GOJ Commitments 2019-2021

EPOC welcomes and lauds the GOJ for the delivery of the GOJ Quantitative Performance Targets and Priority Actions Matrix for 2019/20 and 2020/2021; these were outlined at the completion of the sixth review. These commitments will form the basis for the monitoring of the GOJ Economic Reform Programme (ERP) following the expiry of the SBA (IMF Standby Agreement).

Fiscal Performance

As Jamaica forges ahead without the oversight of the IMF, the country’s fiscal performance continues to be strong with healthy Tax Revenues, growing at higher rates than inflation year over year.  The GOJ Primary and Fiscal balances continue to exceed targets, keeping Jamaica’s debt trajectory on a downward path projected to end the 2019/2020 Fiscal year at 93.5% of GDP.

Bank of Jamaica Gross Reserves and Foreign Exchange Market

Jamaica’s Gross reserves continue to exceed the Reserve adequacy metrics, providing a buffer against external shocks. The FX market experienced excess volatility due to imbalances in demand and supply in October and November 2019, which saw the BOJ executing flash auctions under B-FXITT of US$140m. EPOC is hopeful that the introduction of the FX trading platform and the further development of the FX forward market will bring increased transparency to the market, which could lead to reduced volatility and reduce the need for the sale of US$ through B-FXITT flash auctions as we go forward.

Inflation

Inflation is low and stable albeit below target at 3.3% in October 2019, but core inflation has increased to 2.9% in September and October 2019, which could lead to inflation moving back into the target range of 4-6%.

Growth 

Growth remains fairly low, projected by the PIOJ at 0.3 % for June to September 2019, but positive, in spite of the temporary closure of Alpart and unfavourable weather conditions, which impact agricultural output.

Supply Side Challenges

Jamaica continues to grapple with supply side challenges in crime and access to finance issues for SMEs and agriculture. EPOC notes the efforts around developing a national consensus on crime and the initiatives by the public and private sectors to address the access to finance impediments.

Global Uncertainty but Domestic Confidence remains high

While the global and regional outlook for growth is skewed to the downside, business and consumer confidence remain high in Jamaica along with the accommodative monetary stance maintained by the BoJ, which could see the continued growth in credit to the private sector and strong domestic demand.

Inclusive Growth

While we all would like to see greater inclusive growth, the GOJ and the BOJ by all indications are on a sustainable path which should see Jamaica’s growth levels increasing to GOJ projected 2% growth levels by 2021/2022.

 

There was fun. There were games. There was music, and much more. There were also gifts and delicious treats for the young children of the Little Angels Learning Centre (LALC) run by Mustard Seed Communities Sophie’s Place recently as IGT Jamaica celebrated the Christmas season with children, teachers and staff at the Centre. Besides the usual cakes and ice cream, IGT also donated educational toys for the students.

“We are so thankful for the toys,” said Elsa Simmonds, Principal of the
Little Angels Learning Centre.  “In our last inspection by the Early Childhood Commission we got NI (Needs Improvement) grading, indicating that we did not have adequate toys to stimulate the children’s learning experience. This donation is going to make a great improvement in this regard.  We thank you so much IGT for making what seemed impossible a reality.  We will always remember this event.  The children enjoyed every moment of this wonderful treat.”

Debbie Green, General Manager of IGT Jamaica, said she felt uplifted. “It was a truly heart-warming event,” she said. “We were so happy to visit, to bring the gift of Christmas joy to these Little Angels and importantly, reinforce our commitment of continued partnership. IGT Jamaica feels particularly gratified that we were able to enhance the little ones’ learning through the expansion of our sponsorship by increasing the number of computers donated and creating a computer lab at the Centre. I’m also sure that the educational gifts that we have provided at this Christmas Treat will stimulate an exciting and interactive learning experience for these precious little ones.”

The Mustard Seed Communities, Sophie’s Place, is one of five Mustard Seed Centres adopted by IGT under its flagship After School Advantage programme.  Sophie’s Place operates a home for children with special disabilities and provides early childhood education via The Little Angels Learning Centre (LALC), an initiative of the Mustard Seed Communities.  The Centre is one of IGT’s 15 After School Advantage Centres across Jamaica.

The community-based Little Angels Learning Centre (LALC) provides holistic early childhood education to approximately 60 children aged three to six years from low-income families within the community.

The IGT After School Advantage Programme is the major philanthropic initiative for IGT (formerly GTECH), which has been the lottery technology provider to Supreme Ventures Limited since it began selling online draw games in 2001.

Students at several institutions across the island are making strides in their studies and exploring new horizons thanks to IGT Jamaica’s After School Advantage (ASA) Centres.

A number of these sites, including four Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) sites have benefited from recent improvements. Additionally, members of staff from the Company’s technology department visited another ASA Centre, at SOS Stony Hill Children’s Village, to assess the computers previously donated by IGT Jamaica.  These upgrades provide opportunities for staff to interact with students and share information on a range of technology-related topics.

