Prime Minster, Hon. Bruce Golding officially launched Phase II of the Land Administration and Management Programme (LAMP II) on Thursday July 1, 2010 at the Junction Great House in St Elizabeth.

LAMP II, which is being administered through the Department of Local Government, came about as a result of an arrangement between the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) through the Office of the Prime Minister, Korea Cadastral Survey Corporation and Geoland Title Limited and represents an expansion of the original programme which was instituted in 2000 through funding from GoJ and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

LAMP’s primary function is land registration, under this programme landowners are able to have their lands surveyed and titles registered at significantly reduced cost. The first phase of the programme targeted the parish of St Catherine, while the second phase will see major expansion into the parishes of St Elizabeth, Clarendon, Manchester and St. Thomas.

Speaking at the launch, Minister with responsibility for Local Government, the Honourable Robert Montague, said that the focus would be on land that is owned by individuals who find it difficult to prove ownership. “This is our primary concern” he said.

Recent LAMP field surveys revealed that the number of unregistered land parcels may amount to more than 1.5 million as such under 20% of land owners have certificate of tiles. According to Minister Montague this means that the vast majority of landowners cannot access the full line of benefits available to registered land owners. He is therefore emphasizing the desire to have the programme deliver its target of registering more than 12, 000 titles in 24 months.

The GoJ signed contracts with Korea Cadastral Survey Corporation and Geoland Title Limited for LAMP II, on April 22, 2010.

Korea Cadastral Survey Corporation is a government agency, of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Marine Affairs in South Korea, specializing in cadastral surveying and mapping services and Geoland Title Limited is a privately owned Jamaican company specializing in Project Management and Information Technology.

Ground has been officially broken for the construction of the new Port Maria Market in St. Mary which will boast modern infrastructure on completion of the $56 million project.

“A modern market infrastructure is critical to economic development. It is an important component in the effort to reduce the drift from rural to urban centres and is also vital to improved traffic management in and around the market districts,” said Honourable Desmond McKenzie, Minister of Local Government and Community Development.

“This project comes at a time when the administration has identified that there is a need for markets across the country need to get some serious attention. But over the years our markets have deteriorated, not much has been done within the last 10 years to improve the markets across the country.”

He was speaking during the official groundbreaking in the parish on May 30, 2018.

Some $400 million through a partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Community and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries will be spent during the 2018/2019 fiscal year to develop market infrastructure islandwide.  The facilities that have already been fingered for improvement works include the Clark’s Town Market in Trelawny; Hopewell Market, Hanover; Charles Gordon Market, St. James as well as the Stony Hill and Papine Markets in St. Andrew.

“This level of investment has not been made in our market infrastructure for many decades and I have to thank Minister Audley Shaw for buying into this vision,” added an enthused Minister McKenzie.

He also cautioned those vendors who were intent on flouting the laws to sell on the streets.

“This market development programme will not be implemented only to have vendors stay outside the facilities. This programme is not only about rehabilitating our markets. It will also be the beginning of the end of the practice of vendors selling their wares on the streets and creating challenges to spatial order and traffic management.”

Mayor of Port Maria, Councillor Richard Creary, said vendors will be temporarily housed at a retrofitted building on the property of the old fire stationhouse in the town capital. He said the groundbreaking exercise represented a “proud day” for him as a son of St. Mary.

“With commitment with dedication through representation; Port Maria has come from behind the clouds and shadow of Portland and St. Ann. We are now seeing true prosperity in Port Maria and we have several developmental proposals for the town including a tour of all the historical buildings and the market will be included.”

Mayor Creary explained that the new-look market, which is operated by the St. Mary Municipal Corporation, will have a two-storey building with commercial space for rental on the top floor. The project was initially conceptualized in 2009 with an identified funding source, however, works were delayed and the talks were resumed with Minister McKenzie in the latter part of 2016.

Dutch Construction is the contractor for the Port Maria Market project which will have a 12-month timeline for completion of phase one.

PENNANTS, CLARENDON:Jamaica’s first water shop prototype is officially open in Pennants, Clarendon.

The project – undertaken by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development at a cost of $8.7 million – will make potable water more accessible to more than 1,000 residents in and around Pennants.

“What we’re doing today is starting a process which will eliminate the degrading experience that some residents in communities across the island face,” said portfolio Minister, the Honourable Desmond McKenzie during the handover ceremony on November 16, 2017.

He underscored that residents have a critical role to play in the success of the pilot.

“If we are to replicate it across the country, which we intend to do, then this pilot project has to be successful. Therefore, community members have to buy into the project and own the project as their personal responsibility,” he said.

The water shop prototype comprise the construction of a fenced complex to accommodate eight 1,000-gallon water tanks. A retrofitted 20ft. container will house an office that will be managed by the Clarendon Municipal Corporation.

There are high commendations for community member Mr. Selvin Morgan who donated the lands to accommodate the water shop.

The roadway leading to the facility was also rehabilitated to make it easier for water trucks to deliver the commodity to the community.

According to Minister McKenzie, the water shop will provide an innovative method of supplying potable water while promoting self-sustainability and independence amongst residents.

The project is the collaborative effort of the Ministry, the Clarendon Municipal Corporation and Rural Water Supply Limited.

The concept will be introduced across the island as a means of improving the availability of potable water in communities that experience scarcity especially during dry spells.

