Fix Vision 2030 accountability mechanism

The Vision 2030 National Development Plan was created in 2008, with the adaptation of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, but there have not been any deliberative discussions or reviews by the central or local government until now.

The scope of the auditor general's report titled Jamaica's Preparedness for Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal's, published in September, included:

• an institutional framework for the implementation of the SDGs;

• resource allocation and capacity-building mechanisms; and

• strategies for raising awareness, monitoring and reporting on the progress of preparedness for SDG implementation.

The report points out several significant lapses in accountability that need to be with urgency by our nation's leaders, one of which is the need for a strengthening of the institutional framework that governs the Vision 2030/SDGs implementation.

According to the report, Planning Institute of Jamaica “assumed the lead role”; however, there was no documented evidence to confirm this role as the lead agency. Further, the auditor general found that the lines of accountability were unclear in the National SDG Core Group.

While we seek long-term funding for the full implementation of the SDGs, there must be a strong institutional framework that ensures our monitoring and accountability is well organised and transparent, or we will suffer mismanagement of resources.

 To this end, the report highlighted that the Ministry of Finance and Public Service has no representation on the national core group oversight committee, even though it has responsibility for collection and allocation of public revenue to allow for socio-economic development.

The report recommends that Cabinet considers “delegating overarching responsibility for coordinating the implementation”. This will “identify clear lines of accountability”. It also recommends “the formation of an internal mechanism to apprise parliamentarians of their role and the approach to be taken with respect to matters relating to SDGs”.

Although this audit did not examine SDG preparedness at the sub-national level, I wish to implore every municipal corporation to adopt this audit because SDG implementation at the local level translates to national sustainable development.

The whole of Government, including the Office of the Cabinet, must take serious responsibility for fixing these mechanisms that will serve us well long after 2030, as they seek to strengthen our long-term planning, monitoring and evaluation capabilities.

Rural Development Deh Back a Bush?

As the lives of those living and working in Kingston and St Andrew become synchronized with traffic detours, repaired water pipes, high rise buildings and a revitalization of downtown - these major infrastructure works would make any rural citizen like myself ask ‘wah bout us?’

It is not entirely far-fetched to consider that rural development is a back burner or just a side panel issue, many have lamented for years the state of rural communities not in mountainous regions left to in the dark ages literally, still without electricity or indoor plumbing. Communities where farm roads are still donkey tracks and you walk a mile to get public transportation. We rural folk who travel great distances to the nearest major town to access necessary services like utilities, banking, groceries, etc.

Goal 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities of the encourages policies and plans that promote positive and stronger connections between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by linking sectorial policies that affect national, regional and local governments. If we are serious about attaining any success with Vision 2030 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) then leaving no one behind must become an integral part of our development processes.

While I’m privileged to be living in one of those major scheme developments near Old Harbour, this in itself presents a few challenges for the existing public infrastructure, environment and social fabric of the area. Within the last decade or so there have been at least 4 major phase developments adding to housing stocks in between Spanish Town and May Pen, mostly focused around the town of Old Harbour. The 2 largest being New Harbour Village and Longville Park still adding phases with Colbeck Castle development expecting to add another 8000 homes.

There have been no ‘announcements’ from any public entity on development plans for upgrading the existing infrastructure that supports these newer and older communities, will the water supply and sewage be able to withstand the needs? Will there be road expansions and better traffic management? How will security improve?

With the increased usage of these former farms and “idle” land, we are altering ecological structures as we accelerate the conversion of rural land into urban uses – which becomes environmentally unsustainable. What kind of fauna and flora is being displaced?

The necessary public facilities to maintain human settlement and development also come under extreme pressure, local schools and health facilities cannot handle the volume of students and patients.

When will rural development be in the spotlight and given the sustained effort it deserves?

Where is the Local and Central Government representation?

TPPandTheCaribbean: Trans-Pacific Partnership Facts and How the Caribbean will be affected

Mainstream Messed Up

Before I do delve into 'the need to knows', I must call out any mainstream media that either under-reported this issue or ignored it, but I am especially disappointing in the Jamaican mainstream media as they have left the Jamaican masses especially the disfranchised  members of the society who have no other resources other than the mainstream media be it print or electronic to enlighten them about local and global affairs.

There is no for the media not follow and report on such a established topics such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the other less popular United States(US)-EU(European Union) Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership(TTIP). Even as Pres. Obama maneuvers his Trade Bill  through the US House of Representative and Senate that would see the implementation of the TPP in the US within a period of 6 years, along with other negotiation nations from the Americas include: Mexico, Canada, Peru and Chile. 

TPP Members 

TPP Facts

What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership 

The TPP or TPP12 is an a game changing  Free Trade Agreement that was originally signed by Brunei Darussalam, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore under its former name "Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership" and came into effect in 2006 with a vision of comprehensive trade liberalization being implemented by 2015, but between 2010-2013 the other 8 nations( including Japan, Australia, Malaysia,Vietnam) had joined led by the USA, of course making it 12 nations in total. 

TPP Objectives

The TPP stated objective is  to achieve extensive liberalization of both goods and services, and entails comprehensive coverage of trade in services, investment, government procurement, non-tariff measures, and many other regulatory areas 

including Intellectual Property.

