• The Howard
Pre-release Hostel, which will house qualified, low-risk inmates was reopened.
• Young
persons at South Camp Juvenile Correctional and Remand Centre benefited from a
six-week empowerment summer programme.
• Scores of
young people in remand centres and State-care facilities
benefited from training and apprenticeship under the ‘A New
Path’ programme.
• Ground was broken for the construction of the US$300,000 multipurpose building at the South Camp Juvenile Correctional and Remand Centre to provide additional educational, vocational and recreational activities for the wards.
Citizen Security and
Justice Programme (CSJP) III
• 284 parents
and 22 community parent trainers graduated from the CSJP III parent education
programme.
• More than
100 persons from vulnerable communities successfully completed substance misuse
treatment under CSJP III.
• More than
$85 million put into the rehabilitation and expansion of the Gayle
Multi-purpose Centre in St Mary.
• $9 million
was provided to support activities in the summer for more than 800 youth.
• 91
unattached young people from communities in Kingston and St. James benefitted
from skills training under a $50 million Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP).
Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA)
• PICA began
automating its citizenship application process for greater efficiency.
• The number
of automated kiosks at the Sangster International Airport
increased to 30.
• 77 foreign
nationals living in Jamaica granted citizenship.
• The ‘I Am
Jamaican’ citizenship campaign was launched in New York.
The Government invested billions of dollars to enhance the
capabilities of the security forces to fight crime as well as to improve
systems and processes governing the sector.
Renovation and Refurbishing Facilities
• Project
Rebuild, Overhaul and Construct (ROC) became operational, under which more than
200 facilities will be rebuilt, renovated and retrofitted at a cost of
approximately $5 billion.
• The newly
rebuilt Shady Grove Police Station in St. Catherine was officially opened, and
the Bog Walk Police Station is being rehabilitated, equipped and expanded at a
cost of $33.6 million.
• The JDF’s
new Lathbury Barracks officially opened at Up-Park Camp.
• The new
Burke Barracks in Providence, St. James, was officially opened.
• Work began
to upgrade the Carl Rattray Staff College
in Runaway Bay, St. Ann.
• Work commenced on a $200 million state-of-the-art autopsy suite to facilitate the efficient and effective operations of local forensic pathologists.
The police force received the first set of purpose-built cars fitted with tracking devices and onboard computers
Boosting Operational Capacity
• The
US Embassy handed over a new 37-foot Boston Whaler and a new 38-foot Secure
All-around Flotation Equipped (SAFE) boat to the JDF.
• The
anti-violence campaign dubbed ‘Liv Gud’ was launched.
• The Police
Federation received eight buses from the Government.
• New
bilateral security cooperation agreement signed with the United States (US)
that will assist in the fight against transnational criminal activities.
• $43.9
million injected to facilitate improvement of the coverage, range and
distribution of data collected by the Jamaica Crime Observatory.
• Approximately
341 new police constables joined the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF); 146 new
soldiers joined the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), while the Department of
Correctional Services (DCS) welcomed 144 new Correctional Officers and 23
Probation Aftercare Officers.
SOEs were declared in St. James, Hanover, Westmoreland, Clarendon, St. Catherine and St. Andrew South Police Division to address the rise in crime.
Members of the security force walk with children in a community in Kingston
St. James,
Westmoreland and Hanover
• Tri-Parish
area experienced an overall reduction in murders and shootings by 27 per cent
(182 to 133) and 26 per cent (166 to 123), respectively, for April 30 to
November 25.
• Murders and
shootings declined by 23 per cent (173 to 133) and 28 per cent (172 to 123),
respectively.
Clarendon and St.
Catherine
• The
bi-parish area experienced an overall reduction in murders and shootings by 56
per cent (101 to 44) and 57 per cent (75 to 32) respectively from September 5
to November 25.
• The rates of
murders and shootings were collectively reduced when comparing the
corresponding periods of 2018 by 36 per cent (from 69 to 44) and 40 per cent
(from 53 to 32), respectively.
Cumulatively, murders and shootings in Clarendon were
reduced by 55 per cent (29 to 13) and 56 per cent (16 to 7), respectively; and
by 40 per cent in St. Catherine South (25 to 15) and 58 per cent (24 to 10),
respectively.
St. Andrew South
• There was an
overall reduction in murders by 18 per cent (77 to 63) and shootings by 31 per
cent (83 to 57) for the period July 7 to November 26.
• A total of
2,044 persons were detained, 1,967 of whom were released.
• There were
160 arrests and charges for various offences including breach of the Firearms
Act (33), breach of the Dangerous Drugs Act (15), murder (11), shooting (12)
and robbery (8). Twenty firearms and 274 rounds of ammunition have also been
seized.
