Thread by @drnigelclarkeja

During the year we passed the Bank of Jamaica Amendment Act that paves the way for the modernization of our central bank.

This legislation benefited from, and was strengthened by, the deliberations of a Joint Select Committee of both Houses of Parliament consisting of Government members and Opposition members.

Some highlights of the Act:

Full-fledged inflation targeting will be the clear mandate of the central bank. Given our torturous history of high, runaway inflation, we have empowered a well-resourced institution to keep inflation low, stable, and predictable.

The Act strengthens the capitalization, governance, transparency and accountability of the central bank.

Anticipating passage of the Act, we injected $20 billion of permanent capital into the central bank in 2018 which allows the Bank of Jamaica to be compliant with the capital standards of the Act.

This will be the first public institution in Jamaica with staggered board appointments such that the entire board cannot be replaced in a single political administration thereby providing long-term institutional stability.

Responsibility for monetary policy decisions is devolved to a monetary policy committee that incorporates views of external participants.

Minutes of the meetings of these decision makers will be made public in a revolutionary nod to policy transparency.

For the first time, the Governor will account to the people of Jamaica in the Parliament through regular appearances before the Standing Finance Committee.

The Government will no longer be able to, on the whim of the Minister of Finance, borrow money from the central bank through the printing of money. The Minister will have to do so transparently, seeking affirmative consent of the House, and only in national emergencies.

I have the pleasure of announcing today that the Bank of Jamaica Amendment Act will take effect on April 16, 2021 and, as of that date, the BOJ will be an independent central bank, and will be accountable to the Parliament.

So, my fellow Jamaicans, consistent with our desire for longer economic cycles with longer periods of economic expansion and shorter periods of economic contractions, we are decoupling the monetary policy cycle from the political cycle.

With price stability being the central bank’s objective now and into the future, with the central bank having the power and independence to pursue that objective, with transparency and accountability, households, businesses and investors..

..will make more longer-term decisions and more longer term commitments. This will deepen financial markets, make a wider pool of products available, increase financial inclusion, broaden opportunity and strengthen our economy.

Madam Speaker, we passed the legislation to create an Independent Fiscal Commission. The Independent Fiscal Commission will be the guardian and interpreter of Jamaica’s fiscal rules and will further institutionalize fiscal responsibility long into the future.

We recognize the European Union and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) who funded the Canadian consulting firm who assisted us with the policy development, as well as Justice Canada who assisted with the legislation.

With the assistance of the IDB, we are the first country in CARICOM to launch a Public Investment Map that provides easy to access, up-to-date, online information on the progress, or lack thereof, of public investment projects on the government’s capital budget.

The platform gives citizens the opportunity to search for projects based on sector, parish, and county and provides the opportunity for feedback on projects of interest.

Having signaled its intention to join the Open Government Partnership, or OGP, in 2016, we formally launched the engagement chapter of Jamaica’s Open Government Partnership in January 2021.

Jamaica’s first OGP National Action Plan is under development in collaboration with civil society and is expected to be completed by July.

I announced earlier that Jamaica received its first ever payout from the Caribbean Catastrophe Reinsurance Facility (CCRIF) in December in an amount of $500 million as a result of the damage caused by hurricanes Eta and Zeta.

While we would rather not have had these tropical storms it is good to know that our disaster risk financing strategy is working.

The World Bank is working with Jamaica to issue a three-year Catastrophe bond (“CAT bond”) to allow Jamaica to transfer some of our hurricane risk to international capital markets in time for the 2021 hurricane season.

We recently passed the Microcredit Bill during the year, Madam Speaker. The Bill brings the microcredit sector, the same day loan, the payday loan and similar businesses under the regulatory supervision of the Bank of Jamaica.

Many Jamaicans take out loans with payday loan providers, same day loan providers and other microcredit institutions. With the passage of the Microcredit Act, the government is protecting all of these borrowers.

The microcredit act makes it a criminal offence for any payday lender, same day lender or any other microcredit institution to employ intimidation, violence, or threats of violence in collection activities.

We are modernizing Jamaica’s economic legislative framework.

