PRIME MINISTERthe Most Hon.Andrew Holness has

announced that a newentity, Global ConnectJamaica (GloJam), is beingestablished to strengthenthe country’s engagementswith members of the dias-pora. Mr. Holness said GloJam,which will result from areshaping of the JamaicaDiaspora Foundation andJamaica Diaspora Institute,is geared towards encour-aging more persons toinvest in the countrythrough public-private part-nership arrangements. He emphasised that thenew entity is consistentwith the Government’s firmcommitment to development

strategies which will facili-tate a greater involvementof the diaspora in the eco-nomic and social growth ofJamaica. Mr. Holness wasspeaking on April 4 at thelaunch of the Jamaica 55Diaspora Conference at theOffice of the PrimeMinister. He said GloJam’s otherobjectives include forgingand facilitating partner-ships involving leadingexecutives, entrepreneursand professionals in thediaspora with local coun-terparts, with a view toexpanding business oppor-

tunities and promotingbrand Jamaica globally. The Prime Ministernoted that with approxi-mately three millionJamaicans residing over-seas, “our gross domesticproduct could easily dou-ble overnight if we foundseamless ways of integratingthe economic power of thediaspora into our localeconomy.”“So Global Connect

Jamaica will lead tostronger connectivity andpartnership between ourdiasporans and Jamaicanslocally... and this, we know,will facilitate greater eco-nomic growth,” he added.

PM Targets Diaspora Investments

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (3rd right), and Foreign Affairs andForeign Trade Minister, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith (3rd left), share aphoto opportunity with representatives of the Jamaica Diaspora Conference’sLegacy Partners, during the launch of the biennial event at Jamaica House on April4. From left are Jamaica National Group Deputy General Manager, Leon Mitchell;GraceKennedy Chief Executive Officer, Senator Don Wehby; Victoria MutualBuilding Society President and Chief Executive Officer, Courtney Campbell; and J.Wray and Nephew Limited Production Director, Dwight Dalley.

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JAMAICA’S COMMU-NICATION capabilitybefore, during and afterdisasters is being signifi-cantly boosted through aJ$1.6 billion (¥1.39 billion)grant from the Governmentof Japan. The provision, to bedisbursed over four years,will be used to purchaseand procure equipmentand other inputs to imple-ment the Improvement ofEmergency Communi-cation System Project. It was facilitated throughnegotiations between theGovernment and the JapanInternational CooperationAgency (JICA). To be executed by theOffice of Disaster Pre-paredness and EmergencyManagement (ODPEM),the project will providethe platform for commu-nications among criticalGovernment agencies,first responders and majorstakeholders.

Finance and the PublicService Minister, Hon.Audley Shaw, and Japan’sAmbassador to Jamaica,His Excellency MasanoriNakano, signed the grantagreement at the Ministry’sNational Heroes Circleoffices on April 6.

Mr. Shaw, in welcomingthe grant support, said theproject will significantlystrengthen ODPEM’s pre-paredness to respond in theevent of natural disasters. The project’s majorcomponents, Mr Shawoutlined, include integration

of the National WorksAgency’s (NWA) micro-wave network for datacommunication; installationof communication systemsthat will serve an additional24 repeater locations, upfrom the nine stations cur-rently operated by ODPEM;and early-warning sirensat 15 locations in threecommunities. Additionally, the projectwill facilitate the provisionof radio equipment, trans-mission and receptiondevices to key responseentities, and placement attwo of the island’s keyoffshore locations –Morant and Pedro Cays. “The project is criticalfor the improvement ofpublic security and safety -the Local EmergencyOperations Centre - and forthe improvement of com-munities and areas proneto flooding, storm surges,landslides and other haz-ards,” the Minister under-scored.

Japan Provides $1.6B Grant to Boost Disaster Communication

Finance and Public Service Minister, Hon. AudleyShaw (left), and Japan’s Ambassador to Jamaica,His Excellency Masanori Nakano, sign a grantagreement for the provision of $1.6 billion to fundthe Improvement of Emergency CommunicationSystem Project. The signing took place at theMinistry’s National Heroes Circle offices on April 6.In the background is the Ministry’s Senior Directorfor Negotiations, Nadine James.

WORK HAS been com-pleted on several sewer-age projects to address thedischarge of effluent fromwaste-water treatmentplants into the environmentand reduce the risks topublic health. This was disclosed byMinister without Portfolioin the Ministry of Eco-nomic Growth and JobCreation, Hon. Dr. HoraceChang, during his contri-bution to the 2017/18Sectoral Debate in the

House of Representativeson April 5. He said K-Factor fundswere used to finance thePortmore Sewerage Recon-figuration Project, whichhas brought relief fromthe adverse impact ofunderperforming waste-water treatment facilitiesto residents in communitiessuch as Bridgeport, Inde-pendence City, HamiltonGardens and CaymanasGardens.