ZOSO Interventions Continue
in Mount Salem
• National
Works Agency continued road works in the community
• Design works
completed for the Mount Salem Primary and Infant School.
• Rehabilitation
works for the Mount Salem Police Station tendered.
• Mount Salem
Economic Fair staged.
• Youth from
the community participated in a six-week training programme as Event Management
professionals.
Denham Town
• Rehabilitation
of 3.05 km of roadway; installation of 6.99 km of new water pipelines in the
community; upgrading of sewage and drainage systems; and installation of fire
hydrants.
• Fourteen
parents benefit from parenting development sessions.
Traffic Management
• New Radar
System.
• More than
250,000 traffic tickets issued for breaches of the Road Traffic Act.
• Public
Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB) received 80 new motorcycles
valued at $100 million to improve mobility.
• 240,000
traffic tickets have been cleared, following software modification to the
island’s traffic ticket management system.
• The electronic
warrant module developed to address traffic violations was piloted in four
courts.
Jamaica successfully concluded programme arrangements with the Inter- national Monetary Fund (IMF) in November, following a six-and-a-half-year engagement. This, incorporated the US$932 million Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and US$1.7-billion precautionary Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).
Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke (left), in discussion with former International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission chief for Jamaica, Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan during a press conference at the Ministry.
The IMF is maintaining its country office for another two
years to provide technical and consultative support for the Economic Reform
Programme (ERP), which recorded several positive outcomes during the year.
• Record fall
in Jamaica’s Debt to GDP to 93 per cent.
• Longest
period of Consecutive Growth (19
quarters).
• Economic
growth of 1.2 per cent for the first nine months of the calendar year, between
January and September.
• Healthy Net
International Reserves totalling more than US$3 billion.
• An increase
in Non-Borrowed Reserves at the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) by more than US$1
billion.
• Record low
inflation ranging between 1.4 and 3.3 per cent up to October.
• Consumer
Confidence at 179.9 points, and Business Confidence rounding out at 141.2
points up to September.
• Record low
unemployment of 7.2 per cent.
• A 2.4 per
cent increase in the number of persons employed to 1,254,400.
• Introduction
of Special Procurement Incentives for medium and small enterprises.
• Reduction in
Transfer Tax from five to two per cent.
• Removal of
the Minimum Business Tax.
Contingency Fund
• A Natural
Disaster Contingency Fund was established to preserve Jamaica’s economic gains,
with an initial $2 billion being deposited.
Upgraded Global
Ratings
• International
agencies, Fitch, Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s upgraded Jamaica’s rating from
stable to positive.
EPOC
• The Economic
Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) will, through a memorandum of
understanding, continue monitoring the reforms until the proposed independent
Fiscal Council is established.
Multilateral Support
Jamaica continued to benefit from additional multilateral
funding support.
• US$15
million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan to initiate the Skills
Development for Global Services Project, aimed at building out the country’s
global services sector over the next four years.
• US$5 million
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grant to bolster the
country’s resilience to natural disasters, in support of Jamaica’s Disaster
Risk Financing Strategy.
• US$140
million World Bank loan to strengthen three key economic safeguards – building
Jamaica’s resilience against natural disaster risks; supporting human capital
development; and strengthening the social safety net for the society’s most
vulnerable.
Budget
• The 2019/20
Estimates of Expenditure, totalling $803.24 billion, was tabled.
Bank of Jamaica
Several adjustments were made to the Central Bank’s
operations.
• The interest
rate on deposit-taking institutions’ overnight placements was lowered to 0.5
per cent.
• The cash
reserve requirement was lowered to nine per cent, thereby releasing some $16.8
billion to deposit-taking institutions for lending.
Foreign Exchange
Global Code
• The
BOJ piloted the signing of the Code by key finance stakeholders. It provides
guidelines for all authorised foreign exchange trading entities, and promotes
the integrity, transparency and effective functioning of the market.
Work continued under the Public Sector Transformation
Programme:
• The
Government signed two agreements with international consulting firm, Ernst and
Young, for a compensation review and the introduction of shared corporate
services in some areas of Government operations.
• Sixty
workers from state entities were trained and certified as Change Managers to
assist with the transformation process.
• Approximately
$1 billion in savings has, to date, been realised from the rationalisation of
some 30 public bodies.
These include the merger of the Fair Trading Commission and Consumer Affairs Commission; closure of the Correctional Services Production Company and integration of its operations into the Correctional Services Department; closure of National Energy Solutions (NESol) and integration of that entity’s functions into the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology; and the integration of the Golden Age Home into the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.