As at December 2020, there were 25 credit unions operating in Jamaica with combined assets of $137.4 billion or 6.9% of GDP, and with a membership in excess of 1 million Jamaicans. These facts make the credit union sector systemically important to financial system stability.

This year, we intend to fully bring the credit union sector under the supervision and regulation of the central bank.

Jamaica is an open economy that depends heavily on the trade of goods and services. A vast majority of economic activity in Jamaica has some nexus with an airport or a cargo terminal or a cruise port. As a result, trade in goods and services represents in excess of 70% of GDP.

As such, Madam Speaker, the Act to Repeal and Replace the Customs Act, tabled by this government is critical to economic recovery and to recovering stronger.

The Government’s digital strategy spans many ministries of government. Today I will speak to the Government’s digital strategy with respect to finance.

The delivery of grants through the CARE Programme exposed the vast number of Jamaicans who remain unbanked. They either do not have a bank account or the one they have is not functional.

The government is concerned about the size of the unbanked population. Access to financial services is essential to improving productivity and well being. There are individual benefits and there are also spillovers benefits to the society as well.

With recent innovations in technology it is possible to introduce alternatives to cash that are cheaper, more secure, more efficient and that offer the prospect of increasing competition..

..in the provision of financial services and of greatly increasing the financial inclusion in our society.

It is the policy of the Government of Jamaica to introduce a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which has been conceptualized by the Bank of Jamaica, which is leading its implementation.

CBDC is a digital form of central bank issued currency, which is legal tender. It is not to be confused with crypto-currency, which is privately issued and not backed by a regulatory authority.

CBDC is fully backed by the Central Bank in Jamaica, and, as with Jamaican dollars, the legislative underpinnings of CBDC will be the Bank of Jamaica Act.

As legal tender, CBDC can be exchanged on a one to one basis with physical cash. Households and businesses will be able to use CBDC to make payments and store value at no cost.

The Bank of Jamaica will issue CBDC to deposit-taking institutions (DTIs) and authorized Payment Service Providers as now obtains.

Deposit Taking Institutions, authorised Payment Service Providers, and Telecom providers will on-board unbanked customers.

Agents will have the ability to on-board customers that request a digital transaction account using their mobile device.

Customers can do business using CBDC phone-to-phone with merchants.

This will bring tens of thousands of people who are outs.

This will bring the benefits of financial inclusion to tens of thousands of Jamaicans.

You are going to be able to pay for sky juice with your phone.

The pan chicken man will be able to get paid with digital currency on his phone.

By transitioning to a digital society, Jamaica will recover stronger.

We will modernize our tax system in a way that is responsive to changing global realities and consistent with our desire to make Jamaica an attractive place to work, invest and live.

With the eventual passage of the Amended Large Scale and Pioneer Industry Act, Jamaica we will attract large-scale investment in Jamaica, and Jamaica will recover stronger.

Madam Speaker, the last twelve months have reminded us that we can plan, but we cannot always predict. We have to live with a certain amount of uncertainty.

So Madam Speaker, this puts pressure on us as leaders and indeed as a country, to do an even better job to exercise control over the things we can.

Subject to further consultations, to improve the effectiveness of fiscal operations, the Government intends to make the bold but practical step of changing the annual income tax return and collection date from March 15 of each year to April 15.

Madam Speaker, this change is not just good for the planning of the government’s finances. The change will also provide taxpayers with an additional month to prepare their tax return and to make the required payment.

It is extra time for taxpayers to organize themselves to achieve tax compliance.

For the Government, it will mean that the Revenue Authority will now collect the highest 50% of annual income tax revenue in the very first month or first quarter of its fiscal year.

This will enhance fiscal responsibility, Madam Speaker.

Simple change. Powerful impact. Policy matters, Madam Speaker, and good policy matters even more.

Madam Speaker, the Income Tax Act has been in existence from 1954 and is largely based on the UK Income Tax Act of 1952.

While Britain has reimagined, upgraded, and modernized its income tax regime several times over, we in Jamaica have been stuck with a pre-independence income tax law that will soon be 70 years old..

