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Jamaica
>> Regional Overview >>Jamaica Overview
Development Challenge Summary Tables
Program Summary
Previous Years' Activities
2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 199714
Introduction
The United States strategic interest in Jamaica's development originates from the need to maintain strong trade and investment ties; retain Jamaica's cooperation in regional and international fora on a broad array of issues; protect the Caribbean's unique natural environment; reduce the production and transshipment of illegal drugs; and ensure the security of U.S. citizens.
U.S. assistance contributes to the U.S. strategic goals of: fostering and supporting representative democracy and good governance, expanding trade and creating a better investment climate for U.S. businesses, reducing the entry of illegal drugs into the United States, protecting and improving the quality of Jamaica's unique natural resource base, and safeguarding the public health and safety of Americans.
The Development Challenge
Jamaica's key development challenges include reversing a decade of poor economic performance (only two countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region have done worse than Jamaica in the last decade, Haiti and Cuba); reducing high unemployment, under-employment, and poverty (17% of the population lives in poverty according to the 1999 Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions); protecting a fragile, and economically critical natural resource base; and assisting an entire generation of Jamaican youth now "at risk" due to low educational attainment, high teenage pregnancy rates, HIV/AIDS, unemployment, drugs, and crime.
Constraining the ability to tackle these economic and social problems are factors associated with Jamaica's political culture and its democratic development. There are several troubling trends, particularly as they relate to escalating crime and violence (rule of law), meaningful electoral choice (free and fair elections), effective public voice (role of civil society), and local governance (lack of decentralization). Jamaica's dominant two-party "clientilistic" political system tends to promote personalized authority (and therefore weak democratic institutions), encourages low levels of accountability in political life, and sustains an agenda of issues debate that is controlled by the dominant political bosses, thereby hindering the development of a civic sense of national interests that can rise above partisanship.
Economic growth, negative during the previous four years, was flat for the 2000 calendar year. Jamaica continues to struggle with inefficient bureaucracy, lack of long-term investor confidence, high costs of production, and high interest rates. Public debt, estimated at 144% of GDP in April 2000, and debt service equivalent to over 60% of the budget, indicate the difficulties Jamaica must face to reduce the fiscal deficit and meet its public sector obligations while keeping inflation in check. Renewed discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have resulted in a Staff Monitored Program (SMP) with the IMF which indicates a Government of Jamaica (GOJ) shift towards sustainable policies and commitment to fiscal constraint. Some of the targets in the SMP include a narrowing of the overall deficit to around 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2000/2001 and around 0.5% of GDP the following year; an increase in the public sector primary surplus by 1.5% to 14% of GDP in 2000/2001; and a steady decline in the interest rates on six month treasury bills to 14% in 2000/2001 and 10% by 2004/2005. Thus far, all of the December 2000 targets in the SMP have been met, except the level of interest rates on treasury bills.
Economic development is unlikely to progress without significant improvements in educational attainment, especially among poorer Jamaicans. Although there were gains this past year (including an increase in enrollment at the early childhood levels), the education system remains plagued by poor attendance (especially in rural areas), low levels of literacy and numeracy at the end of six years of primary schooling, and a sharp drop off in secondary and tertiary enrollment. Nearly one third of all students in grade seven read below a grade five level, with boys fairing especially poorly.
As the GOJ's recent green paper "Education the Way Upward" points out, greater access to quality education and training is imperative if Jamaica is to compete in a global marketplace. Island-wide improvements in pre-school and primary school performance and accelerated increases in high school enrollment are needed. Enrollment rates, near universal at the primary level, fall off dramatically at higher levels, especially for the economically disadvantaged. Among 17-19 year olds, 21% of the poorest economic strata (bottom quintile) attend school compared to 87% of the top economic quintile.
High teenage pregnancy and STI/HIV infection rates contribute to the increase in the number of Jamaican youth affected by poverty. Nearly a quarter of Jamaica's youth lives in poverty and nearly a fifth in homes without either parent present. Despite a decline in the fertility rate for all other age groups, the rate for 15-24 year olds has increased from 107 in 1993 to 112 in 1997. This age group also has among the highest HIV and STI infection rates.
