MINISTER of State in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing Richard Azan says the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP) has been impacting positively on the lives of many Jamaicans, through the delivery of houses, roads, schools and other basic infrastructure, while creating employment.

He was addressing a meeting at the Discovery Bay community centre on January 22, after a tour of JEEP projects in North West St Ann.

Azan said the programme has made good on the commitment given by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, at its launch four years ago, that JEEP would make a difference, particularly in the lives of those at the lower socio-economic level.

“We have visited a number of communities in North West St Ann today and in every community, we can feel the presence of JEEP. A number of communities have benefited from having basic schools, from having better roads and where persons have been the beneficiaries of new homes,” he pointed out.

He noted that a number of community centres have also been built across the island, giving young people a chance to do something more meaningful with their lives.

The state minister said he was delighted to see the smiles on the faces of many Jamaicans, resulting from the work being done by JEEP.

More than $47 million has been spent in North West St. Ann where several roads have been rehabilitated, he said.

Azan noted that extensive work is being carried out on the Addison Park roadway, a major thoroughfare leading to the Addison Park Housing Scheme, and the project is almost complete.

“The same with the Chester to Spicey Grove roads, the road in Keith and also the Runaway Bay All-Age and Runaway Bay Basic schools, and the refurbishing of the Discovery Bay Community Centre,” he said.

JEEP, which was officially launched on March 22, 2012, was conceptualised to provide short-term employment, particularly for persons at the lower socio-economic level.

It is not intended to be a permanent fix to the country’s unemployment challenge.