Caribbean News

Jamaica to benefit from US $7.52 million grand funding

Published

7 years ago

October 18, 2017

#Jamaica, October 18, 2017 – Kingston – Jamaica is set to benefit from an initial US$7.52 million in grant funding under the ninth cycle of the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF 9). The money will go towards the areas of education, transportation, enterprise development, and water and sanitation, through projects implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF).

The allocation is part of a provision of US$40.8 million being made available to nine Caribbean borrowing member countries of the CDB, under the BNTF. The BNTF is the flagship poverty-reduction programme of the CDB, aimed at contributing to improvement in the living conditions of poor and vulnerable communities in participating countries.

Speaking at the official launch of the project today (October 17) at the Courtyard Marriott hotel in New Kingston, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, said the initiative will assist in empowering the lives of beneficiaries.

“We are quick to get these funds in the hands of the JSIF, because we know that when it comes to the JSIF, we get every bang for the buck; we get good performance. They have projects done on time (and) within budget, and we are really proud of the JSIF as one of the outstanding public-sector agencies in Jamaica,” he said.

The Minister lauded the CDB for implementing the programme, adding that poverty reduction is a crucial component for economic growth and development. He said the BNTF will assist in improving the lives of the country’s most vulnerable, particularly in the areas of education and human development.

Meanwhile, Director, Projects Department, CDB, Daniel Best, informed that Jamaica is also eligible to benefit from an unallocated incentive amount of US$5.2 million, to be distributed at midterm based on project performance.

“These funds are to be carefully targeted through an evidence-based country policy framework or action plan, which responds to poverty, particularly in rural areas,” he said.

Mr. Best noted that through the BNTF, the CDB supports governments in their poverty-reduction efforts by promoting socio-economic activities, environmental protection and sustainable development.

“Over the years, BNTF has formed specific partnerships, mainly with public works, water sector, and national training institutions. Under BNTF 9, however, we are committed to leveraging additional resources beyond our traditional funding sources to accelerate progress on poverty reduction,” he said.

Managing Director, JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said BNTF 9 will continue to build on programmes that support education, transportation, road access, drainage and water supply.

“We will also introduce a component for enterprise development, and that will focus on agriculture and tourism, and developing new technology for persons in the rural areas to really have a sustainable livelihood,” he said.

The ninth cycle of the BNTF will continue to finance sub-project interventions in core priority sectors of water and sanitation, basic community access and drainage, and education and human resource development, including livelihoods. Encouraging greater private-sector partnership has been built into the programme design to leverage additional resources for reducing poverty.

The core purpose of the project will be to facilitate the development of rural communities through increased access to basic services, thereby advancing Jamaica’s thrust towards full rural development. The project is to be completed by December 31, 2020.

The BNTF is one of the longest-running regional poverty-reduction programmes in the Caribbean, and stands out in the global development arena for its community-driven approach tailored for the Caribbean context.

Release: JIS

Caribbean News

STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS EXPECTED TO ASSIST GOV’T PLANNING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2024

Shanieka

KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.

This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.

“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.

He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).

Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.

“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.

“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.

Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.

Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.

The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.

The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.

NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.

CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON

Caribbean News

Haiti- ECHO humanitarian efforts

Published

3 days ago

April 29, 2024

Shanieka

Rashaed Esson

Staff writer

#Haiti#Crisis#HumanitarianEfforts#ECHO, April 23rd, 2024 – Due to the worsening Humanitarian crisis in Haiti with an increase in death toll and injured people, The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), launched an emergency airlift of 5 flights carrying essentials which include up to 62 tons of medicine as well as emergency shelter equipment, and water and sanitation items. These were brought to Cap Haitien according to a report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on April 19, as the international Airport in Port au prince remains closed following the gang attack last month.

Caribbean News

Dominica repeals laws criminalizing gay sex

Published

3 days ago

April 29, 2024

Shanieka

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#Dominica#LGBTQIA, April 24, 2034- Dominica has decided to remove colonial era laws that criminalized gay sex, joining Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda.

This comes almost five years after a man of the queer community, whose identity was withheld for his safety, spoke out against Dominica’s laws in 2019, saying they violated his rights.