POST CABINET REPORT For Wednesday, February 24, 2021

POST CABINET REPORT For Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Posted on by OPM Communications

Below are the decisions from Cabinet:

  1. Transfer of St. Joseph’s Hospital to the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA)

Cabinet gave approval for the transfer of the management of St. Joseph’s Hospital located in St. Andrew, from the Ministry of Health and Wellness to the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA). Currently the hospital does not operate under the management of a Regional Health Authority but operates as a public health facility which only offers private services. The hospital is classified as a public hospital under the National Health Services Act, and the Act allows for the transfer of the assets and liabilities to SERHA. The transfer will not impact the approximately 154 members of staff employed to the hospital nor have any negative impact on the Public Private Partnership arrangement for the hospital to have a Centre of Excellence in Oncology and Nephrology.

  1. Exemption of Fees at Public Pharmacies for all Persons with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) 

Cabinet gave approval for the exemption of fees at public pharmacies for all persons with sickle cell disease (SCD) who access care at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) Sickle Cell Unit. This will enable them to have their prescriptions obtained from the Sickle Cell Unit filled at public pharmacies at no cost to them. There are approximately eighteen thousand (18,000) persons with SCD in Jamaica and 22% of these persons currently seek care from the Sickle Cell Unit at the UHWI. These persons were not able to access medication that was available free of cost to sicklers who sought care in the public health system. The projected annual cost of providing the service is approximately thirty six million dollars, which would be funded from the pharmaceutical budget of the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

  1. Memorandum of Understanding for the Establishment of McCam Child Development Centre as a Government Grant Aided Educational Institution

Cabinet gave approval for the McCam Child Development Centre located in St. Andrew to be designated a Government grant aided educational institution with effect from September 1, 2018. The approval will also allow for the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information and the McCam Child Development Centre. The McCam Centre was opened in 1986 to respond to the need for educational programming for children with a range of special needs. The centre is devoted to the provision of educational opportunities for students from as early as three months old and a specialised programme for young children with autism that is aimed at building their communication, social and academic skills to ensure inclusion in the general primary education system. Its services have grown over the years to include educational assessment, therapeutic intervention, parent group counselling and professional training. The centre is located in the St. Andrew Eastern constituency which has the largest population of adults and children with disabilities. The partnership will continue the contribution to the achievement of universal early childhood education by providing a minimum of five years of education to all students at the institution. This Cabinet approval is a further indication of this administration’s continued support and investment in the special needs community. 

  1. Jamaica’s Candidature for Re-Election to Category “C” of the Council of the International Maritime Organization for the 2022-2023 Biennium

Cabinet gave approval for Jamaica’s candidature for election to Category C of the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the 2022 to 2023 biennium. The IMO is the United Nations specialised agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of pollution by ships. The Council is the governing body of the IMO when the assembly is not in session biennially. The Category C which Jamaica is associated, represents 20 States that are deemed to have special interest in maritime transport or navigation. The election to the Council would ensure the representation of all major geographic regions of the world. Jamaica and the Bahamas are the only countries in the CARICOM region that have served on the council. Jamaica’s continued presence on the Council will help to advance the work being done in promoting IMO requirements in Jamaica and the region.

  1. National Housing Trust (NHT) Special Benefit Order  

Cabinet gave approval for the following National Housing Trust Special Benefit Orders:

Moneymusk Glades Housing Development in Clarendon which would facilitate 16 housing solutions; Roseneath Park Housing Development in Old Harbour, St. Catherine with 35 housing solutions and Masemure Flats Housing Development in Westmoreland which would facilitate eight housing solutions. All of the orders took effect on December 21, 2020. The orders are applicable to certain groups of contributors to the National Housing Trust. Cabinet also approved the issuance of drafting instructions to the Chief Parliamentary Counsel to facilitate the promulgation of the three Special Benefit Orders.

  1. Reports 

Cabinet received and approved the following annual reports and/or financial statements to be tabled in Parliament:

  • General Legal Council 2019/2020
  • Administrator General’s Department 2018/2019
  • Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ) 2017/2018 and 2018/2019
  • Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) 2017/2018
  • Montego Bay Free Zone Company Limited 2017/2018 and 2018/2019
  • Tourism Product Development Company Limited (TPDCo) 2016/2017
  • The Companies Office of Jamaica 2015/2016
  • National Health Fund 2019/2020
  1. Contracts
  • Cabinet gave approval for the award of a contract for the supply and delivery of four Flowserve Horizontal Pumping Units for the Gutters and Spur Tree Facilities under the Greater Mandeville Water Supply Improvement Project, Manchester Phase 1A to 9. The contract was awarded to Industrial and Municipal Supplies Incorporated in the amount US two million, four hundred and three thousand, seven hundred and seventy one dollars and sixty cents (US$2,403,771.60.)
  • Cabinet gave approval for the award of a contract for the Cathodic Protection System Rehabilitation Zone 6 and 7 Petrojam Limited to Barnaby Engineering and Testing Services Limited in the amount of one hundred and nine million seven hundred and eleven thousand nine hundred and forty one dollars and twenty seven cents ( $109,711,941.27)
  • Cabinet gave approval for the award of a contract for the supply and delivery of two thousand (2000) quarter acre drip irrigation Kits for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to Isratech Jamaica Limited in the amount of one hundred and twenty five million six hundred and seventy five thousand seven hundred and ninety five dollars ($125,675,795.00) inclusive of GCT.
  • Cabinet gave approval for the award of a contract for the procurement of sixteen thousand (16,000) packs of SD Bioline Syphillis Test Kits and 1000 packs of Oraquick HIV test kits in the amount of US seven hundred and forty eight thousand two hundred and eighty dollars (US$748,280.00) excluding GCT to Recharge Distributors Limited.
  • Cabinet gave approval for the award of a contract for the supply of General Chemistry Reagents and Analysers for the Savanna-la-Mar, Falmouth and Noel Holmes Hospitals for three years in the amount of US one million, three hundred and twenty eight thousand, four hundred and sixty dollars and thirty one cents ($1,328,460.31) inclusive of GCT to Lasco Distributors Limited.

-End-

Contact:

The Honourable Fayval Williams 

Minister of Education, Youth and Information

[email protected]