KINGSTON, Jamaica — The board of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) has approved funding of $50 million for the evaluation and revision of the National Community Tourism Policy as well as the facilitation of a demand study.

Approximately $30 million will go to the evaluation and revision of the policy while $20 million will be used for the demand study.

Speaking at the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) II seminar at the AC Hotel by Marriott in St Andrew on July 29, Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said the undertakings are critical in supporting community tourism development in the country, particularly in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its impact on the sector.

“While the community tourism policy was approved in 2015, we will evaluate that against the current realities, because we are in a new reality now from 2015,” he said.

Kemeisha Batchan, Project Manager of REDI II, noted that the demand study will help to better position “ourselves internationally, regionally and, of course, locally based on the trends in demand”.

Batchan said that it will also assist in developing the types of products and experiences needed to be able to meet the various tastes of the market.

She indicated that following the signing of the necessary contracts, consultants will be engaged for the undertakings.

The new Mount Salem Police Station in Montego Bay, which is a legacy project tied to the zone of special operations (ZOSO), which was declared in the St James community in 2017, was officially handed over by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Wednesday.

The new police station, which was funded by the European Union under the poverty reduction programme, was constructed at a cost of $45 million by the social investment fund. It features a reception area, a resource room, an exhibit room, an armoury, an interview room, two offices, a kitchen, and adequate bathroom facilities.

The Adelphi Police Station in St. James, which was rehabilitated at a cost of $47.3 million, has been officially reopened.

The facility was opened by National Security Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang at a ceremony held on Friday (July 9), on the station grounds.

The facility received infrastructural support under the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) Poverty Reduction Programme, through grant funding from the European Union (EU).

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says the $534 million fire station being built on Barnett Street in Montego Bay, St. James, is on track for completion within the next two months.

The Minister, who toured the project on Friday (June 25) along with Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) Managing Director, Omar Sweeney, and members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), told journalists that on completion, the new station will be the “most modern” in the Caribbean.

Mr. McKenzie said despite construction delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, “the contractors have been able to keep the project within budget.”

“So there is no overrun… and we will complete the project in a timely manner,” he stated adding that “the people of Montego Bay and the wider Jamaica will be proud of this investment.”

The facility’s construction, which commenced in June 2019, is being spearheaded by JSIF under its Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Programme.

When completed, the station will boast dormitory facilities to facilitate the seamless deployment of fire fighters across various shifts; and adequate administrative facilities and parking bays for trucks and other emergency vehicles.

Minister McKenzie said the Government remains committed to improving the conditions under which the JFB’s members work, through the upgrading of station facilities and provision of vital equipment.

“If we are asking the members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade to put their lives on the line, at least what the Government can do is to provide the proper environment for them to work in,” he maintained, while indicating that the Administration has spent close to $1.7 billion on new facilities for the JFB since 2016.

For his part, JFB Deputy Commissioner in Charge of Operations, Kevin Haughton, said the Brigade was satisfied with the progress of the project, noting that it would improve staff morale and enhance the efficiency of the fire service.

Deputy Commissioner Haughton further indicated that the new station had the capacity to accommodate some 250 firefighters and will “enable us to increase our female to male [ratio]… and that is something that we are very excited about.”

“We will also… be introducing a new service delivery… from the facility… which is the emergency medical service and that certainly will [bolster] the fire brigades operations,” he added.

Montego Bay Mayor, Councillor Leeroy Williams, who also toured the project, commended JSIF for its commitment to the resort city’s development, adding that “this structure will [further] enhance [that].”

Students and teachers of the Hall’s Delight and Westphalia Primary Schools in East Rural St. Andrew, now have access to modern sanitary facilities.

Under the School Sanitation Project, being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), the pit latrines at the institutions were replaced with new five-seater sanitation blocks with flush toilets, at a cost of $25 million.

Students and teachers of the Hall’s Delight and Westphalia Primary Schools in East Rural St. Andrew, now have access to modern sanitary facilities.