..and has not been modernised over the years, yet remains the base law for income tax in Jamaica.

The world is a fundamentally different place today than it was in 1954. For Jamaica to be competitive to investment and talent we must have a modern income tax regime that also protects Jamaica’s tax base.

Madam Speaker, we are on a mission to modernize the Jamaica economy. Globalisation, the plethora of international trade agreements, international tax treaties, the drive for foreign direct investment, and the increased mobility of funds..

..provide even greater impetus for us to modernize the Income Tax Act.

This process will begin this year. It will be a multi-year process. However, there is no better time to begin than at this economic trough.

There are a number of multinational enterprises that are interested in investing to build large hotels that are enabled with casino gaming activities.

We intend to amend the Casino Gaming Legislation to be compatible with this interest and thereafter to launch a Request for Proposals that will eventually, but not immediately, lead to large hospitality investments in Jamaica.

The reality is, the public sector touches every citizen in some way, shape or form and so it must be able to anticipate and meet, if not exceed the expectations of citizens.

I am pleased to advise this Honourable House that 10 years after it was first proposed in the master rationalisation plan, under the Bruce Golding administration, and when the Hon. Audley Shaw was Minister of Finance and the Public Service..

..we have commenced the introduction of shared corporate services in the public sector as a way of improving the operations of government.

We have rationalised 40 public entities since the start of the rationalisation project in 2017.

At the start of the project, we had 190 public bodies and we are now at 150, with the plan to further streamline through mergers, closures, divestments, and integration into parent ministries.

I should note, Madam Speaker, that the general functon of the entity does not go away, but rather the service is delivered in a more efficient and cost effective way.

In 2017, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service review of public sector compensation found that there was a proliferation of allowances — 185 to be exact — designed to supplement salaries.

This resulted in allowances representing between 30% to 60% of the total compensation package of various groups.

Such a compensation structure is unwieldy and complex, creating enormous uncertainty regarding both the wage bill and the government’s fiscal programme.

It also has pension implications for public sector employees as pension entitlements would often be calculated on a small fraction of the employee’s emoluments.

In December 2019 the GOJ contracted with international consulting partners Ernst and Young (“EY”) to work with us to establish a more rational, fair, and sustainable compensation system.

In December 2020, the Transformation Implementation Unit along with international consulting partners EY, submitted a proposal. Among the key recommendations were:

1. A single, common factor-based job evaluation system which will provide a consistent basis for comparison of jobs across the public service.

2. Moving to a common pay grading structure where all jobs throughout the core civil service, agencies, education (Teaching Service) and protective services will be aligned to a single set of bands.

3. Proposals for the introduction of pay for performance in order to recognize and reward high performance and excellent performers.

4. Rationalisation and consolidation of allowances into basic pay, where possible resulting in a simpler, more transparent approach to total compensation.

These proposals are the outputs of an extensive review of the 325 salary scales and job grades and 185 allowances; an evaluation of approximately 500 benchmark jobs; and many interviews with job holders and a wage survey of compensation in the Private and Public Sectors.

We are seeking to develop a compensation system that is based on four key principles:

It should be simple and easily understood;

It should be consistent, with equitable application and transparency across the public service;

It recognises and rewards performance; and

It is sustainable, meaning that it is affordable, manageable, defensible, and supports the realisation of our strategic goals.

I have advised this Honourable House, that due to fiscal pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are delaying implementation of the compensation review to fiscal year 2022/23.

Last year we launched the Marcus Garvey Graduate Scholarship for Public Sector Employees which is the largest scholarship programme in Jamaican history with a budget of $1 billion.

The Marcus Garvey Scholarship will offer high-potential Jamaicans in the Public Sector the opportunity to obtain a graduate degree from competitive, appropriately accredited universities in areas that are aligned with the national goals and strategic objectives of Jamaica.

The Marcus Garvey Scholarship Programme will enable the development of a public sector-wide talent resource pool, with 30 scholarships a year over a period of five years in various subject matters..

..including public sector governance, health, education, the built environment and economics.

The period for the submission of applications for the first 30 scholarships was September 1, 2020 to October 5, 2020.

