• An upgraded
Rio Cobre Early Warning System (RCEWS) that will assist in the management of
potential water-related disasters was launched.
• The Met
Service developed a one-to-five-day forecast tool to predict the likely
outbreak of bush fires in Jamaica.
• Major
mitigation, sanitation, drain-cleaning and beautification programme under-
taken at a cost of $1.3 billion. The programme, being executed up to February
2020, is being implemented by the National Works Agency (NWA) and the National
Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), with the Ministry of Health and
Wellness providing guidance.
• An MoU was
signed to undertake the removal of between 1.5 and two million tyres from the
Riverton City landfill.
New Look NLA
• The Land
Administration and Management Programme (LAMP) was merged with the National
Land Agency (NLA). The merger is in keeping with the Government’s Public Sector
Rationalisation Programme, which seeks to streamline the services offered by
public bodies through mergers, closures, privatisation or reintegration into
the public sector.
• The NLA
launched a queue management system and an Online Surveyor Search Request Service
(OSSRS), which are aimed at enhancing customer service delivery.
• The NLA and
the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) signed an MoU to facilitate hydro- graphic
surveys of the seabed in the country’s territorial waters.
Several activities were undertaken to boost the energy
sector; to allow persons and companies to
invest more in renewables; and provide the opportunity for Jamaicans to
own shares in Wigton Windfarm in Manchester.
Wigton Wind Farm
• Jamaicans
purchased 11 billion shares in Wigton Wind Farm, Manchester, offered by the
Government at 50 cents per share, at the initial public offering (IPO) on April
17.
• Of the 11
billion shares, some 2.2 billion were reserved for Public Sector workers. The
IPO was oversubscribed by $9 billion, and saw approximately 31,000 Jamaicans
purchasing shares, resulting in 11,000 new investors joining the stock market.
• The wind
farm, is generating 62.7 megawatts of power, resulting in the country not
having to import 100,000 barrels of oil per year at a cost of more than US$54
million. The projected annual output can provide power for more than 31,500
homes.
• Production
of clean energy from the facility has enabled the country to avoid the emission
of one million tons of carbon dioxide, thereby reducing the country’s carbon
footprint.
• Completed
the Pilot of LNG buses.
• New 194 Mega
Watt JPS LNG plant in Old Harbour commissioned.
Enhancing Energy
Security
• Jamaica
Energy Council re-established.
• 70 net
billing licences were issued to power suppliers, bringing to 800, the total
number of licences approved since the arrangement started in 2012.
Petroleum Corporation
Of Jamaica (PCJ)
• The
Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) energy-saving programme was implemented
in 15 schools and three Government agencies, with Ardenne High reporting
$700,000.00 in savings annually.
• A
$126.5-million contract was signed with Geddes Refrigeration Limited to instal
air-conditioning solutions at three divisions of the Jamaica Constabulary Force
(JCF) – Mobile Reserve Headquarters in Kingston; the May Pen Division
Headquarters in Clarendon; and the National Police College at Twickenham Park
in St. Catherine.
• More than $3
million in cash and prizes were awarded to the top performers in the 2019 PCJ
Schools Energy Programme Competition.
Scientific
Research Council (SRC)
• Donated
biodigesters to Carron Hall High School, St. Mary.
The waste
treatment process will be used to teach students how to produce organic
fertiliser and irrigation for crops, and create energy in the form of biogas,
which will be utilised as fuel.
• Equipment
was upgraded at a cost of approximately $100 million, in an effort to assist
with the reformulation efforts of manufacturers seeking to make their products
healthier for consumers.
• SRC is now able to administer
up to 14 tests on products, thereby enabling access to markets in 90 countries
without the need for retesting.
• Invested SRC
in acquiring the requisite advanced equipment to commence medical
cannabis-related evaluations.
• The industry continued to attract significant investor interest from leading global hotel brands, with the out-turn for Foreign Direct Investments for the year poised to climb to a record US$470 million, up from US$100 million.
The new state-of-the-art water park at RIU Ocho Rios.
More Rooms, Enhanced Attractions
Hotel Rooms
• Some 1,004
new or refurbished rooms were added to Jamaica’s stock:
• R Hotel in
Kingston – 58
• AC Marriott
in Kingston – 220
• S Hotel in
Montego Bay – 124
• Half Moon
Hotel in Montego Bay – 57
• Ocean Coral
Spring by H10 Hotels in Trelawny – 500
• Riu Ocho
Rios – 45 Artisan Village
Beach Development
• Ground was
broken for the development of the $1.3 billion state-of-the-art Closed Harbour
Beach Park in Montego Bay.
