of a supply system in Golden Hill.
The $13 million project, undertaken by Rural Water Supply Limited (RWSL)
involved installation of a 60,000 gallon water storage tank.
• More than
150 residents of Bucknor and surrounding communities in Clarendon signed
contracts to become new customers of the NWC.
• More than 46 households in Section H in Norwood, St. James, received water in their pipes, following the commissioning of a water supply system.
Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (centre) turns on the main water valve to officially commission the Essex Valley Water Supply System in Junction, St. Elizabeth.
Rainwater Harvesting
• A $7 million
rainwater harvesting system was commissioned into service at the Enid Bennett
High School in St. Catherine.
• The Rock
Hall All-Age School in St. Andrew benefited from the commissioning into service
of a $9 million rainwater harvesting system.
• RWSL
provided water solutions to the Garden Hill Primary School in St. Catherine.
• Rainwater
harvesting systems, storage facilities, and a number of 400
gallon black tanks were also provided for residents of
Giblatore, St. Catherine with funding from the Inter- American Development Bank
(IDB).
• The
Government launched a water-monitoring initiative among primary and high school students to encourage the
culture of water conservation.
• Jamaicans
will be planting three million timber and ornamental trees over the next three
years under a National Tree Planting Programme.
The initiative, being managed by the Forestry Department,
will see 3,000 hectares of land planted with two million timber seedlings. The
remaining one million timber and ornamental seedlings will be distributed to
the public. This is part of the Government’s strategic response to climate
change.
Plastic Ban
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz (left), examines one of the recycling bins that will be used to store plastic waste under the “Red Stripe Circular Economy Project”. At right the brewery’s Managing Director, Luiz Prata
• A ban on
plastics came into effect on January 1. It prohibits the importation,
manufacture, distribution of single-use plastic bags measuring 24” x 24” and
smaller; the importation and manufacture of polystyrene foam products used in
the food and beverage industry; and the importation and manufacture of plastic
drinking straws.
• A plastic
recycling pilot project was launched in Rae Town, Kingston, to reduce the
volume of waste entering the harbour.
• The nation’s
capacity to access more climate finance was boosted with the formal launch of
Jamaica’s first Country Programme for engagement with the Green Climate Fund
(GCF).
• Contract
signed for the design, supply and instal- lation of a new S-Band Doppler
Weather Radar in Jamaica. The radar is used to locate precipitation, calculate
its motion, and estimate rain, hail and others, and will significantly improve
Jamaica’s ability to accurately forecast extreme weather events.
• The WRA and
the Meteorological Service signed an MoU to collaborate on sharing information
to mitigate climate change impacts.
• A contract
was signed to facilitate conducting multi- hazard assessments of eight priority
coastal areas across the island over two years.
• Renovated
three post offices in Kingston, Ocho Rios and Falmouth.
The General
Post Office (GPO), King Street, downtown Kingston, was also refurbished and
reopened.
• Released the
Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA) commemorative stamp to celebrate the
Association’s 100th anniversary.
Universal Service
Fund
• Launched its
seventh public Wi-Fi Hotspot at Emancipation Park in Kingston
• Hosted a
graduation ceremony for 890 unattached youth, aged 18 to 35, who were trained
under the Technology Advancement Programme (TAP) and placed at 45 institutions
within the private and public sectors to conduct digitisation or data
collection.
• More than
600 participants were engaged in TAP.
• Community
access point (CAP) established for students of the Caribbean Christian Centre
for the Deaf (CCCD), which will provide Internet and other computer-related
services.
Cyber Incident
Response Team (CIRT)
• Hosted a
series of events during Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, to sensitise
the public on cyber safety. These included school tours, roadshows, a public
safety and security symposium, a conference, a cybersecurity drill and
workshops for law-enforcement personnel.
Spectrum Management Authority
• Instituted
an online client payment portal to make it more convenient for clients to pay
their fees.
