More Than 170 Complete Results-Based Budget Training

One hundred and seventy-four officials completed training in Results-Based Budgeting as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) joint programme.

The programme, which exceeded its projected participant target by 45 per cent, included 10 participants from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, 87 from the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Information, and 77 from the Ministry of Health and Wellness. Of the 174 who completed the training, 70 received distinctions.

They were recognised during a virtual closing event and graduation ceremony, held today (November 19).

The US$1.2-million programme aims to improve budgetary planning and coordination between key ministries, departments, and agencies.

The programme was a collaboration between the Government of Jamaica, the United Nations (UN), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

UNICEF’s Country Representative to Jamaica, Mariko Kagoshima, in her remarks at the ceremony said the organisation strongly believes that the “training and framework will bolster the national medium-term, socio-economic policy framework, which has prioritised mechanisms towards sustainable financing, strengthening the capacity for evidence-based decision-making, and developing human capital”.

Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator, Dr. Garry Conille, said he commends the Jamaican Government for this initiative, as it is “a testimony to its commitment. Just the fact that you’re working with the Ministry of Finance to help strengthen their systems and processes to map budget programmes, and working with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information and the literature staff to help strengthen capacity to prepare realistic results-based budgets…”.

“The fact that the Ministry of Health and Wellness is interested in identifying strategic areas of improvement in terms of equitable resource allocation, and this is significant for us in the UN because it’s about making sure that tax dollars are used in a way that actually focuses, targets and benefits the people left behind and people who are most vulnerable,” he further stated.

The partnership was officially launched in December 2020 and seeks to achieve greater efficiency, effectiveness and equity in public investments. It is designed to improve Jamaica’s advancement towards achieving SDG targets that align with the country’s national development plan – Vision 2030.