The Marcus Garvey Public Sector Graduate Scholarship Secretariat received applications from 185 public sector workers.

A blind peer review process is near completion after which the Selection Committee chaired by His Excellency the Governor General will interview shortlisted applicants and select the final awardees.

Madam Speaker, during the fiscal year, we increased the moratorium on the starting date for repayment of Student Loans from 6 months to 14 months after graduation, reflecting our commitment providing greater flexibility and breathing room to our students.

During the 2020/21 fiscal year the Student Loan Bureau (“SLB”) received almost 14,000 applications for student loans, an increase of 5% over the prior year.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to report to this Honourable House that of all those who applied to the Student Loan Bureau for a loan to finance their tertiary studies, the vast majority, or 98%, were approved.

Over the past few years, for example, we lowered interest rates on student loans from as high as 12% to as low as 4% for some loans, and we are also forgiving portions of loans for persons working for registered charities.

All of these measures were designed to improve accessibility.

One hurdle that creates a disproportionate barrier to access for lower income families is the need to find two guarantors in order to qualify for a student loan.

Madam Speaker, it is in the public interest that the goal of accessibility be balanced by sustainability. The requirement of two guarantors was implemented to enhance the prospect of loan repayment, thereby supporting sustainability.

Effective April 1, we will remove the need for two guarantors for student loans and will instead require only one guarantor for student loans.

Madam Speaker, crafting the budget for this year has been extremely challenging.

My fellow Jamaicans, I stand before you today humbled by the severity of the crisis.

We are not alone in this global fight against the pandemic, and we are not alone in how we respond to our domestic needs.

Every country in the world is going through a similar struggle and making painful choices. I have spent the last few months thinking this budget through in every possible angle.

The Govts revenues increase and decrease along with the size of our annual economic output. Due to the pandemic, the economy declined dramatically this fiscal year. It has not yet recovered. As a result, the resources available to the Govt remain subdued & seriously constrained.

Because of COVID-19, our healthcare costs have increased significantly. More drugs have been required, more personal protective equipment is necessary, and more employees have been added, including more community health aides.

In addition, increased hours and utilization of clinics and hospital leads to an increased usage of security, canteen, cleaning, and other services.

Complicating matters even more, traditional sources of revenues for public bodies, particularly associated with tourism, have been affected and we have to support these public bodies that provide critical services from the coffers of the central government.

For example, the Passport, Immigration and Citizens Agency normally sustains its operations on the basis of fees related to passports and international travel. Travel has dramatically reduced and so their revenues are down and they have needed central government support.

The revenues from the Dunn’s River attraction has traditionally provided a  critical source of finance for the UDC. Obviously, revenue from that source has fallen and the UDC has had to seek support from central government.

Some of the National Water Commission’s largest customers are the hotels, which now operate on very low occupancies compared with pre-pandemic levels. Their revenues have been affected and they have had to seek additional support from the central government.

With limited resources, therefore, prioritization is critically important. When resources are severely limited, we have to prioritise within those priorities.

Remember too, our objective is to have shorter periods of decline, quicker economic recoveries, and longer periods of economic expansion.

Inclusive of this quarter ending March 31, 2021, where PIOJ expects a 10% contraction in the economy, we are anticipating at least five consecutive quarters of economic decline.

While we are not in control of all the variables, it is important that economic recovery begin in the upcoming fiscal year starting this upcoming April to June quarter.

But this depends critically on the evolution of the virus, the public’s compliance with the measures, and whether any new measures are required to combat the virus.

Our budget, within the severe limitations placed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the context of the uncertainties and risks we face, tries to align with the objective of a quick, stable, and sustained economic recovery.

As I have remarked before, we have to see the environment for what it is. We are in the midst of a viciously dangerous economic crisis, brought on by an equally crippling pandemic, and the wrong policy choices could prolong and deepen its effects.

On the positive side, however, the path out of this crisis is clear but it is a very narrow path. Meaning, we can’t do everything, we have to prioritize and even prioritize within priorities, and we have to be very strategic and deliberate in what we do.