Medium-Term
Socio-economic Policy
• Cabinet
approved the Fourth Medium-Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework (MTF), which
underpins implementation of the country’s long-term National Development Plan –
Vision 2030 Jamaica;
• The fourth MTF
covers fiscal years 2018/19 to 2020/21, and presents the medium-term
development priorities, strategies and actions to be pursued under each of
Vision 2030 Jamaica’s 15 targetted National Outcomes.
Education
• Some 250
students from 30 tertiary institutions islandwide have benefited from education
grants from the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission, totalling more than
$50 million, over a five-year period, up to 2019.
• The Commission also facilitated 72 students under its annual internship programme last year.
Students’ Loan Bureau
• The new
11-member Board, which was appointed in December 2018, assumed office in
January.
Chairman is Nicholas Scott, with Sandra Glasgow serving as
Deputy Chair.
Public Sector Debate
Competition
• The Trelawny
Municipal Corporation won the inaugural Public Sector Debate Competition,
defeating the Ministry of National Security in the finals.
More Jamaicans became homeowners as the Government continued
meeting the growing demand for home solutions.
• A record of
over 27,000 new housing starts between the National Housing Trust (NHT) and the
Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ)
• The Prime
Minister announced an increase in the loan limit for construction on NHT
serviced lots.
• The NHT
delivered 5,321 housing starts, serviced lots and housing solutions islandwide.
These included the Spanish Ridge housing scheme in St. Catherine; Darliston
Grove and Shrewsbury in Westmoreland, as well as the Winchester housing
development in Green Island, Hanover.
• The NHT
embarked on housing projects in partnership with private contractors. A total
of nine projects were approved under the agency’s Guaranteed Purchase
Programme, an initiative through which the NHT agrees to purchase houses for
its customers that are designed and constructed by private builders.
HAJ Delivers
Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left) points to the model for new Silver Sun Estates housing development in St. Catherine to Managing Director, WIHCON, Delroy Alcott (centre); and National Housing Trust (NHT) Managing Director, Martin Miller.
• HAJ issued
434 titles to informal residents who have been regularised.
• The HAJ
delivered 114 lots and 25 units; and broke ground in Grange Pen, St. James, to
provide infrastructure to serve informal settlements comprising 535 households.
• Work began
on 2,273 new HAJ housing solutions in two locations in St. Catherine –
Shooter’s Hill and Catherine Estates.
Thousands of young people were empowered through skills
training and work placement opportunities.
• Over 25,000
young people trained through Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment
(HOPE). Over 3,000 trained through Jamaica National Service Corps under the
Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).
• 16,000 youth received summer work under the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme.
Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (right) observes Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme intern, Shenelle Adams (left), during a visit to the HEART GARMEX Training Institute. Looking on is National Coordinator of the HOPE Programme, Lt. Col. Martin Rickman.
• Merger of
HEART Trust, Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL), National Youth
Service (NYS) and the Apprenticeship Board to create a comprehensive and
effective human capital development agency, the HEART Trust National Service
and Training Agency.
• Three
memoranda of understanding (MOUs) were signed by the Council of Community
Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ) and Jamaica Producers Group, Bureau of Standards
Jamaica and GraceKennedy Limited to provide young people with training and work
experience. Areas of training included agribusiness, the creative industries,
and health and tourism wellness.
• Windscreen
wipers from communities in Kingston were exposed to sessions in civics,
conflict management, family life management and career development.
• 72 persons
from 10 communities in St. James, St. Catherine and Kingston, were trained in
air-condition installation and maintenance and certified under the Jamaica
Social Investment Fund’s (JSIF) Alternative Livelihood Skills Programme (ALSP).
• 27 young
people from the communities of Granville and Tucker in St. James received
training in various skill under the JSIF’s Behaviour Change Programme.
• The
training, aimed at preparing the youth for the world of work, focused on areas
such as barbering, customer service, cosmetology, baking and soft furnishing,
and included on-the-job training at hotels across western Jamaica.
• Recent
graduates of the HEART Trust/NTA’s National Apprenticeship Programme received
job offers at the inaugural ‘Get Hired’ event hosted by the agency.
Ground was broken to begin construction of the new Morant
Bay Urban Centre in Springfield, St. Thomas.
The 365,000 square feet property will house the St. Thomas
Municipal Corporation; a town hall; conference centre; justice square, which
will include a family court and parish court; tax office; Registrar General’s
Department (RGD); and the Passport, Citizenship & Immigration Agency
(PICA).
Also included in the plan are spaces for financial
institutions; food court; library; medical centre; wellness centre; day care;
space for tertiary-level institutions; shopping facilities; purpose-built
manufacturing and industrial space for small, medium and large enterprises;
museum; recreational park; and a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) facility.