Degradation of the country's environment threatens the long-term productive base of the economy. Jamaica's population and economic activity is concentrated in urban and coastal areas. Natural resources (clear water, terrestrial and marine fauna and flora) in these areas are at risk from release of wastewater, solid and chemical wastes, deforestation, and degradation of upland watersheds. It is estimated that only 20% of north coast coral barrier reefs are living -- a tragic situation affecting communities and commercial interests dependent on fishing and tourism for their livelihood.
There have been significant achievements and progress in implementing the new USAID strategy to improve the business environment for small, medium, and microenterprises. Key investment constraints were identified via an "investor road map analysis" conducted with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Technology; a conference board chaired by prominent business persons was established to discuss and analyze pertinent policy issues that affect business development; and technical assistance was extended to the GOJ Office of Utilities Regulation which helped pave the way for the entry of additional cellular service providers to Jamaica. In addition, the USAID program effectively increased private micro enterprise financing by providing technical and financial assistance to the Jamaica National Building Society to take over and expand the micro-enterprise portfolio from the Workers Bank (which had gone bankrupt following the national banking and insurance crisis in 1998). With this GOJ divestiture and transfer, the program-funding cap which had been imposed on the micro-enterprise portfolio and effectively precluded new micro lending, was removed.
USAID activities have contributed to results that show that coastal water quality in Negril has improved again this past year, and more NGOs are successfully implementing environmental programs. The National Water Commission is working with local wastewater advisory committees in Negril and Ocho Rios to monitor coastal water quality and improve the operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment plants. A new Ridge to Reef contract was initiated this past year, and is complementing the on-going Coastal Water Quality Improvement and the Environmental Audits for Sustainable Tourism contracts, by focusing attention on problems of hillside erosion and pollution in upland watersheds.
There is cautious optimism that the reported reduction in HIV seroprevalence - both among the low-risk population (pregnant women of all ages) and high-risk groups (STD clinic attendees of all ages) is "real". Even if the actual HIV seroprevalence rates are merely leveling off, that alone would be a significant achievement. What is clear is that during the past year, a multi-sectoral approach and highly effective "contact investigations" successfully promoted use of HIV/AIDS prevention practices throughout the country.
Highlights of the education program this past year include significant improvements in grade six math and language arts scores among students in the 72 relatively disadvantaged primary schools supported under USAID's New Horizons Activity, and more than a doubling in the percent of NGO sites with programs meeting literacy teaching standards under the Uplifting Adolescents Program. All New Horizons schools have school development plans in place and are implementing them, and an improved teacher training college curricula was developed. The Uplifting Adolescents Program was evaluated this past year, and a new follow-on program, reflecting lessons learned, was launched.
Other Donors and Debt
Key multilateral donors to Jamaica include the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank and the European Union, UNICEF and United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and bilateral donors include: Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The United States ranks as the largest bilateral donor.
FY 2002 Program
In FY 2002, the USAID program will continue to promote the increased adoption of environmentally sound practices, the increased adoption of policies for improved environmental management, and improved effectiveness of wastewater management. It will also increase access to quality reproductive health services, improve knowledge and skills related to reproductive health, help enhance national policies and guidelines that support reproductive health of youth, and combat HIV. USAID activities will improve the quality of teaching, school attendance, and management of schools, as well as support NGO delivery of literacy programs. In support of micro-enterprise development, USAID will continue to reduce business constraints, improve business skills of companies, and increase private financing for the micro and small enterprise sectors. Under a new program initiated in FY 2001, USAID will seek an increase in employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, improve community capacity for conflict resolution, and to address other related democracy and governance issues.
Activity Data Sheets
- 532-002 Improved Quality of Key Natural Resources in Selected Areas that are both Environmentally and Economically Significant (Ridge to Reef Program)
- 532-003 Improved Reproductive Health of Youth
- 532-004 Increased Numeracy and Literacy among Targeted Jamaican Youth
- 532-006 Improved Business Environment for Developing the Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprise Sectors
- 532-007 Improved Economic and Social Conditions in Targeted Inner City Communities
Country Background Information Resources CIA Factbook
Library of CongressNational Geographic Country Maps
State Dept. Country Information
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Last Updated on: February 12, 2003 |