Madam Speaker, pandemic or no pandemic, we continue to allocate the largest share of our budget, outside of interest, to education.
 
$114 billion is allocated to education in the upcoming fiscal year. @MOEYIJamaica @fayvalwilliams @NestaJA

As such, education expenditure will represent approximately 21% of non-debt expenditure. Every one in five dollars of non-debt expenditure will go to education. That is prioritization by the Jamaican State.

Expressed another way, this year, Jamaica will spend close to 6% of GDP on education. Madam Speaker, that is far more than Singapore spends on Education. They spend approximately 3% of GDP.

Madam Speaker, that is far higher than our peer group of countries – the upper middle income countries of the world – spend on education, which is approximately 4% of GDP.

Madam Speaker, even in the worst health crisis in 100 years, Jamaica continues to place education as its number one priority expenditure.

Under the leadership of the Minister of Education, @fayvalwilliams by the end of this school year, i.e. June 2021 the Government of Jamaica will have distributed a total of 122,831 digital devices to PATH students and non-PATH needy families at a cost of approximately, $3.9 Bn.

This includes an amount of $805 million allocated in the fiscal year beginning on April 1.

$14.5 billion is being allocated to the PATH Programme, the GOJ’s conditional cash transfer programme targeting vulnerable households within the population.

$8.5 billion is being allocated to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) to support the PATH cash grant which, prior to this year, was executed under the MLSS’s Capital Budget.

These activities, which were previously implemented under a public investment project supported by loan funds from multilateral institutions, have now been institutionalised within the recurrent operations of the MLSS and are now being solely funded by the Government of Jamaica.

The provision under the MLSS’ Recurrent Budget will continue to support persons in vulnerable groups – the elderly, disabled, pregnant and lactating women & children attending schools – through cash transfers, post-secondary and tertiary education grants, and on the job training.

$6.0 billion is allocated under the Ministry of Education Youth and Information for the PATH School Feeding Programme ($5.6 billion) and the PATH Rural School Transportation Programme ($0.4 billion).

$1.1 billion is being allocated under the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information to support other student nutrition programmes providing Breakfast and Cooked Lunches which are carried out through Nutrition Products Ltd and school canteens.

$0.8 billion is provided under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to facilitate implementation of a Social Pension Programme for the Elderly, a new social intervention program, originally scheduled for 2020 but which had to be delayed.

That is a total of $16.4 billion on social support, Madam Speaker, before considering the additional social spending under JSIF and under the SERVE Jamaica Programme, which I will discuss.

This Government remains committed to social protection and support of the most vulnerable in our society. That is our goal and mission as we recover faster and stronger.

We have to prioritise fiscal strategies designed to counter the risk of natural disasters. As such,
 
$2.3 billion has been allocated to support natural disaster risk management within the Central Government.

This is made up of:
 
• $1.1 billion for issue of Catastrophe Bonds (Cat-Bonds) (funded by grants)

• $1.0 billion to meet premium payments to the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF)

• $200 million to be transferred to the Contingencies Fund.

In addition:
 
• $50.0 million is allocated to the National Disaster Fund managed by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

$8.8 billion has been allocated to the Ministry of Health and Wellness to acquire pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for the users of health facilities in the four (4) Regional Health Authorities. This is in addition to amounts to be allocated under the SERVE Jamaica Programme.

$2.9 billion has been allocated to the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, representing a grant to the Local Government Municipal Corporations to cover the annual cost of Street Lights.

$1.0 billion has been allocated to the Statistical Institute to carry out preparatory activities for undertaking a national census in 2022. The last census was completed in 2011.

We were scheduled to carry out the census in 2021 but the necessary planning that would have ordinarily occurred in 2020 was interrupted.

$700 million has been allocated to provide an increase in benefits to existing Government pensioners.

Much of the capital spend is included in the SERVE Jamaica Programme which I will also detail later. Other capital expenditure programmed, outside of SERVE Jamaica, includes:

It will also include:

last year good policy delivered $90 billion of opening cash resources, at the right time, which assisted us greatly in financing the response to the pandemic, even as Government revenues declined, without needing to borrow.

