EU Commends JSIF For Efficient Management Of Poverty Reduction Programme

Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Jamaica, Ambassador Marianne Van Steen, has commended the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) for the efficient management of the Poverty Reduction Programme (PRP), which is being undertaken through EU support.

“We would never have been able to do what we’re doing if we would not have been able to count on the support of the JSIF. That is the main actor in the field, who knows where the problems are, what we do and how we can actually add value to the efforts of the government,” she tells JIS News.

PRP, which started in 2000 and is now in its fourth phase, aims to improve living conditions in underserved communities by providing access to quality basic infrastructure and services in the areas of education, water, health and sanitation.

Over the 20 years, the EU has invested approximately 41.5 million euros in community development works under the initiative.

These include construction of police stations, health centres and schools, as well as training and capacity-building.
Projects are carried out through various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

“The fact that we have been continuing with this programme just demonstrates how successful it has been,” Ambassador Van Steen says.

“We would not have signed up for a second phase if we were not satisfied, so the fact that we are now in the fourth phase really demonstrates that we have been monitoring the results and we have been satisfied, and we considered it an added value to continue to work,” she points out.

In addition to initiatives under PRP, the EU has supported projects in areas such as justice, citizen security, public finance management, democracy, human rights, climate change, COVID support and other health-related programmes.

Ambassador Van Steen says that the EU also collaborates with civil society groups, academia, and the United Nations local office to undertake projects in Jamaica.

“We have many different interlocutors here in the country. We also have regional programmes from which we try to make sure that Jamaica gets its part,” she points out.

Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, tells JIS News that the projects being implemented under PRP, through EU support, are in keeping with the national policies of the Government.

He explains that PRP, since the third cycle in 2012, has been aligned with the Community Renewal Programme (CRP) and Vision 2030, which are being carried out by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).

As such, PRP support has been targeted at volatile and vulnerable communities, identified under the CRP.

“With the signing of the cycle three of the PRP, the policy really was to support communities that would have been on this list of 100 [CRP] communities. And so, in our fourth cycle, we’ve targeted specifically 65 communities,” Mr. Sweeney shares.

He says that a policy framework has been developed to guide implementation of the poverty-reduction interventions.

This, he says, is in order to ensure that the resources received “go to the most vulnerable based on research and data and, of course, the policy of the Government”.

“What you want to ensure is that your targeting is very specific, focused and effective,” he says, adding that “we have really been able to use innovative methods to reach communities”.

Mr. Sweeny tells JIS News that implementation and monitoring of projects through EU funds is “serious business”.

“I mean, the EU is the largest single donor of grant resources to Jamaica and they also don’t just throw their money around mindlessly. And so, it requires a level of diligence and discipline to ensure that you can continue to be successful,” he points out.

Since the Jamaica-EU partnership programme began in 1975, the EU has provided more than one billion euros, mainly in the form of grants, to the Government and people of Jamaica.