“The projects are intended to further the
overarching goals of the Government of Jamaica-World Bank Country Strategy for
the period 2014 – 2017; to support the government’s investments in key
strategic areas, including physical sustainability in youth employment; public
sector modernization and to facilitate a more enabling environment for private
sector growth”
Minister of
Finance and Planning, Peter Phillips during the signing of an agreement with
the World Bank for a loan of US$105 million to support three (3) Developmental
Projects on Thursday September 4th 2014
Slowly, bit by bit, the GOJ (Government of Jamaica)
is slowly getting on the good graces of the international lending Agencies. Now
the World Bank is also following in on this trend.
This as Minister of Finance and Planning, Peter
Phillips, on behalf of the GOJ (Government of Jamaica) signed an agreement with
the World Bank for a loan totalling some US$105 million as stated in the
article entitled “Government signs
US$105 million World Bank loan deal”, published Thursday September 4, 2014
10:18 am, The Jamaica Gleaner.
You can read the official news straight from the
Horses' mouth, The Jamaica Information Service,
in their article “Jamaica
and World Bank Sign US$105 Million Loans”, published September 4, 2014 by
Derrick Scott, Information Attache (Jamaican Embassy, USA), The Jamaica Information Service.
This they’ve achieved by demonstrating their ability
to execute and pass successive IMF (International Monetary Fund) tests, which
was crowned off by a three (3) day working visit by IMF (International Monetary
Fund) head Christine LaGarde in June 2014 as stated in “Christine Lagarde
Impressed By Awareness Of Jamaica's Need For Economic Reform” published
Sunday June 29, 2014 10:48 am, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
Minister of Finance and Planning, Peter Phillips was
also accompanies by his Dream Team entourage in the guise of the following
notables:
1. Governor
of the Bank of Jamaica, Mr. Brian Wynter
2. Director
General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Mr. Colin Bullock
3. Financial
Secretary, Mr. Devon Rowe
4. Ambassador
to the United States, His Excellency Stephen Vasciannie
This loan, which Minister of Finance and Planning,
Peter Phillips, signed on behalf of Jamaica at the World Banks Headquarters in
Washington D.C., is to support three (3) Development programs, one of which is
Animation which I'd written about in my blog article
entitled “Animation
after KingstOON - World Bank Invests US$20 million in Jamaican Animation BPO
Brother from another Mother with Great Expectations”. It's spread across
the following three (3) Projects:
1. US$50
million for the Foundation for Competitiveness and Growth
2. US$20
million in the Youth Employment in Digital Animation Industry
3. US$35
million Strategic Public Sector Transformation Project
World Bank Country Director for the country, Sophia
Sirtaine, who signed on behalf of the World Bank, was quite upbeat on this
agreement as well. The high level talks with the IMF were just one of several
items on their itinerary, as they also had discussion with the US Treasury,
State Department and the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank).
World
Bank's US$105 million Loan – Animation finally gets the love it deserves
Since IMF head Christine LaGarde visit in June 2014,
we’ve seeing the International Lending agencies open up their purse string to
Jamaica.
First off the bat was the successful raising of
US$800 million in July 2014 via the flotation of several GOJ Euro Bonds
underwritten by Citibank and France's BNP as explained in “Record
Haul! Jamaica Raises US$800m From External Bond Market”, Published
Wednesday July 2, 2014, by Avia Collinder, Business Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner and “Jamaica
issues US$800-m eurobond, published Wednesday”, July 02, 2014, The Jamaica Observer.
This successful GOJ Euro Bonds is a triumphant
return to the capital markets. More importantly, it has implications for the
growth of the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) or Call Center Industry, as
it’s already funding some US$33 million in loans to create 8000 Call Center
Jobs as stated in my blog article
entitled “How
to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - 8000 Jobs coming after US$33 million
Loan from DGB floated for 8 Call Centers”.
The BPO Cash cow is getting some love from the GOJ
Euro Bond to the tune of some US$33 million. So it’s only fair that the
fledgling Animation Industry also get some of the financial love and support as
well as Jordanian VC (Venture Capital) company Oasis500 as noted in my blog article
entitled “Animation
after Kingstoon - Oasis500 and Start Up Jamaica takes Entrepreneurs From Boot
Camps to Angel Investor Networks”.
Good to note here that YEDCI (Youth Employment in
Digital and Creative Industries) mentioned above, which began as a document
published by the World Bank entitled “Youth Employment in
the Digital and Animation Industries” is what has morphed into the more
official sounding YEDAI (Youth Employment in Digital Animation Industry).
The World Bank is gung-ho about Animation and plans
to invest some US$20 million over a five year period in the fledgling Animation
Industry as mentioned in the article “Jamaica
can earn big money from animation”, published Wednesday, July 30, 2014 BY STEVEN JACKSON Business Reporter,
The Jamaica Observer.
This is going to be a big boost to the Animation
World, albeit this is really geared at making Animation more like a BPO and
isn't really money earmarked for Independent Animators as pointed out in my blog article
entitled “Animation
after KingstOON - World Bank Invests US$20 million in Jamaican Animation BPO
Brother from another Mother with Great Expectations”.
The
GOJ’s other stepchildren - SME VC's and Public Sector second chance at Economic
Redemption
Still unclear as to what the other projects moneys
are earmarked for, save to say that the Foundation for Competitiveness and
Growth sounds like VC (Venture Capital) money for Private Sector Investments
Projects and loans for SME (Small and Medium Enterprises), most likely
administered via the JBDC (Jamaica Business
Development Corporation) for VC funding and SRC
(Scientific Research Council) for manufacturing facilities and assistance
with packaging.
The Strategic Public Sector Transformation Project
sounds like it might wind up in the Public Sector to help them run more efficiently.
I hope that this also means Tax Reform, turning more Public Sector Agencies
into Executive Agencies that have to make their own money and reduce the use of
Public funds on paying utilities.
This means Solar Panels for Electricity and Light as
is the plan for High School and some Public sector entities funded by the US$62
million dollars taken from the PetroCaribe Fund via the PCJ (Petroleum
Corporation of Jamaica) as described in my blog article
entitled “PCJ
to install JA$62 million Solar Panels Systems - 15 Schools and 3 GOJ
Institution Guinea-Pigs has Wigton III Project Venezuelan Connection”.
There’s also the possibility of using Water
Harvesting to reduce Water Wastage as noted in my blog article
entitled “Water
Security Policy and Water Sector Liberalization Needed to avoid Drought”.
This is an idea that, ironically, is being
spearheaded by Telecom Provider Digicel via the donation of Black Tanks to
Schools across the country that are experiencing Water woes as described in my blog article
entitled “Digicel
CEO Barry O'Brien donates 3 650-Gallon Tanks to Downtown Schools - How the ALS
Ice Bucket Challenge is Not Cool as it Wastes Ice Water during a Drought”
instead of the wasteful Ice Bucket Challenge!
Telecommunications Services is a bill that’s in need
of rapid reduction, for which the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and
Mining had proposed GovNET, a independent Telecoms Facility to handle all
Government Intranet Traffic as described in my blog article
entitled “GOJ
Parliamentarians upgraded to Microsoft Surface Tablets and GovNET Wide Area
Network - Minister Paulwell efforts to reduce paper may accelerate Jamaican
Tablet Adoption”.
So will the GOJ put all this money, both the US$800
million from the GOJ Euro Bonds and now the US$105 million from the World Bank
to good use and NOT try to funnel it into Local Government and General Election
Campaign Funding? Jamaica will be watching the PNP very carefully, as we've
basically been given a second chance at Economic Redemption.
Here’s the link:
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