Under the School Sanitation Project, being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), the pit latrines at the institutions were replaced with new five-seater sanitation blocks with flush toilets, at a cost of $25 million.

The project also included the construction of sewage treatment systems to include septic tanks, reed bed, chlorination chamber and soakaway pit.  Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) training was also provided for students, teachers, and parents.

As a response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the schools were also equipped with hand sanitisation stations, non-contact infrared thermometers, waste bins, mop buckets, hand sanitisers and antibacterial soap, and tablet computers for students.

Speaking at the official handover ceremony held at Hall’s Delight Methodist Church on June 10, before visiting the schools, Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Fayval Williams, reiterated the Government’s commitment to ensuring that students have access to suitable sanitation amenities.

“Every child has a right to a good-quality education, and that includes access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services while at school,” she noted.

“Children spend a significant portion of their day at school where wash services can have an impact on their health, their dignity, particularly the girls, and on their learning ability,” she added.

For his part, Managing Director, JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said that the agency is committed to supporting initiatives in education, noting that 40 per cent of JSIF’s resources goes towards the sector.

“We have invested over $700 million in sanitation projects,” he indicated.

Wife of the Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for East Rural St. Andrew, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness, encouraged the beneficiaries to take care of the facilities.

“I know that the principal from Westphalia as well as the principal from Hall’s Delight are eternally grateful for these bathrooms,” she said.

“I thank JSIF. I thank the Government for the efforts at putting in these sanitary facilities and making it so expansive so that we have pump, we have tank, we have a treatment system that gives us irrigation water,” she added.

Principal of Hall’s Delight Primary, Denise Dunchie, said that the entire school community is grateful.

“Over the years, we have struggled”, she said, while pledging to take care of the modern amenities provided.

A total of $50 million was spent under the School Sanitation Project over the last financial year to provide 75 primary schools with modern bathroom facilities.

In addition, tablets were provided for 187 students from the 75 schools.

WESTERN BUREAU:

Thanks to the legacy benefit that has flowed out of the build phase of the zone of special operations (ZOSO) in Mt Salem, St James, a section of the community’s primary and infant school, which was condemned and was out of use for quite some time, is to be rehabilitated at a cost of $32 million.

Omar Sweeney, deputy chairman of the ZOSO’s social intervention committee and managing director at the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), revealed that approximately $32 million will be spent to rehabilitate the section of the school that has fallen into disrepair.

“I am pleased to announce that the Mt Salem Primary and Infant School, which is another commitment that was made to the community as part of the zone, will be rehabilitated. We will sign and start the contract for the rehabilitation of the school in August,” said Sweeney.

The main building of the school was condemned in 2019 after it was discovered that the flooring on block two, which had started to show signs of deterioration from as far back as 2005, had worsened significantly when the island was impacted by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake, which occurred some 80 miles off the Jamaican coastline, last year.

Subsequent to his original announcement, Sweeney told The Gleaner that while it would be good to have the works completed in time for the new school year, which will start in September, it is highly unlikely that it will be completed, given the scope of the work to be done.

“We will be taking out that flooring and retrofitting it with new structure and components so that the building can be put back in service. That was the most cost-effective solution,” explained Sweeney. “It’s a rehabilitation-type project and sometimes it’s not until you actually start the work before you discover that the scope of work needs to be altered,” he further explained.

While JSIF will maintain a presence in the community until the rehabilitation of the school project is completed, Sweeney said no additional projects will be pursued in the community.

“This is the last major aspect of intervention that will be required in Mt Salem from a social intervention, investment standpoint,” said Sweeney.

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

Since entering the built phase of the Mt Salem ZOSO, the community has benefited significantly in terms of improvements to its general infrastructure. The community has gotten a new police station, its community centre is currently being upgraded, new concrete walls have replaced old zinc-fencing across the community and the road surface is undergoing major repairs.

“I believe ZOSO has done more for Mt Salem in four years that any politicians has done in my lifetime,” said Diana Palmer, a resident of the community. “Mt Salem is steadily becoming the place we would like it to be. I now feel much more comfortable calling this community home.”