Vision 2030 Jamaica Plan Ready for Implementation

The Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan, which sets out a framework for the country to achieve developed status by the year 2030, is ready for implementation, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) has said.

Economic Specialist at the PIOJ, Richard Lumsden, speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday (Sept.1), informed that the Prime Minister, in his budget presentation in May, tabled the Vision 2030 Jamaica Plan and the medium-term framework, which is one of the mechanisms for operationalising and implementing the plan.

“The plan is now at the stage of implementation. Now what we are looking at is ensuring that we set up an effective framework for implementation, monitoring and evaluation going forward,” he said.

Mr. Lumsden informed that there is a technical monitoring committee, made up of senior members of government, which will have the operational responsibility for guiding the implementation of the plan.

In addition, he said, “there is a technical secretariat that provides supporting services to the ministries and their agencies and departments as it is through their corporate plans, budget and operational plans that the implementation will take place”.

“We also have thematic working groups, which we are now establishing, which are multi-stakeholder bodies that will ensure that the wider society has a role in monitoring and making an input into the implementation of the plan,” he noted further.

The Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development plan is based on a vision to make Jamaica “the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business” by the year 2030. It is built on four strategic goals that are connected to 15 national outcomes, which will be driven by established national strategies.

The national outcomes reflect the desired changes in development conditions and when accomplished, lead to the achievement of the national goals.

The four goals of the plan are to: empower Jamaicans to achieve their fullest potential; create a safe, cohesive and just society; achieve a prosperous economy; and ensure a healthy natural environment.

Outcomes for these goals include world-class education and training; effective governance and security; internationally competitive industry structures; and sustainable management and use of environmental resources.

Mr. Lumsden informed that the goals, national outcomes and strategies were arrived at after extensive consultations across the island.

“This is a national plan; it’s not a plan of the Government or the PIOJ, it is a plan of the people,” he stated, adding that “people from all walks of life participated in developing the plan and its content is reflective of a wide cross section of stakeholders from government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society and the man in the street”.

The development of Vision 2030 Jamaica was guided by 31 sector plans, which were developed by task forces that were established during the planning process. These task forces comprised representatives from the public and private sectors and civil society for particular areas such as health, education, energy, environment, and manufacturing.

Meanwhile, Sustainable Development Specialist at the PIOJ, Elizabeth Emanuel, who also spoke at the Think Tank, stated that the integrated nature of the plan will aid in its effective implementation.

“We have broken up this 21-year plan into three year cycles, which we refer to as our medium-term frameworks (MTF). So every three years, we are going to look at the priority areas that we are going to implement for the next three years,” she explained, noting that the first MTF is for 2009 to 2012.

The ministries and their agencies, along with NGOs and the private sector, will determine each MTF, based on the selection of priorities, given the realities in any period.

“So any particular ministry implementing a programme, that programme would in a sense be connected to a national strategy, national outcome, and a national goal…so we basically see how everybody’s role in society is connected in some way to the overarching plan and it really ensures the participation of the entire Jamaica in the implementation of Vision 2030 Jamaica,” Ms. Emanuel stated.

To ensure accountability, presentations and reports will be made on a yearly basis to Parliament and the people of Jamaica to provide updates on the progress of Vision 2030 Jamaica.

The evaluation and the results, Ms. Emanuel informed, “will feed into the development of the next MTF, so over the entire period to 2030, we are expected to have seven MTFs developed to really operationalise and ensure the effective implementation of the plan”.

The Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development plan can be viewed at www.pioj.gov.jm.