“The flows to theseplants are now beingdiverted to the Soapberrywaste-water treatmentplant, where adequatetreatment is being provided,”Dr. Chang informed. Major sewerageimprovement works werealso undertaken in MajestyGardens, Seaview Gardensand Riverton Meadows.The land reclaimed willbe used for economiccommunity development,Dr. Chang said.

Meanwhile the Gov-ernment has embarked on

a programme to rehabilitateseveral irrigation canalsthat have deterioratedover many years. “We are also seekingto expand irrigation on thesouthern plains, stretchingfrom St. Elizabeth throughto sections of South Man-chester, South Clarendon,Central St. Catherine all theway to Eastern St. Thomas. He noted that the firstmajor project under thisinitiative, the Essex ValleyAgricultural Development

Project in St. Elizabeth,should commence laterthis year. The project will befunded through a grantfrom the United KingdomCaribbean InfrastructureFund. Implementation ofthe project will be man-aged through the NationalIrrigation Commission,along with the Ministry ofIndustry, Commerce, Agri-culture and Fisheries andthe Agro-Investment Cor-poration.

TOURISM MINISTER,Hon. Edmund Bartlett,says Jamaica’s hotel roomcapacity will increase bymore than 1,000 duringthe 2017 calendar year. “Over 3,000 rooms arecurrently (available) or arebeing made available, whichwe never had the winterbefore. Of that amount,close to 2,000 have alreadybeen added or will be comingon stream in the next fewweeks and months,” he said. The Minister was makinghis Sectoral Debate pres-entation in the House ofRepresentatives on April 4,under the theme ‘Sustain-able Tourism – A Catalystfor Job Creation andInclusive Growth’.

Mr. Bartlett said thetotal investments in therooms are well in excessof US$1 billion. Among the hotels thatwill provide new roomsare the Azul Beach Resortin Negril with 150 rooms;Hideaway at Royalton andRoyalton Negril Resort

and Spa – 600 rooms; andSandals Royal Caribbean“Over the Water Villas” inMontego Bay – 12 rooms. Additionally, theSpanish Court II inMontego Bay, with 124rooms; Breathless Resortand Spa, Montego Bay,with 150 rooms; and the RHotel in Kingston, with 58rooms, will also be added. Mr. Bartlett stated thatover the next year, con-struction and renovationof several hotels will alsobe undertaken. Among these are theWyndham and OceanaHotels in Kingston, OysterBay in Trelawny andDragon Bay Hotelin Port Antonio.

1,000 Additional Hotel Rooms Being Built this YearNSWMA Receives Six New Garbage Trucks

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. DesmondMcKenzie, tries out the controls of one of the six new garbage trucks acquiredfor the National Solid Waste Management Authority’s (NSWMA) regional offices.Occasion was the handover ceremony at the NSWMA’s head office in Kingstonon April 3. Looking on are Managing Director of the Jamaica Social InvestmentFund, Omar Sweeney (left) and Executive Director of the NSWMA, Audley Gordon.

Minister of Tourism, Hon.Edmund Bartlett

Several Sewerage Projects Completed

Minister without Port-folio in the Ministry ofEconomic Growth andJob Creation Hon. Dr.Horace Chang

JAMAICA’S ELITE ath-letes will soon no longerneed to travel outside ofthe country to receive thebest treatment for injuriesand other ailments. This, as the Govern-ment plans to set up aCaribbean Sports MedicineCentre on the MonaCampus of the Universityof the West Indies (UWI).To be established in col-laboration with UWI andsprinting sensation UsainBolt and his team, the cen-tre is one of the legacyprojects being undertakenas part of the year-long‘Jamaica 55’ Independencecelebrations. The projects and othercommemorative activitieswere unveiled during themedia launch of Jamaica55 on the lawns of JamaicaHouse on April 5. Prime Minister, theMost Hon. Andrew Holness,in his address, said theLegacy Projects programmeis a key component ofJamaica 55, “which signi-fies that we are committedto leaving a legacy, buildinga stronger nation.”

He noted that the“ambitious projects” iden-tified include significantimprovements of infra-structure in sports, enter-tainment and culture, edu-cation, gender relationsand public administration. “The value to begained from them will lastfor many generations. Thechosen projects are strate-gically aligned to our areasof national priority,” he said. Other legacy projectsinclude a virtual sportsmuseum, which will traceand showcase Jamaica’sperformance in sports, isexpected to be completedduring the period. Additionally, a plan isto be developed for theestablishment of a nationalshelter for women in thecorporate area, and threesatellite shelters in ruralJamaica. One shelter isexpected to be establishedduring the Jamaica 55period. Jamaica 55 activities arebeing held under the theme‘Celebrating Jamaicans atHome and Abroad’.

Gov’t Announces ‘Jamaica 55’ Legacy Projects

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