Asia Development Area Holds Planning Workshop

A special one-day workshop to formulate a strategic development plan for the community of Asia in South Manchester was held recently at the Assembly Church of God in Pratville. The workshop, which was part of a series being held in nine development areas in Manchester, examined information previously collected for the strategic plan.

Paulette Griffiths-Jude, Project Manager for the Enhancing Civil Society Project, sponsors of the forum, told JIS News that information collected on the environment, physical infrastructure and social status of the communities would form the basis of a Local Sustainable Development Plan (LSDP) for the parish.

The Project Manager explained that the LSDP is part of a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Programme, which was providing support for the Government of Jamaica’s Local Government Reform process.

“Locally the Manchester Parish Development Committee (MPDC) in partnership with the Manchester Parish Council (MPC) and the Social Development Commission (SDC), is spearheading this project,” she said.

She further explained that the LSDP would provide spatial data as well as information about existing socio-economic conditions in the areas as well as addressing linkages among the different aspects of the parish and local environment. “While this will be the overall focus, the workshop will also be seeking to help the community develop a plan outlining a series of ‘easily achievable tasks’ based on available resources in the community,” she noted. She said that the workshop and the entire process would challenge communities to take on some of the responsibility for the development of their communities.

Service delivery agencies including the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Parish Council, Southern Regional Health Authority, the Jamaica Library Service and National Water Commission participated in the workshop. The Enhancing Civil Society Project seeks to empower civil society by strengthening the capacity of community-based organisations to engage their communities in addressing development needs in a sustainable manner.