JSIF lauded for implementation of community projects
KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — International Consultant Alison Kerry is lauding the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) for its effective implementation of community projects in the island.
According to Kerry, who has been hired by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to evaluate the agency’s Basic Needs Trust Fund and other community development projects undertaken by JSIF, the initiatives are “excellently” managed.
“The JSIF is an excellent organisation for implementation. It is so gratifying to see this kind of work, and to see the difference they make in small communities. It is very rewarding work, and we are happy to be working with them,” she said at the handover of the over $30-million Bottom Bonnet Road Project, in North East St Catherine.
The Canadian national is on the island getting a first-hand account of the projects recently implemented by the agency.
Kerry also had high praise for the JSIF’s Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI), which was executed between 2010 and 2017, with a US$15-million loan from the World Bank. It provided funding for micro and small-scale rural agricultural producers, and tourism projects.
“It was a positive programme that we would like to see continue. We would like to see the World Bank and other donors continue to fund a lot of those projects,” she said, noting that her report could result in more funding for Jamaica through JSIF.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeny, said the $30-million investment in the Bonnet community would enable more buyers to do business with farmers in the area as well as facilitate the growth of other enterprises.
“We need to maintain these important linkages, so, an investment of $30 million on this roadway is critical. This investment will redound to the benefit of the residents and the (agricultural) sector,” Sweeny said, adding that it will also give opportunities to young people in the area, and help to cut the drift to urban communities.
For his part, Member of Parliament for North East St Catherine, Leslie Campbell, expressed appreciation for the improved road, and pledged to work with the residents in setting up a maintenance programme for the road.
