KINGSTON, March 17 (JIS):
More than 50,000 Jamaicans have been provided with employment at a cost of
$8 billion under the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP) since its implementation three years ago.
Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, made the disclosure as he opened the 2015/16 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 12.
Last year, more than 12,000 Jamaicans benefitted from work carried out under JEEP, in the construction and/or repairs to roads, retaining walls, drains and sidewalks.
Each of the island’s 63 Members of Parliament were allocated $10 million for project development works in their constituencies.
JEEP, which commenced in 2012, is one of the Government’s strategies to address unemployment, particularly among Jamaicans in the lower socio-economic groups, as well as persons with special needs, low skill levels, and those from underserved communities.
