KINGSTON, Jamaica — New boat engines were granted to 15 fishers from the Greenwich Town fishing village in Kingston to help them expand their capacity for income generation and employment.

The engines, provided under the Government of Jamaica’s Integrated Community Development Project II (ICDP II) executed by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), will expand the fishermen’s access to larger fishing grounds, increase the types of fish caught, and enable them to bring them back to market more quickly.

According to Senior Manager for Social Development at JSIF, Mona Sue- Ho, the boat engines were provided at a cost of $7 million under the ICDP II Enterprise Development Grant, which is geared at providing business support for micro and small enterprises.

“So, we had a number of fisherfolk from the fishing village who applied and hence they were shortlisted, and they were selected,” Sue-Ho said.

She explained that the JSIF worked closely with the National Fisheries Authority in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to ensure that persons who were eligible could benefit from the grant.

“We wanted to ensure that these fisherfolk were genuine… were operating, so they had to have their licence and they had to have boats that were seaworthy,” she said.

JSIF also worked closely with the Social Development Commission and the Greenwich Town Community Development Council.

The provision of the $7 million towards the boat engines is part of a wider programme of support. The total amount of grant funding provided is $23 million which benefitted 132 entrepreneurs, Sue-Ho disclosed, noting that the recipients include the 15 fishers from the Greenwich Town fishing village.

Meanwhile, beneficiary Ruby Britton is expressing appreciation to JSIF for the boat engine.

“I was so surprised and happy at the same time,” Britton said, adding that it will be of major benefit to her business.

The ICDP II is funded by the government to the tune of $1.9 billion and is being implemented over the period April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2023. It aims to enhance access to basic urban infrastructure and social services and contribute towards increased community safety in selected economically vulnerable and socially volatile communities in Jamaica.

The programme targets seven communities across three parishes, namely Greenwich Town, August Town and Denham Town in Kingston and St Andrew; Norwood, Salt Spring and Anchovy in St James; and Treadlight in Clarendon.