Size and Power  

This Partnership is looked upon as another geopolitical power struggle between the US and China's emerging influence in the Americas and Asia-Pacific hence we must asses its economic size and power to really gain an appreciation of its impact on global trade, but also consider the possibilities of more Asian-Pacific nations joining the TPP.

Although the United State is almost twice the size in population and economy of the other members: Trade among TPP partners amounted to more than $2 trillion in 2012, which can be compared to World Trade Organization (WTO) global trade valued $18.3trillion for that period, TPP trading would equal 11% of all trade.

TPP nations are a 40% share of all United States world trade with the North American Free Trade(Canada,Mexico,USA) and Japan the majority of that trade.

In terms of populations according to the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) 2014 World Population Data Sheet, .the total American TPP members which stands at 555 million, more than half the total population of the Americas (971 million), is significantly larger than the Asian population figures which amount to no more than 256.6 million (285 if you add Australia and New Zealand), compared to Asia’s total population of 4.3 billion: almost half of the Asian contingent is accounted for by one member, Japan: Converted to percentage of worlds population would be 12%.

Criticism and Concerns 

Opponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership says its a secretive, multinational trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property (IP) laws across the globe and rewrite international rules on its enforcement. 

The fear the deal may extend the scope of patents in sectors such a medicine and prevent the distribution of generic drugs.

With the certain deregulation of the Private Sector seen also as negative by pro consumer advocated; there will easier flow of companies and their revenue, leading to possible loss of  employment and outsourcing of local jobs.

Continued currency manipulation by some members;currency manipulation is characterized by persistent current account surpluses, and accumulation of massive quantities of foreign currency reserves.

And with the rigidity of trade and harmonization regulation to ensure equality being proposed, opponents say that smaller economies will have less room to grow and develop.

How TPP will Affect The Caribbean

The  magnitude of the affect that the Trans-Pacific Partnership is still hard to predict as nations still negotiate and hence we await the final agreement, if they are successful in reaching there:

The European Center for International Political Economy(ECIPE) report: "Mega-Regional Trade Agreements: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN, AND PACIFIC COUNTRIES" has provided some insight into how these two Free Trade Agreements would affect the African, Caribbean and Pacific(ACP) countries and provided some recommendations going forward:

read full document here:http://www.ecipe.org/app/uploads/2014/12/OCC22014_.pdf (05/16/15)

For the Caribbean specifically, ECIPE said that the TPP may have a significant impact on trade, with the USA accounting for close to 35% of the Caribbean’s exports while the EU and the rest of the TPP account for 11% and 8% respectively. 

Also that there are a number channels through which mega-regional agreements such as the TPP can impact on ACP countries. The first is the direct effect that mega-regional agreements can have on existing ACP access to EU and USA markets on preferential terms not available to middle and high-income countries. The second channel is the impact that the reduction of non-tariff measures and the harmonization of standards within the TPP can have on either raising or reducing export costs for ACP countries. 

What Must We Do

Some ECIPE recommendations for ACP countries include:

ACP countries continuing to push for increased and more targeted aid for trade, development and should also bolster their domestic systems for receiving and utilizing this assistance these tools should be used to cater for the country’s domestic institutional, political economy, and governance constraints.

Conducting national assessments of how we are positioned in the mega regionals “game”- domestic reform imperatives could best be pursued so that the country is not left too far behind.

Strengthening and widening regional economic integration:  enlarging the regional economic space will provide some attraction to outside investors, particularly if the transactions costs of accessing regional markets can be made less burdensome or, even better, attractive.

Without "high-level" government and policy intervention Caricom and its Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) will be on the receiving end of whatever trade deals, regulatory  changes, environmental and intellectual property rights agreements result from this new arrangement with no way out. 

Next Time we analyze the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership(TTIP).

JAMALCO's Coal Plant: Risk to the Environment

While the proposed conversion of the Bogue Power Station in Montego Bay, St James, to replace the existing heavy fuel oil power plants at Old Harbour and Hunts Bay with a gas turbine plant, fuelled with liquid natural gas, is nothing to holler too much about because Natural Gas might be the best environmentally safe and economical option for Jamaica.

But as it pertains to Jamalco’s expected coal-fired co-generation facility, we should take pause and assess what a coal powered plant of any capacity could possibly mean for the natural environment and public health of the immediate community and Jamaica at large. It is no secret that “clean coal” is give and take; to get the “clean air” (which is merely lessened pollutants); the scrubbing process which cleans the air creates wastewater which also comes from power plant boiler and cooling systems contains lethal chemicals.

These chemicals are as serious as nuclear waste; although we hear that the plan is to import coal from Colombia, supposedly low sulphur coal. The United States’ Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) data shows that coal produces high levels of Arsenic, Lead and other chemicals harmful to humans, plants and animals. USEPA explains storage of the raw coal is important as rain can flush the chemicals and the wind can carry the heavily toxic dust. 

This wastewater is easily soaked into the ground contaminating ground water sources or due to negligence or misconduct can be released into rivers and other water ways causing serious damages.
There are too many incidences of coal related issues across the world not just in the US but especially in China (our climate change causing pals). These are developed countries with the capabilities to monitor and properly deal with the risk of using coal.

The emissions at the coal plant are expected to be less than of the oil plant but the issue goes beyond emissions. We have neglected in the past to ensure that the plants we currently have and other sources of toxic wastewater are consistently policed, it’s hard to see NEPA (not tasked to protect the environment) thoroughly regulating this new facility.