KINGSTON, July 17 (JIS): Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, says he will be examining the procedure for the granting of building approvals by the local government authorities in order to speed up the process.

He argued that “territorial behaviour” by the municipal bodies in the issuance of such permits often results in delays, negatively impacting the country’s building approval rating and hindering national growth targets.

“Jamaica is ranked 70, which is second in the region, in the World Bank ‘Ease of Doing Business’ report. However, with respect to construction permits, which deals with building approvals, the country stands at 98 globally out of 190 countries,” the Prime Minister lamented.

“I am absolutely committed to the process of getting government efficient. So, I am taking this opportunity to raise my concerns to the local government institutions that we cannot allow internal territorial behaviour to slow up national [progress],” he said.

The Prime Minister was addressing mayors, councillors and administrators at the opening ceremony of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development’s Local Governance Conference in Montego Bay, St. James, on Tuesday, July 17, 2018.

He urged the officers to make use of the Application Management and Data Automation (AMANDA) system, which is designed to track and manage development applications, in order to speed up the delivery of building permits and approvals.

“I hope that at this conference, when you’re discussing responsiveness and accountability… the AMANDA system is on the top of your list. We have spent a lot of money equipping your offices with the relevant tools to yield the results. I’m hoping that you have been training your staff to use it. We can’t spend all this money to put in place a system, to use a technology-generated support system and then don’t use it,” the Prime Minister pointed out.

The three-day local governance conference- which concludes on Thursday, July 19 – is being held under the theme ‘Strengthening Responsiveness and Accountability within the Local Governance Framework’.

KINGSTON, July 13 (JIS): The Ministry of Local Government and Community Development will be hosting its inaugural Local Governance Conference from July 17 to 19 at the Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa in St. James.

The three-day meeting is in keeping with the Ministry’s focus on improving the effectiveness of governance at the local level.

Under the theme ‘Strengthening responsiveness and accountability within the local governance framework’, the event will bring together mayors, chief executive officers, chief financial officers and parish disaster coordinators to examine the role of local government in achieving Jamaica’s macroeconomic and financial targets for 2030 and beyond.

The objective is to strengthen the capacity of political and administrative leaders in the execution of their functions and increase awareness about the role of local government in achieving the national growth agenda.

Portfolio Minister, Honourable Desmond McKenzie, said the conference, which will be the first in a series of biennial events, will facilitate discussions and presentations on promoting good governance within “a legislative framework that guides the operations of the local authorities, as well as provide tools that will aid in improving service delivery”.

“I expect great things from the first staging. I believe that through discussion and decisions over the next three days and beyond, this assembly of minds will bring lasting value to local government,” he said.

Areas for discussion are standardisation of the disaster management budget, standard operating procedures, emergency operation centre processes, health and welfare matters, among others.

“My focus on local government has been to bring change to the operations of the Ministry. In this way, the local government system can truly make its full mark on the lives of Jamaicans in areas of disaster management and mitigation,” Minister McKenzie said.

CARTAGENA, Colombia:Honourable Desmond McKenzie says Jamaica is committed to realizing its disaster risk reduction targets.

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Honourable Desmond McKenzie, is away from the island on official business.

The Minister is leading the Jamaican delegation, consisting of central Ministry officials and officials from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), to attend the 6^th Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas being held in Cartagena, Colombia.

The Conference is organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). It is intended among other things, to allow government and non-government organizations, scientific and academic institutions and private sector interests among other stakeholders to share their experiences and chart the way forward as they work together to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction – approved in 2015 – and to which Jamaica is a signatory.

Minister McKenzie, who is the Deputy Chairman of the National Disaster Risk Management Council, says the platform is a critical opportunity for Jamaica to provide the Sendai Framework signatory nations with an update about its disaster risk reduction efforts.

“The Government is taking important steps to improve national resilience, to ensure that we break the cycle of playing catch-up behind disasters, especially seasonal ones. This Conference allows us to share our experiences, the new things we are doing, and also to learn from the other signatory states, the scientific community and to refine our implementation strategies, as we reaffirm our commitment to making the Sendai Framework, and therefore disaster risk reduction, a standard way of life for our people.”

The Minister will return to the island on June 25, 2018.

KINGSTON, Jamaica: The Ministry of Local Government and Community Development is partnering with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to implement early warning systems in four parishes in an effort to improve disaster-resilience in the country.

The project, which will cost US$1 million (approximately J$129m), will commence in 2019 in the parishes of St. Catherine, St. Mary, St. Thomas and Portland.

“We are the third country outside of Cuba and the Dominica Republic that will benefit from this programme with the UNDP where they will help us create a National Climate Information and Early Warning Service for Disaster Risk Reduction,” explained Portfolio Minister, Honourable Desmond McKenzie, during the launch of the 2018 National Hurricane Preparedness Campaign.

“This project will be a shining example of how we can, through hard work, ingenuity and partnership, create lasting resilience to disasters.”

Early warning systems are used to relay timely and relevant information to people especially in vulnerable areas prior to a disaster.

