Cabinet Secretary

POST CABINET REPORT – September 12, 2018

POST CABINET REPORT – September 12, 2018


Decisions from Cabinet

The Cabinet received and approved the following Annual Reports and/or Financial Statements for tabling in Parliament:

a. Planning Institute of Jamaica December 2016 / December 2017

b. National Irrigation Commission Ltd March 2015/2016

c. Electoral Commission of Jamaica 2016/2017

d. General Legal Council April 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018

e. Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission(BGLC) year ended March 31, 2017

f. Jamaica Deposit Insurance Corporation (JDIC) Year ended March 31, 2017

g. Sports Development Foundation Report (SDF) 2016

h. Caymanas Track Ltd (CTL) – year ended March 31, 2017

i. Early Childhood Commission 2016/ 2017

National Announcements

1. Cabinet has given approval for an increase in the 2018/19 Budget of two hundred and seventy-eight point six one three million dollars ($278.613M) in grant resources to facilitate the implementation of the following four projects, pending regularisation of the expenditure in the First Supplementary estimates:

a. Technical support to a project with the IDB to reduce teenage pregnancy

b. Support to the National Water Commission for Improvement in Corporatisation / institutional strengthening, under a project with the IDB

c. Feasibility Study of the South St Catherine/ South Clarendon Irrigation Project with the Caribbean Development Bank/ United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (CDB/UKCIF) and

d. Feasibility Study of the Pedro Plains Irrigation Project with the CDB and the Government of France

2. Back to School Grant

Cabinet gave approval for a new initiative under the Programme for Advancement through Health and Education (PATH).

PATH is an income support programme, providing benefits to the poorest and most vulnerable in society and is a primary component of the Government of Jamaica’s Social Protection Strategy, aimed at addressing intergenerational cycle of poverty. On average, the family benefit consists of a cash grant of $4,905.00 paid monthly or $9,810.00 every two months.

In recognising that Back-to-School support was part of the overall social protection provided to poor families internationally, and to ensure that associated increases in costs did not further compromise the financial ability of the household, Cabinet approved the following additional benefits:

a. Inclusion of a back to school allowance as a benefit under PATH.

b. Each student (primary through secondary school levels) to be provided with a Back to school allowance of $3,500.

3. Cabinet gave approval for the sale of properties owned by the National Insurance Fund, referred to as Llandovery Estate and Flat Point, located in Salem, St Ann, in the sum of nine hundred and twenty-nine million dollars ($929M) to Gore Developments Ltd.

4. Jamaica will be hosting the First World Route Development Forum in the Caribbean in 2020. This is further to our recent visit to the 24th World Route Development Forum in Guangzhou, China and Tourism Expo in Tokyo, Japan.

5. Jamaica will host a Caribbean regional Seminar on transportation of nuclear waste and related issues at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus on October 17, 2018

6. Former Cabinet Minister & Member of Parliament (MP), Honourable Easton Douglas is to be accorded an official funeral. Cabinet took note of the following facts in coming to this decision: Mr Douglas was MP for South East St. Andrew for 1989 until 2002 when he retired. His service in public life included as Minister of Health & the Public Service; Minister of Housing Land & the Environment, Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of National Security, Defence and Construction and as a government town planner.

Contracts:

1. Phase II Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Solution Vendor

A contract was awarded to Fujitsu Caribbean (Jamaica) Ltd in the sum of one million, one hundred and ninety-three thousand, seven hundred and fifty-six United States dollars and nineteen cents (US$1,193,756.19) for the provision of goods and services in connection with Phase 2 of the ECM project.

2. Rehabilitation of Sewage Treatment Plant

C &D Construction & Engineering Ltd was approved for the award of a contract in the sum of sixty-two million, eight hundred and forty-five thousand, one hundred and twelve dollars and fifty cents ($62,845,112.50) to undertake the rehabilitation of the sewage treatment plant at the Monymusk Housing Development.

3. Variation in Contract to Masemure Housing Development Westmoreland (NHT)

Cabinet approved a variation of contract in the amount of twenty-four million, six hundred and fifty-seven thousand, two hundred and forty-six dollars and fifty-five cents ($24,657,246.55) including GCT, originally awarded to Build Rite Construction. The original contract was in the sum of one hundred and twenty-nine million, eight hundred and fifty-four thousand, one hundred and fifty-nine dollars and four cents ($129,854,159.04) to undertake civil infrastructure works inclusive of sewage conveyance system and a centralised sewage treatment, to facilitate sub-division comprising 106 serviced lots. This variation is a 19.8% increase over the original contract.

4. Transmission Mains Upgrading Programme –Potable Water Conveyance within Kingston and St Andrew and along the Northern Coastal highway

Cole Engineering Group was awarded a contract in the sum of nine hundred and thirty-eight thousand five hundred and fifty-two United States dollars and

fifty-nine cents (US$ 938,552.59) inclusive of taxes and contingencies for provision of consulting services in respect of this project.

5. Building and Renovation work on the premises of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica

Miller’s Electrical Company has been approved for the award of a contract in the sum of seventy-three million, three hundred and twenty-five thousand, nine hundred and sixty-eight dollars ($73,325,968.00) for this renovation project.

6. Infrastructure Works at West Albion, St Thomas

Cabinet approved the award of contract in the sum of one hundred and twenty-seven million, five hundred and seventy-seven thousand, six hundred and eighty-nine dollars and twenty-two cents ($127,577,689.22) to Chin’s Construction Limited to undertake infrastructure works in relation to 241 lots which had been subdivided since 2012 at West Albion in Yallahs, St Thomas under a housing relocation project.

7. Proposed variation for the refurbishment and renovation of the Sir Donald Sangster Building, 116 East Street

Cabinet has approved the variation in the award of a contract to HDB Construction Ltd.; having considered the corrected figures presented by the National Contracts Commission, further to their recognition of incorrect figures used to represent variation and the revised contract sum.

The final figure noted for the contract award is now confirmed as two hundred and sixty-two million seven hundred and seventy-eight thousand, nine hundred and eighty-four dollars and thirty-nine cents ($262,778,984.39).

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Contact:

Senator Ruel Reid

Minister of Information

[email protected]

or

Colin Steer

[email protected]