This year, again, good policy is delivering a $33 billion dividend from the Bank of Jamaica, straight into the consolidated fund in the first week in April.

This could not come at a better time. Rarely are the fruits of right and appropriate policy as powerfully evident, in as short a time period. My fellow Jamaicans, policy matters and good policy matters even more.

Good policies expand opportunities and provide flexibility when we need to respond to crises. But we need to have the courage and discipline to pursue good policy.

Without this historic dividend, unprecedented in size as a single payment, this year’s budgetary process would have been an even more difficult exercise.

Central Banks are designed to be profitable and in countries that pursue good policies, sustainable and prudent policies, central banks are indeed profitable. And they return these profits to taxpayers through dividends to the treasury or consolidated fund.

The dividends can then be used to fund social support, finance infrastructure development and support other worthy initiatives through an open and transparent budgetary process where everyone can see where the resources are going and which groups are benefiting.

When policy is pursued that results in central bank losses, that taxpayers are called upon to fund, we know who bears the costs – you the people - but the question of who actually benefits is not usually transparent.

So, examples of central bank dividend distributions include:
 
• The Bank of England routinely pays dividends of 500 million pounds sterling annually to Her Majesty’s Treasury for the period 2010 - 2019

• The Canadian central bank has paid dividends that averaged $1 billion Canadian dollars annually in respect of the ten years 2010 - 2019

• The Australian central bank has paid dividends that averaged over $2 billion Australian dollars annually for the period 2010-2019

• The Federal Reserve in the United States pays dividends every year to the US Treasury and these dividends have averaged US$75 billion per year over the period 2010 -2019

What about Jamaica?
 
Over the period between 2010 and 2017, the Central Bank paid $0 dividends to the taxpayers of Jamaica who fund its operations, because it made huge losses.

Some of the BOJ’s losses were as a result of the JDX and NDX debt exchanges, but were also due to foreign exchange losses from excessive intervention in the FX markets.

So over the 2010 to 2017 period, the taxpayers of this country were called on to support the BOJ in the amount of over $31 billion because of losses it incurred over that period.

Now, you cannot hold an institution accountable if they are not provided with the resources specified and detailed by law. The law says when the BOJ makes a loss, the Government must cover that loss with taxpayer resources.

But that did not happen. The BOJ just had an IOU on it balance sheet for this amount. An IOU that they could not trade, they could not repo. It represented a dead asset.

We rectified this in 2018 and 2019 by transferring the securities required by law to cover the cumulative losses BOJ made over the previous decade.

This was particularly important in preparation for central bank independence and with renewed focus on the central bank’s new mandate, central bank governance and central bank accountability.

The BOJ capital was stated as J$2 million in the original 1960 Bank of Jamaica Act. In 1976, the BOJ’s capital was doubled to J$4 million. And, Madam Speaker, BOJ’s capital remained at the same paltry figure of J$4 million over the 42 years between 1976 and 2018.

The Govt. injected $20 billion of permanent capital – which is capital that cannot be removed - into the BOJ in 2018 to empower the BOJ to fulfill its mandate.

Inflation targeting has now been given the force of law with the BOJ Amendment Act, chiseled and passed with bipartisan support.

The vast majority (80%) of these profits were from ordinary operations. Only about 20% arises from realized foreign exchange gains. By law, these profits are to be distributed to the consolidated fund for the benefit of the Jamaican people. And there could hardly be a better time

By the end of 2019, however, due to the restoration of its profitability, this changed and instead of the Government owing the Bank money, the Bank owed the Government money.

We had the $90 billion cash resources for 2020/21 and we suspended the fiscal rules but the future remained unpredictable.

We knew we would need to make a big push to fund the recovery effort in 2021/22, and revenues would be short and so we therefore, timed the payment of the BOJ dividends for this upcoming fiscal year.

Good policy, cannot only consider today, it has to also consider tomorrow.

At the end of calendar year 2020, the balance owing to the GOJ increased further with profits made during the year. The amount BOJ is required by law to distribute to the Consolidated Fund, as confirmed by the BOJ auditors, is now three years of profits that total $33 billion.