• The Tourism
Enhancement Fund (TEF) has contributed $700 million towards funding this major
16-acre development, being undertaken in partnership with the Urban Development
Corporation (UDC).
‘Carnival in Jamaica’
• Last year’s
carnival saw a record 8.4 per cent increase in the number of visitors
participating, as some 50,000 revellers took to the streets of Kingston.
Housing
• Ground was broken to construct more than 754 affordable housing units in the Rhyne Park area of St. James for tourism workers. The project is a joint venture between the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) and the China-based firm, Henan Fifth Construction Group.
Global Impact UNWTO Commission
• Jamaica was
elected Chair of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO)
Regional Commission for the Americas for the 2019-2021 biennium.
International Awards
• Minister
Bartlett copped the inaugural Chairman’s Award for Global Tourism Innovation.
• The Jamaica
Tourist Board won the Best Tourist Board in the Caribbean award.
• Jamaica won
the Best Wedding Destination, Best Honeymoon Destination and Best Culinary
Destination Awards.
• Minister
Bartlett was awarded the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA)
Tourism Minister of the Year for Sustainable Tourism.
• Jamaica
copped the PATWA International Travel Award for Destination of the Year.
TripAdvisor
• Jamaica was
listed in renowned travel website – TripAdvisor’s Top 25 Best Destinations in
the World for 2019. The island was ranked 14th on the TripAdvisor® Travellers’
Choice™ Awards’ ‘World’s Best
Destinations’, and the Best Destination in the Caribbean lists.
• Negril’s
Seven-Mile Beach was named the 10th Best Beach in the World and the Fifth Best
Beach in TripAdvisor® Travellers’ Choice™ Awards’ for Beaches.
RJRGleaner Award
• The Tourism
Minister was also awarded the RJR Gleaner Hospitality Jamaica 2019 Pioneer Award.
The tourism industry continued to generate robust
exponential growth with yet another record-breaking year.
Visitor Arrivals and
Earnings
• The island
welcomed approximately 4.3 million visitors.
• Earnings
totalled some US$3.7 billion
• New Cruise Shipping Terminal at Port Royal and the Redevelopment of Port Royal began.
The mega cruise-ship, “MSC Meraviglia”, which made its inaugural visit to Ocho Rios in December, and is slated to make port of calls up to April, bringing approximately 50,000 passengers.
Market/Airlift
Expansion
• Thousands of
additional airline seats were negotiated for the 2019/20 Winter Season, which
served to expand traditional markets, while building out new locations.
• December saw
LATAM Airlines inaugurating three weekly flights out of Chile and other South
American countries to Montego Bay. This is in addition to 11 weekly flights
that were already being offered by Copa Airlines between Panama and Jamaica.
Human Capital
Development
• The third
cohort of 415 candidates graduated from the Jamaica Centre for Tourism
Innovation (JCTI).
• Launch of
the Tourism Workers Pension Fund.
Destination Assurance
and Sustainability
• Tourism
Product Development Company (TPDCo) spearheaded an intensive security audit of
all hotels and attractions.
• Among the
proposed outcomes is the development of a Manual on Tourism Ethics.
Building Resilience
• Jamaica and
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) hosted the second Global
Conference on ‘Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises
(SMTEs)’.
• The Global
Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) was officially
launched in January.
Based at the
University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, the Centre is tasked with
creating, producing and generating toolkits, guidelines and policies to handle
recovery processes following man-made and natural disasters that affect tourism
and threaten economies and livelihoods.
• The Ministry
hosted the second Tourism Resilience Summit of the Americas to further examine
and explore the experiences, best practices and lessons learnt from tourism
climatic resilience initiatives around the world.
The Ministry of Transport and Mining continued to implement
initiatives to improve road safety.
New features to be placed on a driver’s licence
• The Ministry
announced that it will be introducing new security features on the driver’s
licence to
eliminate
fraud.
These new
security features will be facilitated under the Regulations of the new Road
Traffic Act.
Hundreds of
surveillance cameras installed islandwide
• Hundreds of
cameras were installed across the island, to help reduce traffic violations.
