$578 Million Allocated for PSMP II IN 2019/2020

The Government has set aside $578 million for the continuation of projects under the Public Sector Modernisation Programme (PSMP) II, in the next fiscal year.

Funding details are outlined in the 2019/2020 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives.

A major objective of the project is to support the development and delivery of integrated public services that meet the needs of customers.

It also seeks to: strengthen the link between planning, budgeting and performance management, through the introduction of a framework for integrated results-based management; assist in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of human resource management across government as well as develop capacity for continuous improvement in the quality of service delivery across the public sector.

Additionally, it will strengthen the system of employee performance management and appraisal as part of an integrated results-based management framework and support its implementation in all ministries and departments.

Other objectives of the programme are increased capacity and accountability of public-sector entities for the management of government resources as well as increased efficiency of administering the work of the public sector and reducing the cost of operations.

Targets for the 2019/2020 fiscal year include the complete roll-out of MyHR+ in 14 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs); complete training of the Strategic Human Resource Management Division (SHRMD) and human resource (HR) practitioners in MDAs, as well as the training of information and communications technology (ICT) personnel in the ICT training programme.

Another target is the completion of the automation of the Government Electrical Inspectorate (GEI) and complete development of the Electronic Business Registration Form (EBRF).

Additionally, kiosks are to be established in selected Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) offices, and training of procurement officers in the new procurement curriculum is to be conducted.

Achievements up to December 2018 include implementation of Phase A of the Human Capital Management Enterprise System (HCMES) or (MyHR+) in 10 to 14 entities, and completion of the Capacity Development Plan for SHRMD and MDAs and training of some 162 HR professionals.

Other achievements for the period were the development of the Government of Jamaica ICT Transformation Blue Print and the ICT Governance Frameworks. The GovNet was also designed.

Additionally, business process re-engineering for the GEI and the Business Name Reservation Module of EBRF, as well as the design of the Shared Corporate Services, were all completed.

Equipment was provided for the Jamaica Archives and Records Department (JARD) to support the development of a Records and Information Management Policy and to improve the digitisation capacity in JARD.

Continued support was given to the Auditor General’s Department (AGD) transition to a paperless system; the Customer Service Monitoring and Evaluation System (CSMES) was implemented in seven government entities, and the Enterprise Content Management Solution to support the Public Sector Customer Service Policy (PSCSP) was piloted.

Funding agencies are the Government, European Union (EU), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the China Co-financing Fund.