The tanks will be refilled regularly to ensure a constant supply of water. No fee has been attached to this service for residents in Pennants.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness will officially launch the National Youth Summer Employment Programme on Thursday August 10, 2017 at the Jamaica College Auditorium. The programme is spearheaded by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development and will be implemented through the Municipal Corporations/Municipality which will see to its effective running. This initiative is specially designed to meet one the Government’s key priority, which is to facilitate the empowerment of Jamaican Youths by creating opportunities for them through employment.

Over Two Thousand Three Hundred (2300) Young people from various communities across Jamaica will be employed by the program. They will undertake a number of functions which will include the auditing of Street Lights and identifying vulnerable persons within communities who may require assistance during periods of natural disasters and other forms of emergency.

The Minister of Local Government and Community Development, the Hon. Desmond McKenzie is very optimistic about the program and the results it will yield. ‘At the end of this programme both the participants and the Municipal Corporations are expected to reap tremendous benefits. These young people would have further developed their Knowledge base and skill set and the Municipal Corporations will have improved records on street lights and vulnerable persons’ said Minister McKenzie.

The Minister of Local Government and Community Development, the Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says the Ministry has been advised of the investigations currently being carried out into the Manchester Parish Council.

The Minister says he received a letter from the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) earlier today, advising him of plans to commence investigations into the awarding of contracts at the Manchester Parish Council for the last seven years (2009 to present).

Minister McKenzie stated that he is unable to comment further on the matter as ‘these investigations have just started and I am not in a position to make any further comments on the actions of the OCG and the other Agencies involved’.

The Minister also indicated that he has been in touch with Mayor Brenda Ramsey regarding the matter.

The Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) advised that a team from their agency and personnel from the Financial Investigations Division (FID) executed several search warrants and seized a number of documents in Manchester and Clarendon this morning.

Local Government and Community Month 2015 was officially launched on October 29, 2015 by portfolio Minister Noel Arscott. This year’s ceremony was held at the St. William Grant Park, downtown Kingston, under the theme “Empowering Communities through Improved Governance.”

Minister Arscott noted that the observance of the Month is occurring at a time when there is a sense of disconnection between the general population and the structures of governance at the local level. He said however that efforts to increase the pace of local government reform to meet public expectations have been bearing fruit, particularly in relation to the Ministry’s legislative agenda. “The Constitution (Amendment Local Government) Act, 2015 was passed in the Lower and Upper Houses this year. With this Constitutional change, Jamaica now has the ultimate framework within which the network of elected representatives at the Constituency and Divisional levels, and the various community and parish committees can work to empower and improve their communities.

We also committed to the completion, tabling and passage of the Three Strategic Laws, which form the practical legislative workings of the Local Government system within its Constitutional protection. To this end, we have finalized and tabled the Three Laws: the Local Governance Bill, the Local Government (Financing and Financial Management) Bill and the Local Government (Unified Service and Employment) Bill.

Mr. Arscott also provided an update on the Ministry’s push for Local Economic Development, specifically through the Caribbean Local Economic Development Project (CARILED), which is being implemented with the support of the Government of Canada. “This vital partnership with the Government of Canada is making a difference to people where they live, with its emphases on collaborative action, and creativity through entrepreneurship.  Of the twelve community local economic development projects that have been supported by CARILED, seven are still being implemented and five have been completed, at a total cost of J$60 million. Not to be outdone is the Local Economic Development Support Programme (LEDSP) which is being implemented through our Agency, the Social Development Commission (SDC). One hundred and thirty-one (131) projects have so far been initiated under this Programme, at a start-up capital value of J$509.5 million.”

Local Government Month was officially launched on Thursday November 5, 2009 at Jamaica House. The two (2) hour long ceremony was well attended.

The main address was delivered by Minna Israel, president of the Jamaica Bankers Association, who focused on the importance of quality customer service. Ms Israel spoke to the need to improve the way we do business in Jamaica through improved service delivery. She noted that local government reform, in reorganizing the way local authorities function, is seeking to give local authorities the ability to better serve their communities. She pointed to the fact that local government is the level of governance closest to the people and as such its reformation, if managed and implemented effectively, will result in improved service to all citizens.

Ms. Israel also spoke about the importance of individual productivity to good customer service. She said that one could not “….deliver excellent customer service if your personal productivity is sub-standard”. She pointed out that the councillors who make up the local government system will have to lead and manage the change, ensuring that their personal productivity is at the highest level. As Jamaica is consider the leader in local governance in the region Miss Israel, who is also the Managing Director and Country Head for RBTT Bank, ended her speech by challenging local government practitioners to “lift the standards higher and higher, setting bench marks for the rest of the region and the world to follow”.

Minsiter Montague (L) receives a copy of the Final NACReport from Professor Rex Nettleford, chairman of the NAC.

• A month-long exhibition at the Kingston & St. Andrew Parish Library Observation of World Town Planning Day on November 6^th 4:30 p.m.  at Knutsford Court Hotel
• Mayors’ and Secretary/Managers’ one day retreat, November 18, 2009 at the Jamaica Conference Centre
• Minister’s Round Table Talk with UWI students November 25, 6:00 p.m. at UWI
• Talent Shows at the Golden Age Home, Vineyard Town, November 10^th and St. Catherine Infirmary, November 17^th

Each Local Authority will be undertaking activities as well, including church services, exhibitions, selection of junior mayors, town hall meeting etc.