Good policy, pays dividends, literally and figuratively.

The one-off BOJ dividend of $33 billion will facilitate a $60 billion Social and Economic Recovery and Vaccine Programme for Jamaica, known as the SERVE Jamaica Programme.

As I list the allocation of these resources just think about the impact of the dividends of good policy.
 
The $60 billion SERVE Jamaica Programme will consist of the following elements: #Vaccines #PPEs @themohwgovjm @christufton

We have put the funding aside under the SERVE Jamaica Programme to make the attainment of herd immunity in a single fiscal year fiscally feasible, and these funds will be transferred in the first week of April.

In addition to healthcare and vaccines, another critical part of the SERVE Jamaica Programme is the upgrading of our physical infrastructure islandwide.

$31.1 billion to an infrastructure programme to drive jobs and economic activity, improve productivity, and strengthen resilience.

$17.7 billion allocated to the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP) under the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation. @megjc_jm

This allocation will allow infrastructural improvements on roadways between Harbour View and Yallahs and for construction of the new Toll Road between May Pen in Clarendon and Williamsfield in Manchester to continue.

All economic activity requires transportation. By making transportation of people & goods more efficient we improve the productivity of our economy. The improved access provided by the project will also open up eastern Jamaica for new housing, commercial & industrial development

$8 billion is allocated to a special public investment infrastructure programme to improve productivity and increase resilience with the installation of drains, water, wastewater and sewer infrastructure.

$3.7 billion is allocated to secondary roads, repairing roads across Jamaica.
 
$1.2 billion for the Montego Bay Bypass; and
 
$0.5 billion for construction of new police divisional headquarters in Westmoreland and new forensic pathology suite.

We expect the infrastructure component of the SERVE Jamaica Programme to generate thousands of construction jobs to help us recover stronger.

In addition to healthcare and infrastructure, the SERVE Jamaica Programme is also focused on promoting economic activity and growth in order to generate employment.

$5 billion is targeted financing for businesses.

the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force recommended that we accelerate the digital transition of the economy.

Our economy recovery becomes more robust and more resilient and our economy becomes more efficient when our micro, small and medium sized businesses, or MSMEs adopt digital solutions.

These solutions can include:

The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) has an existing programme that provides a $200,000 grant to qualifying MSME’s for them to invest in this digital transition.

Under the SERVE Jamaica programme the GOJ will provide:
 
• $1 billion to the DBJ so that MSME’s that qualify for the Go Digital grant will also be eligible for up to $800,000 in 2% interest loans to be used to support the digital transition.

This will enable MSME’s to display and show their products digitally online, allowing the customer to interact with the product, make a decision about whether to purchase the product, purchase the product, and then have the product delivered through existing or digital channels.

$2 billion to seed two equity funds exclusively focused on providing equity financing to MSME’s in Jamaica.

Equity is permanent capital and by increasing the availability of institutional forms of equity capital we improve the ability of MSME’s to grow and flourish.

The DBJ will issue a call for proposals for fund managers who can raise additional investor funds and the DBJ will invest alongside these other institutional investors.

$2 billion for lending to MSME’s.

The SERVE Jamaica Programme also includes:
 
• $1.7 billion for Production Incentives to farmers and continued rehabilitation of roads in rural farming communities to boost recovery in the agricultural sector.

$1.8 billion to expand WiFi and broadband in schools, communities, and town centres, in particular in rural areas through the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology.

$8.1 billion in targeted social support above and beyond the $16.4 billion already announced. $6 billion of this amount is captured under the Ministry of Finance and Public Service.

the SERVE Jamaica Programme will provide $300M to the @LocalGovJa for Paint the City an innovative initiative that will beautify and upgrade select town centres across Jamaica, generating thousands of temporary jobs while also improving our environment.

#PaintTheCity will engage thousands of youths...

the SERVE Jamaica Programme will also provide $200 million to the National Works Agency for river training activity, which will employ Jamaicans in rural Jamaica in necessary disaster mitigation work, protecting lives and livelihoods.

