Obama attracted to Jamaica’s credibility

Jamaica’s restoration of credibility in the international marketplace has been cited as the reason United States President Barack Obama is to visit the country next month.

Closing the 2015-2016 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives yesterday, Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips said the country’s performance under the programme has led to a reestablishment of credibility in the international market place.

“That is why we can raise finances in the international capital markets at the lowest rates ever; that is why the managing director of the International Monetary Fund feels able to visit; that is why the president of the IDB visited Jamaica, and that is why we are on the itinerary of President Barack Obama,” Phillips said.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller announced recently that Obama will pay a state visit to Jamaica on April 9 and will hold bilateral discussions on a range of issues of mutual interest.

During the visit, Jamaica will host a meeting between Obama and the heads of government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for discussions on issues on the CARICOM-USA agenda, including security and trade.

It is the second time that a sitting United States president is visiting Jamaica, a country which Colin Bullock, director general of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), once said was seen as a pariah by the country’s international development partners.
Jamaicans burdened

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), visited Jamaica last June, and IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno, last December, both to demonstrate their support of Jamaica’s efforts under the economic reform programme.

Yesterday, Phillips said Jamaica’s reputation was badly damaged by the previous administration. He said this caused onerous burdens to be borne by Jamaicans under the current four-year extended fund facility agreed with the IMF in 2013.

He noted that under the standby agreement, during the tenure of the previous Government, there were three programme reviews completed by the IMF Board in August 2010, December 2010 and February 2011. By April 2011, the programme had already begun to go off track.

“… No effective or meaningful discussion regarding the programme took place between the IMF and the then Government after that visit of mid-2011,” Phillips said.

He said that in January 2012, when the new Government took power, it found that the primary surplus for fiscal year 2011-2012 was approximately three per cent of GDP as compared with the target that had been lowered by the IMF to 6.8 per cent.

“In effect, Jamaica, under the previous administration, simply took the money and ran,” Phillips said.

The minister said that an assessment in early January 2012 showed that all borrowing had dried up and no drawdown was available from the IMF or the World Bank. He also said that the European Union suspended grant funding and, despite a loan with the IDB having been signed in late 2011, no funds were transmitted.

*Taken from the Jamaica Gleaner

This Day in Jamaica’s History

1954: It is Jamaica’s great day at the Seventh Central American and Caribbean Olympic Games in Mexico City. The men’s team wins the 4×100-metre and 4×400-metre relays in record times and the women’s team finished second to the mighty Panama quartet in the record-breaking 4×100-metre relay final. Eight gold medals and four silver are secured by Jamaica on the final day for track and field athletic competitions.

*Taken from diGJamaica

Who is smuggling guns into Jamaica?

Despite successful strategic efforts in removing hundreds of illegal guns every year from the streets of Jamaica, police investigators are still facing an uphill task in tracing overseas sources directly responsible for smuggling them into the island.

“We’ve been having limited success in tracing these sources, even though we have gone through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). We have not been able to make that connection. We might know where the firearm originated from, but are unable to make the connection with the initial source,” Ealan Powell, the assistant commissioner in charge of crime, disclosed on Tuesday.

Last year, the lawmen seized 614 illegal guns and 9,063 assorted rounds of ammunition. Since January, close to 95 of these weapons had been removed from the streets. According to police records, of the 141 murders reported up to Sunday, 106 of the victims were killed by the gun.

“When you see one gun being involved in at least 20 murders, travelling across the country, probably that gun is a rental,” argued Powell.

Anti-Gang Legislation

Responding to questions about the plans that the police have to make Jamaica safer, the assistant commissioner pointed to the anti-gang legislation.

“One of things we want to be able to do is to use the recently enacted anti-gang legislation to greater effect. It is a powerful legislation [which] covers not only the man who pulls the trigger, but also those who conspire with him,” said Powell. “Our focus will also be on improving the quality of our investigation, moving swiftly to ensure that we are not only putting criminals before the courts, but also putting the guilty ones behind bars,” he further stressed.

While there are nearly 200 active gangs responsible for the bloodletting in the country, ACP Powell said there has been a decrease in the level of organised crime. He also urged corporate Jamaica to invest in surveillance cameras for their business places.

“With drones, we will be able to monitor behaviour and public spaces, but I believe that corporate Jamaica should invest more in cameras. We have come a far way in crime scene management. We now have quite a number of specially trained officers in the JCF who have made a significant impact on crime scene management, especially when we look at some major cases, which we used technology to solved. We have really come a far way,” said Powell.

According to the senior officer, the age cohort 18-35 was the most prominent group involved not only in the killings, but being killed also. He described this group as most vulnerable.

“In respect to the gangs, we have disabled some of them (by) taking away their guns and arresting the members. Unfortunately, some have been killed. While some of these gangs have gone dormant and others obsolete, you will still find one or two being formed. Over the last three to five years, we have dealt a severe blow to gangs, though it is not enough. It is still a major concern,” the assistant commissioner said.

*Taken from the Jamaica Gleaner