Mary’s Child, operated by Mustard Seed Communities, has also received additional supplies this year and is moving ahead with Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) training in January 2020.

“The ASA Centre is a springboard to greater things for our girls,” says Sheron Williams, Acting Centre Manager of theWCJF in Spanish Town. With a new computer teacher and a new cohort of students this term, she noted that all the younger students passed their grade nine achievement test and have been placed in high and technical high schools, mostly at the grade nine level. The new students also received a special National Heroes assignment. The results were excellent, after the girls researched online. The Centre also acknowledged students with small tokens after they conducted research for a “National Motivation and Affirmation Day” at the ASA Centre.

At the Savanna-la-Mar Women’s Centre, Mellissa Boothe-Anderson reported that “the students have benefited tremendously” from the ASA Centre since the introduction of the Virtual Delivery Interface (VDI) programme for Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) students,who are now the primary users of the ASA Centre. The students also rely on the computers for research, resulting in the successful completion of the school-based assessments (SBAs). A printer donated to the lab is used to produce resource materials and SBAs. “The majority of the passes have been 50% and above,” added Boothe-Anderson. “One of our students is currently in her second year of Teachers’ College working toward a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. The computers are also used for the practical area of Computer Studies classes for the lower school.”

At the Women’s Centre in Mandeville, Director Dahlia Johnson was enthusiastic about the impact of the ASA Centre. It is used mainly for research for school assignments, and for IT classes. She also noted that every term, a trainer from the Frederick Douglass Centre visits the ASA Centre to train students in the Microsoft Digital Literacy Program. To date, 27 students have received certification, which will lead to greater employment opportunities.

The young women at Mary’s Child, operated by the Mustard Seed Communities, normally stay for short periods with their babies before moving back to their families and continuing their education. Nevertheless, the ASA Centre has made a big difference in their lives, noted Centre Director Nadia Williams. Around 30 students successfully completed a pilot training project for entry-level Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) operators at the end of August. Beginning in January 2020, classes of 25 students will receive six months of BPO training in the ASA Centre, in partnership with Avasant Foundation Jamaica and trainers from the Alorica call centre. Meanwhile, students use the computers on a continuous basis for homework assignments and research for SBAs.

IGT has been the online lottery technology provider to Supreme Ventures Limited since 2001. All IGT After School Advantage locations, including the 14 Centres established in Jamaica to date, are supported by upgrades and maintenance.

 

In five years the Digicel NBA Jumpstart Programme has impacted more than 1,600 of the best youth basketball players in the Caribbean.

Over the last five years, Digicel and the NBA have partnered to develop youth basketball across the region. The Digicel NBA Jumpstart Programme provides young boys and girls with the chance to be trained by NBA players, coaches and staff, all with a view to raising the quality of the sport in the Caribbean.

“When we first started the programme in 2015, the thought was that we would provide some enthusiastic young basketballers the opportunity to go from grassroots to greatness in the sport. With the NBA’s support, over the years this programme has far exceeded our expectations! We’ve hosted camps in 13 countries across the Caribbean, provided training for 326 coaches who have aspirations of coaching at the college/pro level and impacted approximately 1,660 boys and girls aged 12 to 17, exposing them to a level of training they would likely never have otherwise received,” said Tari Lovell, Sponsorship Manager at Digicel Group.

So far, 32 Digicel NBA Jumpstart alumni have been identified as college prospects for potential athletic scholarships, and of these 32 players, 11 are currently playing high school basketball in the United States, following their participation in a Digicel NBA Jumpstart National Camp. One young player in particular, Kofi Cockburn, is the first major NBA prospect to go through the Digicel NBA Jumpstart Programme in Jamaica. Kofi will be eligible for the NBA Draft in 2020.

The current programme structure has four phases, beginning with local selection camps where the basketball federation in each participating country picks the top 72 boys and girls; after that, each country hosts a team from the NBA to conduct the Digicel NBA National Camps, from which the top talent progresses to attend the Jumpstart Elite Camp. At the Elite Camp, the players train and compete to earn a spot among the fortunate 14 who move on to the final phase, the NBA Experience in the New York.

For the NBA Experience, the final 14 travel to the United States where they get to play 5v5 games with their US peers, explore the city and go sightseeing, tour the NBA headquarters, as well as attend an NBA game where they might meet some of their sporting heroes.

“The development of the Digicel NBA Jumpstart platform has been inspiring to witness firsthand. We are proud to be aligned with an amazing partner in Digicel to deliver first-class basketball programming to the Caribbean and are truly excited to see how it continues to evolve with time,” said Idia Ogala, Asscociate Marketing Manager, Global Partnerships (Latin America).

In addition to the Digicel NBA Jumpstart Programme, Digicel and the NBA have worked together since 2015 to deliver live games and extensive NBA programming to more than 25 Caribbean territories through SportsMax and the SportsMax app – making Digicel the Official Communications Partner of the NBA in the region.

The 2019-20 NBA season started on Oct. 22, and basketball fans can catch all the action, on-the-go, via the SportsMax app.