The #SERVEJamaica programme will provide $160 million to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, above and beyond customary allocations, for the additional support of the destitute, indigent, and infirmed through Poor Relief.

We CARED in 2020/21 and We CARE in 2021/22.  This amount also includes $6m in grants for persons working in burials, cremations and building of vaults for the funeral industry who are being affected by the current ban.

The #SERVEJamaica programme will provide $50 million to the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport to provide further support to those in the entertainment and sporting fields, who continue to be hard hit by the pandemic.

The #SERVEJamaica programme will provide $189 million in additional COVID-19 related support to the Constituency Development Fund towards digital devices in collaboration with e-Learning.

After the appropriate process, initiated by the Member of Parliament constituents would be provided with vouchers by e-Learning that can be used to purchase digital devices at approved vendors.

We expect to provide 9,450 devices – to persons in need who do not already have a digital device - through this special COVID-19 digital device allocation to the CDF.

The #SERVEJamaica Programme will provide $140 million to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for Municipal Corporations to provide digital devices in collaboration with e-Learning.@LocalGovJa @elearningja @MSETGovJM @darylvazmp

After the appropriate process, initiated by the Councillor constituents would be provided with vouchers by e-Learning that can be used to purchaser digital devices at approved vendors.

We expect to provide an additional 7,000 devices through this special COVID-19 digital device allocation.

The #SERVEJamaica programme will provide $40 million to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security for COVID-19 grants for the disabled community. @JamaicaMlss

The #SERVEJamaica programme will provide $75 million for 5,000 contract carriage operators who paid license fees in 2020/21. Madam Speaker, the full amount of their road license fees for 2021/22 will be paid by the Government, provided that they paid this fee in 2020/21.

They would have paid road license fees to the government in 2020/21 and would have had little or no business due to the pandemic. #WeCARE #GoodPolicy

The #SERVEJamaica programme will provide $75 million for 15,000 route taxis who paid license fees in 2020/21. The Government will pay 1/3 of the license fee on behalf of every route taxi that was duly licensed and paid up in 2020/21.

Due to the work-from-home measures, they have reduced little business.

The #SERVEJamaica programme will provide $1.5 billion in other social programs to be announced by the prime minister that will benefit thousands more.

The #SERVEJamaica programme will provide $1.0 billion in loans to support ministries, departments and agencies including the Urban Development Corporation and the Montego Bay Metro and Port Security Corporation.

The #SERVEJamaica Programme will also provide $3 billion for continuation of the CARE Programme’s SET Cash unemployment support grants that support those who earned below the income tax threshold and have been unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic from all sectors.

This will also include the CARE Programme’s BEST Cash grants that support tourism employment for the quarter April to June 2021.

We expect 50,000 Jamaicans to benefit from these grants.
 
This will make a combined 12 months of unemployment support by direct transfers for 50,000 Jamaicans, which is unprecedented in Jamaica’s history.

By June we expect Jamaica’s vulnerable population to be vaccinated, we expect North American and UK population to be substantially vaccinated and we expect increased economic activity as a result.

The #SERVEJamaica Programme will also provide $1.0 billion in loans to support ministries, departments and agencies including the Urban Development Corporation and the Montego Bay Metro and Port Security Corporation.

With our unprecedented $31 Billion infrastructure spend, thousands of jobs will be created for young people.
 
With our #PaintTheCity & #RiverTraining programmes to improve the environment & increase resilience we will be creating thousands more jobs for young people.

We have to have something for those who may not be able to go out to the worksite because they “are up in age”.
 
As soon as the conditions allow, under the #SERVEJamaica Programme we will roll out a Conditional Cash Transfer for the Vaccinated (CCTV) sub-programme for persons:

There is public interest in ensuring that the vulnerable, older population is vaccinated. We also want to ensure that older persons who cannot take up the work opportunities that will become available under the SERVE Jamaica Programme.

We also want to ensure that those who otherwise have no formal income or that income is below the threshold, receive a grant. #SERVEJamaica

This is a grand total of almost $60 billion dedicated to our Social and Economic Recovery and Vaccines for Jamaica – the #SERVEJamaica Programme.