The UNDP is the United Nations’ lead development agency and works to connect countries to a network of global knowledge, experience and technical and financial resources. According to its website, the UNDP empowers lives and supports nations to become resilient to crises and disasters.

Meanwhile, Minister McKenzie says that work is being undertaken to reduce the exposure to flooding and other consequences of hurricanes in the parishes Clarendon and St. Ann.

The farming community of Douglas Castle in St. Ann is a vulnerable area where residents are often marooned whenever storm conditions occur.

“We have decided to construct a box culvert which will effectively channel away storm water as well as raising a section of the Douglas castle main road by approximately 15 metres. I’m told by the technical people that once we do this, it will help to preserve crops and livestock and keep the community physically connected to the rest of the country,” the Minister stated.

“A strategic approach to the threat pf hurricanes also involves ensuring maximum speed and efficiency in the response to this form of disaster.

To this end, $10 million will be spent to construct two storage facilities and retrofit four emergency shelters in Northern Clarendon. The storage facilities will be sited at the Frankfield Police Station and the Kellits Primary School, respectively.

The Minister added that “these will ensure that disaster relief supplies are readily available at all time to over 50,000 people living in more than 15 communities in Northern Clarendon”.

Four emergency shelters will also be retrofitted to increase capacity and provide greater comfort for its users. They are Portland Cottage Primary; Alley/Race Course; Scotts Pass and Staceyville Primary Schools.

Twenty-five aspiring entrepreneurs have been presented with J$3.75 million in grants as part of their participation in the Clarendon Youth In Business (CYIB) project.

The participants, who were exposed to practicums and field trips, each received $150, 000 towards the development of their individual businesses during a presentation ceremony in May Pen, Clarendon on May 31, 2018.

Guest Speaker and Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Honourable Desmond McKenzie, lauded the Clarendon Municipal Corporation for the programme, which falls under its Local Economic Development initiative.

“The government is creating the environment within the community that these young men and women can find an avenue for expression and these types of expression come with a cost,” the Minister stated.

“It comes with a cost because when they invest in the way that many have invested; they are expecting to get returns and those returns cannot be guaranteed unless there is something that is called partnership.”

He described the CYIB project as a practical demonstration of local government at work through community development.  Minister McKenzie also committed J$1.25 million to increase the grants to $150, 000 each.

The participants represent the second cohort of the programme that began in 2016. They are involved in the business of crop agriculture, animal rearing, egg farming, agro-processing including nutraceuticals and sauces; barbering, shopkeeping, photography and garment construction as well as food and beverage across the parish of Clarendon.

The municipal corporation also received assistance from public and private sector partners inclusive of the Heart Trust; the Jamaica Business Development Corporation; the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ); the Youth Information Centre and the National Commercial Bank.

The PIOJ’s Community Renewal Programme (PIOJ-CRP) provided coordination and funding support for the CYIB project. Its participation is aligned to its push to build the capacity of existing small business enterprises in Rocky Point, Hayes, May Pen, Effortville and Bucknor, which are target communities of the PIOJ Community Renewal Programme.

“When you find these (CYIB) young men and women, who could have gone into many other directions, but didn’t because they want to be self-reliant. They want to create their own niche on the society and to create a better Jamaica for their families and themselves,” the Minister added.  “I believe that the young people of Clarendon will make even a greater impression on the reduction of the unemployment rate amongst young people.”

The country’s unemployment rate declined to 9.6 percent at the end of January 2018, down from 10.4 percent for the period of October to December 2017. The figures for youth unemployment also declined to 23.8 percent at the end of January compared to 31.7% for the corresponding period in 2017.
Minister McKenzie challenged the CYIB participants to strive for success and put their training in entrepreneurship and financial management in practice.

He publicly acknowledged former Mayor of May Pen, Councillor Scean Barnswell, for his support to the CYIB project.

“His leadership when he was Mayor and also head of ALGAJ (Association of Local Authorities of Jamaica) contributed significantly to what we are seeing and this is where continuity is important in the political process in the country.”

The Ministry of Local Government and Community Development has embarked on a drive to modernize the operational capacity and infrastructure of the Poor Relief Department across the country’s 13 municipal corporations.

Portfolio Minister, Honourable Desmond McKenzie, says the rebranding will improve brand identity and result in a greater appreciation for the poor relief services.

“We will also be rebranding our Infirmaries and modernizing them, to ensure high-quality service to the less fortunate, as part of a major overhaul of the current Poor Relief system. That whole process will be facilitated by the Human Services Bill 2018, which is now before Parliament,” he explains.

“Through the Human Services Bill, the infirmaries will be renamed as Adult Residential Care Facilities.”

The Poor Relief Department is the social welfare arm of the local Authorities that provides assistance to destitute persons. An infirmary is operated by each respective local authority except in the case of the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation that runs the Vineyard Town Golden Age Home.

The infirmaries and golden age home cater to individuals who are destitute and in need of institutional care. There is also outdoor poor relief services specifically for persons living in their homes but are in need of financial support and other services such as medical comfort, assistance for school children and burial assistance.