Approximately 490 traffic cameras were installed across
Kingston, 80 in Ocho Rios, 120 in Montego Bay, 38 in May Pen and 30 in
Mandeville.
These state-of-the-art systems have licence-plate-reading
technology and are geared towards recording vehicles involved in traffic
offences.
Online Training for
PPV Drivers and Conductors
• Agreement
signed for online training of drivers
and conductors to receive training in the use of the road code, defensive
driving and customer service.
• Agreement
signed to offer training to applicants of leaner’s licences, who, as of January
24, 2020, will be required to pass a road code test in order to receive the
permit.
Government Hands Over
Management of NMIA
• The management of the Norman Manley Inter-national Airport (NMIA) was officially handed over by the Government to PAC Kingston Airport Limited (PACKAL).
Minister of Robert Montaque, boards a Jim Airlink Express plane, at the launch of the entity’s domestic flight service, at the Ian Fleming International Airport in Boscobel, St. Mary
JBI Provides $4.8
Million in Scholarships
• The Jamaica
Bauxite Institute (JBI) granted $4.8 million in scholarships to eight students
attending the Portland-based College of Agriculture, Science and Education
(CASE).
Minerals Sector
Contributes to GDP
• The minerals
sector contributed some 2.7 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while
earning some US$1.3 billion.
• Some 90
exploratory licences granted for semiprecious minerals such as cobalt, copper,
gold, silver and zinc.
• The
Government heightened discussions with private-sector interests to develop a
limestone production facility to boost export and to provide services to
refineries.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Security continued to
provide support to the most vulnerable in society through the implementation of
several programmes throughout the year.
PATH:
Minster of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson (right), presents mother of five, Sara Lemonious, with a back-t-school grant under the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH).
• $8.3 billion
was allocated in the 2019/20 fiscal year for the Programme of Advancement
Through Health and Education (PATH) to facilitate cash benefits.
• An
allocation of $562 million is included in the Budget to support retention of
the PATH back-to-school grant, which was first introduced in August 2018.
• A sum of
$347 million, representing a seven per cent increase, was made available to
facilitate expansion of the PATH School Feeding Programme to beneficiaries at
the early childhood level.
• An additional
$200 million was provided under the Examination Fees Assistance Programme to
support payment for four more subjects for PATH students sitting Caribbean
Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.
Increase in NIS and
Support for Special Needs and Elderly
• The National
Insurance Contribution Rate increased from five per cent to 5.5 per cent
effective April 1, 2019.
• Eighty
special needs children received assistive aids, such as specialised
wheelchairs, hearing aids and walkers. This was done in partnership with the
World Bank and the Japanese Embassy.
Labour Division:
• The ‘Labour
Department and You’ islandwide roadshows continued to increase the visibility
and awareness of the programmes and services of the Labour Division.
• An MoU was
signed with The Mico University College to better disseminate labour market
intelligence, increase career development and populate the Skills Bank with
certified persons.
• An enhanced
website and mobile application was launched to enable ease of access to the
services offered by the Labour Market Information System (LMIS) as well as
facilitate effective navigation of the website.
• More than
16,000 persons went on the Overseas Work Programme.
• National
Minimum Wage Advisory Commission held public consultations across the island.
New Office Opened
• The Ministry
opened a new office in Hanover.
The 4,000-square-foot
facility, located at Bustamante Square in Lucea, was purchased at a cost of $92
million, with an additional $20 million spent to complete refurbishing works.
The Ministry of Justice continued to develop strategies to
improve the delivery of justice and strengthen public trust and confidence in
the system.
Infrastructural
Developments
• More than
$772 million was allocated for capital development for the 2019/20 fiscal year.
• Justice
centres were opened in St. Elizabeth and St. Andrew.
• Contract
signed for the refurbishing of the Office of the Director of Public
Prosecutions (DPP) at a cost of more than $626 million.
Making Justice
Services More Accessible
• For the
period January to October 2019, the Mobile Justice Unit visited 85
communities/locations. The Unit registered/encountered 1,002 persons of which
896 of whom requested legal services.
• The Legal Aid
Council (LAC) launched its first official website to increase citizens’ access
to information and services provided by the Council.
• The
Legislative Production Management System (LPMS) was introduced. The LPMS is an
efficiency boosting software that seeks to reduce the propensity for errors
through the provision of defined workflows for legislative tasks.
