NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2022 86 INDEPENDENCE SPECIAL: JAMAICA @ 60 AND B YOND F ATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2022 jamaica at BEYOND TOMORROW Published June 23, 2019 JAMAICA HAS achieved or exceeded just over a third of its targets under the Vision 2030 Development Plan, says Dr Wayne Henry, director general of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). In another 34 per cent of cases, the country improved its baseline performance in key economic and social developmental areas, he said. Often referred to as theVision 2030 Plan, thedocument is a roadmap that outlines how the countrywill achieve First-World statuswith 11 years togo. Speaking to expatriates at the opening sessionof the EighthBiennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in downtown Kingston on June 17, Henry further disclosed that the 34 per cent of targets that havenot been attained are either the same or worse than they were before. The PIOJ director general pointed out that since the launch of the plan in 2009, the targets have beenmeasured in three-year cycles under amedium-term framework. The country is now in its fourth cycle, 2018-2021. “As at 2018, Jamaica’s development performance underVision 2030 has been mixed ... ,”he explained. The targets that exceeded included the annual inflation rate; foreign exchange earnings from tourism; grade four literacy rates and the lowering of the unemployment rate, which the Statistical Institute of Jamaica indicated in its January report was eight per cent. Attendance at secondary schools; the poverty head-count ratio; rural poverty; environmental performance index; and court case backlogs are some of the areas that remain the same or haveworsened, he indicated. Henry said that by strengthening partnerships with its diaspora, Jamaica can enrich its contribution to the country’s development goals. His views are in line with a study unveiled by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute presented at the last Diaspora Conference, which showed that expats contribute a minimumof 23 per cent to the gross domestic product through several sectors, including investments and tourism, but has the potential to contribute at least 35 per cent. “The diaspora plays an important role in fostering economic growth, strengthening social protection and building environmental resilience,” Henry argued. Beyond remittances, whichprovide critical support to Jamaicans locally, and shores up the country’s foreign currency reserve, Henry noted that there is further scope to engender economic development through investment in real estate, the capital market, and venture capital. He also noted that there was room for development through knowledge transfer. “Many Jamaicans who migrated have distinguished themselves in their adopted homeland in diverse areas such as business, medicine, information technology and law. Sharing their expertise would advance the island’s knowledge capacity in a wide range of areas,” he maintained, pointing out that the micro, small andmediumenterprise sector, inparticular, couldbenefit froman infusionof expertise fromthe diaspora. Responding to the points raised at the opening session, Leesa Kow, deputy managing director at JN Bank, said that the improving economic conditions should inspire confidence among Jamaicans overseas to further invest in the country. However, she said beyond the economic, there is more to be gained from the social input of the diaspora to further the Vision 2030 agenda. “There is an unexploited value that we can tap into among those in our traditional diaspora markets, which goes beyond remittances and donations,” Kow, who is also a former president of the Jamaica Remitters Association, affirmed. “There is power in the simple networks we build, through our relationships with Jamaicans overseas, which are vital to position Jamaica in the global landscape and strengthen its brand,” she said. Mixed achievements for Vision 2030 Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith (second left) chats with Khori Hyde (left), Professor Rain Jarrett (second right) and Professor Marlene Angel Brown during the 8th Biennial Diaspora Conference at The Jamaica Conference Centre on June 19, 2019. FILE Published July 16, 2006 Tyrone Reid/Staff Reporter A TOYOTA Hiace with a commercial licence plate number was the first vehicle to christen the toll gates at the Portmore leg of Highway 2000 yesterday morning. The male driver, who was coming from the Corporate Area and heading into Portmore, drove through the toll gates about 9:37 a.m. sporting a toothy grin, as he sped off into the expanse of new road. At about 9:53 a.m, licence number 5911 DX, another Toyota Hiace, was the maiden vehicle through the toll gates which are designated for vehicles heading from Portmore into the Corporate Area. However, contrary to the toothy grin sported by her male counterpart, the female driver who christened the Portmore to Corporate Area toll gates was livid, as the timing of the opening of the toll gates caught her off guard. “Upset! Pissed! I had topay a$100a whileago,”she fumed.“I never remembered, had I remembered I wouldnot have driven here,”she protested. The female motorist, who resides in Mount Royal Estate, Portmore, told TheSundayGleaner that she is numberedamong themany residents who have pledged their support to a total boycott of the toll roaduntil the Government reduces the toll to $30. While scores of motorists lined up to use the toll gates, others were seen reversing and heading in the opposite direction in protest of the toll rates. The construction workers had to remove the barricades and make way for the motorists. Others were simply caught in the dragnet and just had to pay the toll to use the thoroughfare. MOTORISTS DIVERTED This happened because the toll gates were not opened until around 10 a.m., so motorists, thinking that they could still use the slip road and bypass the toll gates, were suddenly diverted to the toll plaza. One stone-faced looking man told The Sunday Gleaner that he was caught between a rock and a hard place and was forced to use the toll road. “I live in Portmore, but I am late andthat iswhy I amusing it,”explained themotorist, whowas visibly upset. Meantime, Yvonne McCormack, chairperson for the Portmore Citizens’ Advisory Council, was encouraged about the first day of the planned boycott. “Well, I am very heartened.When I came on Mandela, there was a good amount of traffic so I take it tomean that people are using the alternate route,” she said. Earlier in themorning TheSunday Gleaner observed an unusually long line of traffic (on a Saturday) on Municipal Boulevard, leading from Portmore toMandela Highway. Additionally, the residents, many of whomwere decked in orange and were lauding the People’s National Party (PNP) for the construction of the toll road, attempted to politicise the issue by asserting that only Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters wanted to boycott the road. Scores of motorists christen toll gates
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