“The professional capacity of poor relief officers is being improved through the Human Services Training Programme where 15 officers are now enrolled, as the second cohort of the programme and additional officers will also be brought into the system,” states Minister McKenzie.  “More patient care assistants are being employed to improve the quality of care.”

The modernization push will also see the Board of Supervision abolished as an agency, which functioned as the decision-making arm for poor relief services. It will be replaced with a Human Services Division that will operate within the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.

“The Human Services Division will be responsible for strengthening the administration of social welfare and leading the implementation of this modern approach to poor relief across Jamaica,” adds Minister McKenzie.

The Poor Relief Departments are being retooled, and in some instances undergo renovations to its physical spaces of operation. The retooling exercise is being financed by a draw-down of $24 million from the Equalization Fund.

“This modern approach includes equipping the Poor Relief Departments with computers, printers and tablets, as we move to thoroughly digitize operational efficiency.”

To date, Minister McKenzie has handed over tablets to the Poor Relief Officers and Councillors at seven municipal corporations namely Clarendon, St. Mary, Westmoreland, St. James, Portland, St. Ann and Hanover.

An eight million dollar water shop facility is in operation in the community of Marlie Hill, South Manchester where residents will now access the commodity in a sustainable way.

This the second such facility to be constructed by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development following one in Pennants, Clarendon, that was opened last year.

“Constant access to clean water is a fundamental standard of good public health, and of national development. It is vital not only to sanitation and disease control, but it is also critical to agricultural production, manufacturing, and all types of economic activity,” said Portfolio Minister, Honourable Desmond McKenzie, during a special ceremony to officially open the water shop on May 14, 2018.

“This initiative of building water shops is different from anything that has been done before, especially at the level of Local Government, which is responsible for minor water supply. We have had, and still have in some places, parish water tanks and wells.”

He highlighted that access to clean water is a benchmark of prosperity, which the Government is working hard to bring to every corner of Jamaica. He also noted that the practice of trucking water to communities is not always impartial and often times, those persons in real need are overlooked.

“The Ministry of Local Government and Community Development is, through water shops, moving to address as the first priority, the needs of our people in drought-affected communities across Jamaica, in a sustainable way. Parts of the southern parishes of Jamaica, and in particular, sections of Manchester and St. Elizabeth, have traditionally suffered from drought,” Minister McKenzie added.

“What we are doing through the water shops, is to create secure dispensaries within communities, which are professionally managed, and to which people may go to purchase their water whenever they need it.”

The Minister also urged residents to become custodians of the Marlie Hill Water Shop thereby protecting the investment, as well as treating it and the people who manage it with respect.

“It is an investment in you. It is an investment in the improvement of your community. It is your tax dollars at work, invested through the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.”

The parish of St. Elizabeth has also been identified as a prospective beneficiary of a water shop facility in coming months.

“Water security is vital to food security and economic security, and we will continue to work for you, to ensure that you continue to experience improvements in your lives,” Minister McKenzie concluded.

A government-owned facility that will provide care, meals and bathe for homeless people has been opened in Ocho Rios, St. Ann.

The day-to-day operation of the $14 million dollar St. Ann Drop-In Centre, which is sited in the neigbourhood of Buckfield – will be manned by the St. Ann Municipal Corporation.

“This Drop-In Centre is one of four such facilities that were started in the last financial year, under the Ministry’s Social Protection Programme. From this building will emerge the services that will deliver relief and a sense of dignity to homeless persons,” said Honourable Desmond McKenzie, Minister of Local Government and Community Development.

“The expansion of national facilities that will provide care and comfort to our homeless citizens, is an important aspect of the work of this Government. It is one of the features of the human face of this Administration, and a symbol of our commitment to assisting the vulnerable in our society.”

Minister McKenzie was speaking at the official opening ceremony for the facility in Ocho Rios on May 11, 2018. The St. Ann Drop-In Centre will offer medical attention, nutrition and temporary housing for persons in need.

The last formal survey conducted by the Ministry in 2017 indicated that 59 persons were identified as being homeless in the parish of St. Ann. The Minister explained that while this figure is not static; it is vital that a point of constant care is established for these individuals.

“This project is part and parcel of the increasing investment that the Government is making in the structures and services of Local Government, to make it more effective,” he explained.

“We will also, through another special partnership, be creating new infrastructure at a number of Infirmaries to address social cases in hospitals. These are people who live on the hospitals’ premises after they have been treated, because they have nowhere to go. The St. Ann Infirmary will be one of the facilities that will benefit from this partnership.”

Minister McKenzie also posited that there is a concerted effort to modernize and lift the level of service from the Poor Relief Departments in the local authorities. These Departments are tasked with the care of the indigent in Jamaica.

“This modern approach will also include equipping the Poor Relief Departments with computers, printers and tablets, as we move to thoroughly digitize operational efficiency,” he noted.

“I am counting on the continued support of the elected representatives, the administrative staff and the people of Jamaica, as we continue the processes of changing attitudes to local government, changing attitudes within local government, and investing increased financing and time in the projects and people of the local government system.”