(Jamaica Observer) A collaborative programme between Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) should see political representatives and local government officials being trained in best practices for development.
The announcement was made yesterday at the official signing ceremony for the approximately US$8.9-million GOJ/UNDP Country Programme Action Plan for 2012-12016 at the offices of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) in Kingston.
Andrea Shepherd-Stewart, unit manager at PIOJ, explained that the representatives have already begun training to look at development in a more holistic manner, taking advantage of the UNDP’s area of expertise.
“We are trying to say, ‘this is how you do development, this is what development is supposed to look like,’ they are supposed to be looking at their communities, security issues, issues to deal with children, looking at housing and safety, everything,” she said.
“So we are trying to help them to look at development, rather than just looking at roads and bridges and just the normal things that they usually look at.”
The initiative is one of several strategic priority areas that the UNDP and the Government have agreed upon after a series of consultations.
The broad focus areas of the programme are poverty reduction and Millennium Development Goals, environmental sustainability and energy security, and democratic governance.
The Country Programme Action Plan details the elements of UNDP support for the programme for the next five years, describing the national development status in relation to the proposed focal areas, the proposed programme, and the strategy for implementation and monitoring, among other things.
Gladstone Hutchinson, director general at PIOJ, noted that through the consultations other critical areas of focus that were agreed upon include a rehabilitation programme for inmates at the Metcalf Correctional Juvenile Centre, a rural employment/youth employment programme to engage at-risk youth in sustainable employment programmes, and the capacity development programme for local government representatives, which also includes them establishing safety committees in their communities to look at citizen security.
Resident Representative from the UNDP, Dr Arun Kashyap said the UNDP is looking forward to working very closely with the Government.
He said they will be looking at “issues of better fiscal management, bringing equity in that to be included in the taxation process, standardisation of statistical management, just to understand where the inequities exist and how we can work together to assess those inequities and, of course, Vision 2030, which absolutely agrees and aligns with the Millennium Development Goals.”
“We are committed, together with the PIOJ, to achieving the goals and helping Jamaica in achieving Vision 2030 in a place which is suitable and enjoyable for everyone to live in the country,” Kashyap emphasised.
