Gov’t Committed to Partnering with Civil Society – PM

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government is committed to partnering with civil society in the delivery of high-quality services to citizens.

He noted that persons are demanding greater accountability and transparency in how Government conducts the affairs of the country, and such collaboration will help in improving governance at all levels.

“As Jamaican citizens and firms demand easier, better and more seamless access to government services with higher levels of quality and performance in service delivery, so governments must act to respond to those demands in a positive way,” he said.

“The Government, therefore, recognises the strengths of civil society… (and) is committed to a model of partnership, so utilising all our strengths and capabilities for greater impact, as we position Jamaica as the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business,” he added.

The Prime Minister’s remarks were delivered by Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group’s seventh annual Civil Society Caribbean Meeting at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston on Thursday, June 8.

The meeting facilitated the exchange of experiences and sharing perspectives on partnerships between governments and civil society groups across the region, for delivering results.

Topics addressed were related to major development challenges in the region, human capital, social innovation, productivity, climate change, and the importance of open data to inform policymaking.

The Prime Minister said the Government is grateful for the IDB’s assistance as “it focuses on changing the way Government works and recognises that it must change in order to facilitate growth and innovation”.

He noted that, among other things, the institution is providing support for the implementation of the proposed National Identification System (NIDS) to simplify identity-verification procedures, thereby increasing efficiency in service delivery.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the uniqueness and reliability of the system would reduce the need to request multiple documents for identity purposes, resulting in reduced costs and enhanced timeliness.

For her part, the IDB’s Representative for Jamaica and Caribbean Country Department General Manager, Therese Turner-Jones, welcomed the fact that the Bank’s vision and those of the governments and civil society stakeholders across the region “are built on the same fundamental principle… to ultimately improve lives and achieve great things”.

“We are confident that the IDB’s Vision to improve lives in the Caribbean by creating vibrant economies where people are safe, productive and happy, is in perfect harmony with your values and goals,” she said.

More than 50 representatives from government and civil society groups across the Caribbean attended the one-day meeting, which was held under the theme ‘Delivery Revolution: Governments – Civil Society: A Partnership for Delivering’.