The development, being implemented by the Factories
Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ), is expected to provide approximately 3,000 jobs
for the people of St. Thomas.
Continued Improvement in Service Delivery
• A Service
Excellence Policy was developed that sets out the core principles, values,
standards, strategies, and account-ability mechanism to promote and
institutionalise service excellence across government.
The policy falls under the Service Excellence Programme, a
component of the Public Sector Transformation and Modernisation Programme.
• The Cabinet
Office handed over framed copies of vision and mission statements to various
ministries, departments and agencies throughout the year in a bid to modernise
and revamp customer service delivery in public institutions.
JSIF Constructs
School
• JSIF
constructed an infant department at the Barrett Town Primary School in St.
James at a cost of $34 million, through funding by the European Union (EU)
under its Poverty Reduction Programme (PRP IV).
JSIF also renovated the school’s kitchen.
Bringing Hope to Fire
Victims
• Prime
Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness handed over keys to residents of 194 Bay
Farm Road in St. Andrew, who were dislocated after a fire destroyed their home
and resulted in the death of a one-year-old boy. The five-bedroom structure was
reconstructed under the housing component of the HOPE Programme.
The Government expanded its focus on wellness as part of a strategic effort to combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and ensure the physical, mental and social well-being of Jamaicans. Priority is being given to preventive health care through enhanced health promotion and education.
Adding Wellness to
the Ministry’s Portfolio
• The name of
the Ministry was changed to Ministry of Health and Wellness to reflect the new,
strategic direction for public health in Jamaica.
• A Green
Paper on a National Health Insurance Plan for Jamaica was tabled to provide
appropriate levels of access, coverage and financial protection to the
population.
• The $50
million Research for Wellness Fund was launched to provide research funding for
the conduct of studies in five areas: Wellness in the workplace; Wellness in
Schools; Wellness in homes; Wellness in communities; and Wellness among persons
with NCDs and risk factors.
Mental Health
• More than 30
professionals were trained to boost mental health response.
• National
public education campaign launched to reduce mental health stigma.
• 14 buses deployed island wide to bolster mental health
interventions.
Combating NCDs
• Restrictions
on sugary drinks in schools and health facilities took effect January 1.
• A Physical
Activity Guide for persons with disabilities launched in collabo-ration with
the Combined Disabilities Foundation.
Enhancing Healthcare
Service Delivery
• The
Enhancing Healthcare Service Delivery project was launched to reduce wait time
for surgeries and diagnostic tests and address the bed space shortage within
public hospitals.
• Framework
agreements were signed with 10 radiology diagnostic service providers through
which thousands of Jamaicans will receive free services.
• Reduction in
waiting times at DrugServe pharmacies.
Support for Infants
and Mothers
• The Port
Antonio Hospital in Portland, Lionel Town Hospital in Clarendon and Port Maria
Hospital in St. Mary were certified as ‘Baby-Friendly’, based on the standards
stipulated by the World Health Organization.
• The National Infant and Young Child Feeding Network, an island-wide co-ordinated approach to providing support and care to mothers and children, was officially launched.
The Government completed major road infrastructure upgrades,
which resulted in improved traffic flow and more comfortable and quicker travel
time for commuters in the Corporate Area and other sections of the island.
• The National Works Agency (NWA) spent
just over $5.1 billion to complete legacy road infrastructure upgrading
projects, aimed at improving traffic flow in the Corporate Area and
Westmoreland.
These developments were the
US$56-million Hagley Park Road Improvement Project, the US$1.1-million Barbican
Road Upgrade Project, US$19-million Constant Spring Road Improvement Project,
the US$64-million Mandela Highway Realignment and Reconstruction Project, and
the US$24.9-million Ferris Cross to Mackfield Project.
• A record of
over 400 roads resurfaced and rehabilitated.
• Rehabilitation works were completed on the relocation of the Jamaica Defence Forces’ (JDFs’) entrance on Camp Road.
Vehicles travel along a section of the upgraded South Camp Road
• The NWA spent $5.89 billion through
small and medium-sized contracts for roadworks, drainage features, retaining
walls and bridges.
• Ground was broken to commence the
US$195-million Southern Coastal Highway
Improvement Project (SCHIP). The undertaking will entail the rehabilitation of
approximately 110 kilometres of roadway between Harbour View in St. Andrew and
Port Antonio in Portland, and the 26-kilometre thorough- fare from Morant Bay
to Cedar Valley in St. Thomas.
The project will also include
construction of the May Pen to Williamsfield segment of Highway 2000. The
project will be executed by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).
• South Coast
Highway Improvement from Harbour View to Port Antonio and extension of the East
West Highway from May Pen to Williamsfield.
• Over 12
major bridges repaired or currently under construction.
