Welcome to Impacting Jamaica
SHARING THE LOVE: Deaf Optimist Club
Five-minute feature on acts of kindness by local or overseas based non-government individuals and organisations that have benefitted Jamaicans.
Written and produced by the Radio Department of the Jamaica Information Service
News for Week of May 1, 2022
We are here to inspire, motivate and uplift.
Charles pulls more youth into agri sector
The Government continues to invest in the future of agriculture, with the recent handover of 20 lease agreements to youth and selected Mango Agro-Park investors.
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Facilitated through the Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC), participants will engage in agricultural activities linked to crop production.
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Activities will be spread across several agro-parks and agro-economic zones, to include the Ebony Park Agro-Park in Clarendon, Amity Hall Agro Park in St Catherine, and New Pen Agro Production Zone in St Mary, among others.
Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Pearnel Charles Jr. said that an additional 20 young people will also be awarded leases, amounting to a total of 40.
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“It has been recognized that the average age of farmers in Jamaica is 50 years old, and in this context, the AIC as part of its succession planning and sustainability strategy, has sought to ensure that our young people have a place within the agro-parks and production zones,” he said.
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The move aligns with the Ministry’s mandate to ensure that 20 per cent of government-owned lands are offered to young persons18 to 35 years, for agribusiness-related projects.
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Airports, aerodromes upgrade on agenda
A sum of more than US$200 million is to be spent over the period 2022 to 2025, for capital expenditure at the Jamaica’s international airports and aerodromes.
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The activities will be undertaken by the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ), and MBJ Airports Limited and PAC Kingston Airports Limited, operators of the Sangster International Airport (SIA) and the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA), respectively.
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Some US$70 million is slated to be spent this financial year.
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Minister of Transport and Mining Audley Shaw said that in 2022/2023, the sum of US$36 million is expected to be spent on phase three of the SIA runway extension, which is being financed from the Airport Improvement Fund.
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“The programme, aspects of which commenced in 2018, has three elements, including runway and apron expansion, shoreline protection and enabling works,” he said. “This runway extension project will increase the declared take-off run by approximately 400 metres to 3,060 metres and provide runway end safety areas as mandated by the International Civil Aviation Organization.”
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West Rural St Andrew roads to get care
More than 10 roadways in St. Andrew West Rural are going through the procurement process for rehabilitation, according to Member of Parliament for the constituency Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn.
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The Member of Parliament reported that Long Lane to the Temple Hall road is in the process now for rehabilitation, and Stony Hill to Parks Road is also “in train to be done”.
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She added that the Temple Hall to Lawrence Tavern and Glengoffe roads will be given attention. “The roads are going through the procurement process right now, and by the end of May, we should see some work happening in the constituency,” she said.
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She noted that it is the rainy season and the roads have further deteriorated, and “I am asking persons in my constituency to be patient”, as a programme is being put in place “right now, to patch out all of the bad areas”.
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PATH power on track to support beneficiaries
An additional $1.4 billion is to be paid out to Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) beneficiaries in the 2022/2023 financial year.
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Labour and Social Security Minister Karl Samuda noted that PATH benefits are reviewed every two years to ensure that the purchasing power of the amounts paid is maintained.
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During the financial year 2021/22, the Government disbursed $8.3 billion to approximately 140,000 families on PATH.
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A further $1.4 billion was delivered to PATH families under the Social and Economic Recovery and Vaccine Programme for Jamaica, to cushion the economic hardship brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Minister Samuda added that the pandemic accelerated plans within the Ministry for more beneficiary families to collect their payments via electronic payment methods.
The Growing Threat of Global Recession
By Kenneth Rogoff
CAMBRIDGE – Is the global economy flying into a perfect storm, with Europe, China, and the United States all entering downturns at the same time later this year? The risks of a global recession trifecta are rising by the day.
A recession in Europe is almost inevitable if the war in Ukraine escalates, and Germany, which has been fiercely resisting calls to pull the plug on Russian oil and gas, finally relents.
China is finding it increasingly difficult to sustain positive growth in the face of draconian COVID-19 lockdowns, which have already brought Shanghai to a screeching halt and now threaten Beijing. In fact, the Chinese economy may already be in recession. And with US consumer prices currently increasing at their fastest rate in 40 years, prospects for a soft landing for prices without a big hit to growth look increasingly remote.
