Jamaica Benefiting from Canada-Funded Technical Assistance Programme

Jamaica is among the CARICOM member countries benefiting from a Canadian-funded programme, now under way, which aims to strengthen regional economies.

The Canada-CARICOM Expert Deployment Mechanism (CCEDM) is intended to address the priority needs of beneficiary states, as identified by national governments.

This, by supporting efforts to bolster and diversify local economies, build strong, climate-resilient communities, and reduce gender and economic inequalities.

The CCEDM is being implemented in nine of the CARICOM member countries, including Jamaica, by the Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO).

The entity, which has just completed the programme’s first year of implementation, falls under Global Affairs Canada, a department of the Government of Canada.

Speaking during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank on Wednesday (November 16), CESO’s Regional Representative for Jamaica and Belize, Natalie Morris, indicated that the entity has, so far, received applications from eight government entities locally.

To date, the Office of the Prime Minister; Ministry of Tourism; Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport; Bureau of Standards Jamaica; Urban Development Corporation, and Airports Authority of Jamaica, have benefited from technical assistance provided under the CCEDM programme.

“We do have the capacity… to support at least 60 assignments within the four years; so far, we have received about 18,” Ms. Morris informed.

Applications are now being processed to provide technical assistance to the Auditor General’s Department, Cabinet Office, and the Ministry of Education and Youth.

Ms. Morris shared that the public institutions have benefited from the programme through the local implementing partner, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), which collaborates with CESO to align applications with the country’s National Development Plan.

Deputy Director General, External Cooperation Management and Project Development, PIOJ, Barbara Scott, emphasised that there is great value to be derived from the programme.

“The CCEDM brings to the table qualified, trained, world-class experts to support the Government in strategic areas. A number of our ministries, departments and agencies have, for quite a while, required expertise which can only be accessed through consultancies which come at a very high cost. The expertise that the CCEDM brings is on a grant-funded basis, so the Government of Canada is bearing the cost of the support that is being provided. That is the value of the CCEDM, and that makes a very big impact,” Ms. Scott shared.

For his part, Head of Cooperation at the Canadian High Commission in Jamaica, Dr. Christian DaSilva, emphasised the programme’s importance and commended the Government of Jamaica.

“We are really excited about this initiative because technical assistance when you are working with a government like Jamaica’s – a very competent, visionary civil service and a government that knows exactly the direction that it wants to go – makes it very easy for a donor, like Canada, to respond. The CCDEM is an excellent programme for this and it is demand-driven. So we turn to the PIOJ to learn what kind of assistance is most needed and then respond as best we can, through our implementing partner, CESO,” Dr. DaSilva stated.

The CCEDM is funded at a cost of Can$4 million and has the capacity to facilitate 60 Jamaican assignments at an estimated J$67 million.

Public entities can receive timely technical assistance to build capacity in several areas, including policy development and implementation, finance, digitalisation, gender, the environment, trade and economic diversification.