POST CABINET REPORT For Wednesday, March 13, 2024

POST CABINET REPORT For Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Posted on by OPM Communications

These updates represent decisions made by the Cabinet over January 15, 2024 to March 4, 2024

 

Board Appointments

The Cabinet gave approval for the appointment of members to the following Boards:

  1. Roger Roberts has been appointed to the Bellevue Public Psychiatric Hospital Board of Management, with effect from 15 January 2024 to 17 December 2026, when the tenure of the Board would expire.
  2. Appointments were made to the Boards of the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) and the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) Management Committee. Stephanie Reid was appointed Chairperson.
  3. Appointments were made to the Licensing Authority, a statutory body which comprised persons which executes matters under the Spirit Licence Act. Chairpersons, Vice-Chairpersons and members were appointed for each parish to serve for a period of one year, with effect from 24 January 2024 to 23 January 2025.
  4. The Board of Directors of eGov Jamaica Limited, were appointed with effect from15 January 2024 to 14 January 2026. Dr. Gunjan Mansingh was appointed Chairperson and Mrs. Jacqueline Sharp was appointed Deputy Chairperson.
  5. The Board of Directors of the Climate Change Advisory Board were appointed with effect 15 January 2024 to 14 January 2026. Professor Dale Webber was appointed Chairman and Dr. Livingston White was appointed Vice Chairman.
  6. The Cabinet approved the appointment of Mrs. Debby Ann Brown Salmon as Chairperson and Mrs. Tracey Lindsay as member to the Board of Directors of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO), with effect from 15 January 2024 to 21 March 2024, when the tenure of the Commission would expire.
  7. Following the expiry of the tenure of Mr. Howard Mitchell from the Board of the Bank of Jamaica on April 15, 2023, and in accepting the recommendation of the Governor-General, the Cabinet gave approval for the appointment of Serge Trevor Coleridge Alleyne, PhD to the Board of the Bank of Jamaica, with effect from January 15, 2024 to April 14, 2033, when the term of appointment would expire.
  8. Colin Maxwell was appointed Chairman of the Public Accountancy Board for a period of three years, with effect from 22 January 22, 2024 to January 21, 2027.
  9. The Cabinet appointed Bishop Conrad Pitkin, CD, JP as Chairman of the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA). The Board will serve for a period of two years, with effect from January 29, 2024 to January 28, 2026:

 

CABINET APPROVALS

After consideration, on January 15, 2024 the Cabinet approved:

(a)    the map of the proposed parish of Portmore prepared by the National Land Agency (NLA);

(b)    the description of the area designated as the parish of Portmore to be set out in Part II of the Bill entitled “Counties and Parishes (Amendment) Act, 2023”;

(c)    the description of the area defined as the parish town (capital) to be called the City of Portmore;

The Cabinet, also on the same date, January 15, 2024, in respect of the privatisation of the Jamaica Mortgage Bank (JMB), gave approval for:

  • the recommended divestiture modality which involved the sale of 100 percent of the shares of the proposed privatisation vehicle, JMB Developments Limited (JMBD), via an Offer for Sale of Shares and subsequent listing of the shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange main market;
  • the transfer of the assets and liabilities of the JMB to JMBD, such transfer to be explicitly stated in the legislation that repeals the Jamaica Mortgage Bank Act.
  • The Cabinet approved the Social Protection for Increased Resilience and Opportunities (SPIRO) Project. Following submissions from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and with comprehensive justification by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, the Cabinet gave approval for the implementation of the Social Protection for Increased Resilience and Opportunities (SPIRO) Project valued at US$20 million or approximately J$3.02 billion for the period 2024 to 2029. The SPIRO Project seeks to expand social protection coverage in Jamaica to include the establishment of an unemployment insurance scheme, providing Jamaican workers with risk protection from economic and climate change shocks.
  • Approval was granted to the Ministry of Transport for the admission of phase one of the Project entitled: “Boosting the Capacity of the State-Owned Bus Entities”. This would focus on the procurement of 100 Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses for the Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited (JUTC) at an implementation cost of US$23,270,019.36.

On January 22, 2024, the Cabinet gave approval for:

  • The transfer of the regulatory and operational functions of the River Rafting Authority to the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Tourism Product Development Company Limited, respectively.
  • The inclusion of Research Centres Project Phase 2 in the Public Sector Investment Programme for fiscal year 2024/2025; and the sum of $6,310,000,000.00 for the execution of the Phase 2 inclusive of contingencies over a six-year period. This would result in improved research and testing facilities within the agriculture sector. It forms part of efforts to boost productivity and food security.
  • The proposed amendments to the Political Ombudsman (Interim) Act, 2002 to change the composition of the Commission of Parliament known as the Political Ombudsman from one person to the Electoral Commission of Jamaica as outlined in the Electoral Commission (Interim) Act, 2006.
  • The amendment to section 61 of the Constitution of Jamaica to remove reference to the British Monarch in the words of enactment in keeping with the policy that Jamaica was to become a Republic for which the King of England would no longer be the Head of State

 

On January 29, the Cabinet approved:

  • The integration of the National Family Planning Board (NFPB) into the Ministry of Health and Wellness. This would see the transfer of procurement, storage, and distribution of sexual and reproductive health commodities to the National Health Fund and the establishment of a new Division within the Ministry of Health and Wellness, named the “Enabling Environment in Health and Client Services Division” into which the substantive functions of the NFPB would be subsumed.
  • After consideration, the Cabinet gave approval for the sale of lands known as Lots 6 and 7 Newport East in Kingston, by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) at a cost of $965 million and $210 million, respectively, to the Commissioner of Lands, for and on behalf of the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA), to be used for the construction of its Corporate Offices and the consolidation of its operations in the Kingston Metropolitan Area, subject to the parties satisfying all planning, building and environmental approvals of the competent authorities.

 

CONTRACTS

The Cabinet approved the award of a contract for electrical services to Synergy Engineering Limited. This contract is to see to electrical upgrades at the Annotto Bay Hospital for a period of ten months. In keeping with the endorsement of the Public Procurement Commission, the contract was approved in the amount of $419,329,344.99.

A contract was approved for the Munroe/Wellington Road Water and Sewerage works with Sections on Old Hope Road, Retreat and Seymour Avenues. This was awared to the NWC for the engagement of Bacchus Engineering Works Limited for a value of $1.24 billion dollars.

Cabinet approved the award of a Contract for the Supply, Delivery, Testing, Training and Commissioning of One Freestanding Motor Control Centre for the National Water Commission Old Pepper Relift Station in St Elizabeth. The amount, US$503,648.00, excluding General Consumption Tax and Cost Insurance Freight (CIF) was awarded to WDC Puerto Rico Inc.

The Cabinet approved the award of a contract in the amount of $2,748,864,924.27, inclusive of General Consumption Tax (GCT), to M&M Jamaica Limited for the construction of the Westmoreland Divisional Police Headquarters at Lot 3 Llandilo Pen, Westmoreland

The Cabinet approved contracts in the amount of $70,294,415.50 to Kayani Construction Limited for the renovation of the Mandeville and Santa Cruz Post Offices; and in the amount of $211,940,095.50 to Construction Solutions Limited for the renovation of the Black River, May Pen, Falmouth, St. Ann’s Bay and Ocho Rios post offices.

The contract for the waterproofing of the roof of the Jamaica Conference Centre (JCC) in Kingston, was approved by the Cabinet in the amount of $121,508,890.00 to Alfrasure Structure and Roofing Limited.