• Memorandum
of understanding signed with the United Kingdom’s Depart- ment for
International Development (DFID), for the provision of a $51 million grant to
fund the unification of prosecutorial services and strengthen the overall
operations of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
• Child
Diversion Programme stakeholders’ sensitisation sessions were held.
• Phase three
roll-out of Jamaica’s justice reform programme, targeting
implementation of the social order component.
• Signing of
Cooperation Framework Agreement between the Jamaican International Arbitration
Centre Limited (JIACL) and Jamaica Chamber of Commerce to promote the use of
alternative dispute resolution (ADR) across all sectors of the economy.
Justices of the Peace
Justice Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck (left), presents newly commissioned Justice of the peace (JP), Ashree Walker (centre), with her instrument of Office during a swearing-in ceremony for 38 new JPs for St. Mary. At right is Custos Rotulorum for the parish, Errol Johnson.
• 422 Justices
of the Peace (JPs) were commissioned for the period January to November 2019.
• 1326 JPs were trained between January and November.
Closer trade and investment ties were forged, through
several engagements at the ministerial and prime ministerial levels, which
served to raise Jamaica’s profile globally.
Bilateral, Regional
and Hemispheric Developments
• The Prime
Minister met with Heads of State and Governments of USA, China, Japan, and the
Republic of Korea on overseas visits.
• Jamaica
welcomed the Presidents of Ghana and Kenya for an Official and State Visit,
respectively, as well as the Vice-President of Costa Rica and high-level
officials from Canada, China, the UK and USA.
• Bilateral
agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed on matters of security;
economic cooperation; infrastructure development; immigration; health; sports;
culture and political consultations.
CARICOM
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, makes a presentation to President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellence Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who paid a two-day working visit to the island.
• Jamaica
participated in CARICOM Heads of Government Summit as well as Meetings of the
CARICOM Community Council and Council of Foreign Relations.
• Jamaica was elected
Chair for the Council of National Representatives of the Special Fund from
2019-2020 and Vice Chair for the Budget and Administration Committee,
2019-2020.
• CARICOM-Third
State bilateral meetings held with India, Cuba, Colombia, Ireland, Norway, Nordic Countries, US,
Singapore, Canada, Korea and China.
• Jamaica
hosted the 172nd Period of Sessions of the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights (IACHR) in May. It was the first time that a Session was held in the
Caribbean.
Multilateral Affairs
• Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness headed Jamaica’s Delegation to the 74th United Nations General Assembly in New York where he delivered the country’s policy statement on the theme ‘Galvanising multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion’, which addressed, among other matters, financing for development.
Successful
Candidatures
– Elected to
the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) to serve from 2020-2023;
– Re-elected
to the Council of the International Sea Bed Authority (ISA).
– Re-election
of Professor Verene Shepherd to the Committee on the Elimi- nation of Racial
Discrimination (CERD);
Re-election of Margarette May Macaulay to the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights (IACHR).
Regional Trade
Relations
• A two-year
suspension of the Common External Tariff (CET) for imports of lithium-ion
batteries until 30th April, 2021.
• An increase
in the CET for imports of clinker and cement into Jamaica to its WTO bound rate
of 50 per cent.
• A decision
for the CARICOM Secretariat to conduct an independent verification of Jamaica’s
alleged capacity to supply 75 per cent or more of the regional demand for
condensed and evaporated milk.
Diaspora
• The Eighth
Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference was successfully convened with
participation from hundreds of Jamaicans across the globe.
• The draft
National Diaspora Policy was completed and endorsed.
• The
framework was established and endorsed for the evolution of the Diaspora
Advisory Board into the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council (GJDC). The new Council is a fresh approach to
engagement with diaspora communities and will be more inclusive of Jamaicans
wherever they are across the world.
• The Global Jamaica Diaspora Youth Council was established to galvanise youth leaders in the Diaspora.
• The
innovative Electronic Business Registration Form (eBRF) was launched in August
to facilitate 24-hour online business registration from any location globally
via the COJ’s website – www.orcjamaica. com.
Jamaica Trade
Information Portal
• This
platform, which provides a single authoritative source relating to
import-export regulations, requirements and processes, was launched.
MSME Digital
Marketing Plan
• A three-year
micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) Digital Marketing Plan
launched, to strengthen and empower MSMEs with the requisite solutions. The
Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding
with Google partner Kolau, for collaboration on the digitisation of
25,000 MSMEs in three years.
