JSIF gets $982 Million for Development of Social Infrastructure

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) has been allotted $982 million to carry out social infrastructure development works during this fiscal year.
The amount, which has been provided in the 2006/07 Estimates of Expenditure now before the House of Representatives, is expected to be utilized in the completion of some 201 projects including social and economic infrastructural schemes, organizational strengthening projects and social services.
Up to September 2005, JSIF had provided basic social and economic infrastructure for Jamaica’s most underserved communities. Since then, some 777 sub-projects have been approved for island wide implementation, 526 of which have been completed, reflecting a total investment of over $3.2 billion.
A project of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, JSIF is funded by the government of Jamaica, the Caribbean Development Bank, the European Union, the Government of the Netherlands, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as well as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Finance and Planning has been granted $8 million to strengthen its debt management capacity. Financing is being provided by the government and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The initiative seeks to strengthen the country’s capacity to develop its debt management strategy by: reviewing the relevant laws and recommend revisions in order to facilitate the immobilization of securities, undertake the installation of debt sustainability software in the Debt Management Unit of the Ministry and conduct staff training in public debt management.
During the 2006/07 fiscal year, it is anticipated that the training for staff in the Debt Management Unit in methods of effective debt management, will continue.