PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller yesterday said that her Administration has made “good and steady progress” in its first 100 days in office and again committed the Government to openness and transparency.

In a statement from Cartagena, Colombia where she is participating in the Sixth Summit of the Americas, Simpson Miller said that although she knows that 100 days is an extremely short time in the life of any government, she is extremely confident that any objective and balanced assessment of the Government’s achievement would conclude that much has been done.

To support her assessment, the prime minister highlighted what she said was a number of her Government’s achievements in the economy; security; energy; tourism; health; agriculture; local government; youth and culture; information and communication; arrangements for Jamaica 50 celebrations; education, science and ICT; justice, industry, and investment; and the controversial Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP).

According to Simpson Miller, the Government, having acquainted itself with the economic situation and the limited options, determined that one of its first orders of business was to put forward its position for a new arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), “recognising the IMF will play some role in our future, at least in [the] short to medium term”.

She also said that the Administration set the stage for discussions that will culminate with a possible country programme to commence during the Spring Meetings of the IMF, scheduled for April 20–22 in Washington, DC.

The Government, she said, also had to agree on the broad economic framework, fiscal deficit and debt management, tax and pension reforms, divestment of loss-making public sector enterprises, rationalisation and elimination of tax waivers, containment of the public sector wage bill and related costs, implementation of measures to facilitate businesses and sustainable economic growth strategy with job creation and social protection for the most vulnerable in the society.

In the area of security, Simpson Miller pointed to the murder total for March which was the lowest for any single month in the last nine years.

“There has been a decline in sexual offences,” she said, adding that rapes were down by 24 per cent and carnal abuse by 51 per cent.

She also said that 138 illegal firearms were recovered by the police, compared to 122 for the similar period last year, and the draft of the Organised/Anti-Gang legislation is now ready and is being reviewed.

The DNA Bill is now with the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, the prime minister said, and pointed out that additional resources in the form of motor vehicles, ballistic vests, tactical uniforms, and motorbikes have been provided to the police.

Simpson Miller said that a transformation of the energy sector “to bring more players and achieve greater efficiencies and reduce costs to consumers is underway, including interconnectivity arrangements with the Jamaica Public Service Company, to allow those able to generate and supply consumers directly [to be] able to do so”.

She said, too, that discussions have been reopened with Trinidad and Tobago for the sourcing of Liquefied Natural Gas and the Government has established a National Energy Council.

In tourism, Simpson Miller pointed to the reopening of the Lovers’ Leap attraction, and resort beautification and upgrading projects in Ocho Rios, Falmouth, Montego Bay, and the south coast. She also said that airlift contract negotiations have been entered into again with Aeroflot in Russia, “one of the emerging markets currently being targeted”.

The JEEP, she said, has already employed 1,200 persons, another 85 have been trained and placed in education, and an additional 200 persons are being trained under the Ministry of Youth and Culture to be certified in events co-ordination, lighting, stage management and production, in keeping with the thrust to promote the cultural industries.

In health, she said that motor vehicles valued at approximately $12 million were handed to the four regional authorities as part of efforts to enhance the Vector Control Programme.

“The cobalt machines at the Kingston Public Hospital and the Cornwall Regional Hospital, used to administer radiotherapy to cancer patients, are back in service,” she said.

The agriculture sector, she said, saw production projects launched in ginger and turmeric, engaging over 360 farmers.

“Cocoa production has also been resuscitated to help re-engineer our rural economy through agro-processing, eco-tourism and entrepreneurship. These projects will entail the propagation of 200,000 high-producing grafted seedlings which will be able to plant out 500 new acres of cocoa,” Simpson Miller said.

In relation to Jamaica 50, the prime minister said a realistic programme has been developed and is now on fast-track for implementation.

The Government, she added, has brokered an agreement for the construction of 50 infant schools with Food For the Poor and signed an agreement with the Chinese Government to construct five infant schools.

She said that $300 million has been redirected from other ministry programmes to allow for increased funding for the early childhood sector, and the School Feeding Programme has been reorganised to provide greater assistance to basic schools and to introduce a breakfast programme.

In the area of justice, Simpson Miller said that a major step has been made in the Justice Reform Implementation Unit with the recruitment of a director and deputy director.

In addition, four Restorative Justice Offices have been opened in the pilot communities of Tower Hill in St Andrew; Spanish Town, St Catherine; May Pen, Clarendon; and Granville in St James.

Under industry and investment, the prime minister said that a road map outlining a 10-point strategy to facilitate and stimulate investment, commerce, and employment to modernise and enhance the competitiveness of local industries has been prepared.

Key projects for growth in areas of tourism, shipping and logistics and infrastructure development have been identified and the country successfully staged the Jamaica Investment Forum in March which attracted over 380 participants, 109 of whom were international investors in the areas of manufacturing, mining and energy, ICT, finance and infrastructural development.

“During the period also, much work has been done in restoring Jamaica’s good name in the international community through targeted contacts, support and meetings with world leaders, members of the diplomatic community, international organisations, and our international development partners,” Simpson Miller said.

She again reminded the country that “with the national and local government elections behind us, we must now settle down and focus on doing everything to improve the lives of our people, and, by extension, our country”.