Consumer Affairs
Commission
The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) secured $18.5 million
in compensation and refund on behalf of aggrieved consumers between January and
November 2019. This sum was recovered
from 1,550 complaints, 1,279 of which were resolved, representing an 82.5 per
cent resolution rate.
Global Services
Sector Programme
• The Global
Services Sector (GSS) programme was launched to help position Jamaica as a
digital hub for business, and generate more employment in high-end information
technology (IT)-enabled services.
• Ground was
broken for GTECH Park, a new business process outsourcing (BPO) complex in
Portmore, St. Catherine, which will see the creation of up to 4,500 additional
jobs for Jamaicans.
• Official
opening of the Montego Bay Free Zone Company Limited’s Data Entry Building
Number 7 in St. James.
Bureau of Standards
• The Bureau
of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) launched Jamaican Standard (JS) ISO 14005:2017 –
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Guidelines. The standard provides
guidance for all organisations, particularly micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises (MSMEs), on the phased development, implementation and maintenance
of an EMS within their entities.
Online Investment
Guide
• Jamaicas’
first ever online investment guides (iGuides) was launched. The facility aims
to provide investors with information at their fingertips that will help them
in their decision to invest in Jamaica.
Cannabis Licensing
Authority (CLA)
• The CLA has
issued 50 licences for activities such as cultivation, retail, processing,
research and development, and transportation.
Export Max III
• 50 companies
are benefiting from capacity-building and export promotion support under the
Government’s Export Max III programme, which rolled out in April.
Various programmes and initiatives were spearheaded, geared at fostering growth in agricultural production, and stimulating the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, J.C. Hutchinson (right), serves break-fast, which he prepared, to student of Holland Primary School in St. Elizabeth, Janessa Clarke, during a Eat Jamaican School Tour at the institution.
AGRICULTURE AND
FISHERIES
Support for Farmers
• 5,000
farmers in St. Thomas, St. Mary and Portland are benefitting from a $5.6
million project aimed at increasing their capacity to implement climate-smart
agricultural practices.
• 300 farmers
from Southfield and Bull Savannah in St. Elizabeth received drip irrigation
tools and equipment valued at over $69 million.
• 70,000
pineapple suckers were handed over to some 4,000 farmers in St. Elizabeth,
Westmoreland, St. James, Hanover, Trelawny and St. Ann under the 2019/2020
Production Incentive Programme.
• 50 farmers
from Cascade in St. Ann are benefiting from improved access to irrigation,
through a $29-million community-based agricultural pilot project.
• Approximately
$50 million worth of relief supplies were handed over to 47 farmers in
Flagaman, St. Elizabeth, who suffered losses during a fire in August.
Farm Road Rehabilitation
• Several
roads islandwide have been repaired under the National Farm Road Rehabilitation
Programme. They include White Hall to Spring Road and Barking Lodge to Chapel
Hill in St. Thomas; Long Coffee, and Halifax to Bethany in Manchester; Bingham
Hill in St. Ann; Back Street, and Donegal to Frazer in St. Elizabeth; and Bois
Content to Crawl Pass, and the Ebony Park Agro Park in Clarendon.
Mangoes Exported to USA
• In June,
12,000 pounds of Julie and East Indian mangoes were exported to the United
States – the first set to be shipped to that country in 20 years. The exports
are being facilitated under the Mango Irradiation Programme.
Rationalisation of
Sugar Cane Lands
• The report
on this exercise was completed. The undertaking will see some lands being
utilised to grow other crops, providing thereby providing new investment
opportunities for farmers.
Castor Bean
Cultivation
• The
Government identified 2,000 acres of land in Mitchell Town, Clarendon, for
increased castor bean cultivation. This is expected to significantly boost
local production of castor oil.
Hemp Farm in
Westmoreland
• In November,
ground was broken for a 113-acre hemp farm in Lennox Bigwoods, Westmoreland.
Some 35 farmers from the area have already been employed to work on the farm,
which is expected to yield its first harvest by March 2020.
CASE Students on
Agriculture Scholarship
• Fifteen
students from the Portland-based College of Agriculture, Science and Education
(CASE) began an 11-month agricultural training programme in Israel. The
students, who will be in Israel until October 2020, are the first cohort to
benefit under the scholarship programme.
