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Page 5PROJECT FOCUSEU Banana Support Project aids youth development in St James

Page 8 MEMBER FOCUSDean Nevers ‘Konnexx’ Jamaican businesses

Page 9MEMBER FOCUSSpanish Court Hotel: Bringing people together in the heart of the city

Page 10COVER STORY Private Sector Working Group presents taxreform policy to Parliamentary Committee

Page 12PHILANTHROPY‘Crayons Count’ in early childhood education

Page 13MEET THE STAFFViolet Verona Vassell: Motivated by success

Page 14COMMITTEE REPORTTax reform

Page 15CURRENT ISSUESGovernment crime fighting plans

Page 17YUTE FEATUREAlanzo Mothersill: Leading by example

Page 18HAPPENINGSMembers mix and mingle at Executive Lyme

Page 19NEWSFrom the CEO’s Report

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Table of ContentsMessage from the Editor

In celebration of Jamaica’s 50th year of independence, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and its partner, the Gleaner Com-pany Limited, are set to launch Fifty Under Fifty: Business Leaders Shaping Jamaica’s Future, a programme to recognise 50 Jamaican business leaders under 50 years of age. Based on their current contributions to the business community and the country, these individuals are expected to make a significant impact on Jamaica’s civic and business landscape in the foreseeable future.

The 50 individuals to be recognised by the PSOJ and The Gleaner Company will be a diverse group of Jamaicans in gender, age, ge-ography and industry participation. As successors to the current leaders of the private sector, we expect them to play a key role in advocating for conducive business environment and sustainable social and economic development, as did the “founding fathers” of the PSOJ and its first president, the Hon. Carlton Alexander, O.J.

The talents of this group must be brought to bear if Jamaica is to achieve its Vision 2030 goal as outlined by government, which is to become “the place of choice to live, do business and raise families”.

To achieve Vision 2030 Jamaica also needs to seriously consider tax reform. Over the past nine months, the PSOJ and several or-ganisations came together to form the Private Sector Working Group on Tax Reform, which recently presented its proposal, containing 145 recommendations, to the Parliamentary Commit-tee on Tax Reform. Coming together in this fashion required the putting aside of individual group interest to come up with a solu-tion that best benefits Jamaica on a whole.

The same level of commitment will be required from the rest of the country in supporting the fight against crime. At the recent Chairman’s Club Forum, national security minister Peter Bunting highlighted a number of governmental plans to help keep Jamai-ca’s crime rate moving downwards.

At 50, Jamaica is at a crucial point in its development both eco-nomically and socially. The decisions made now will likely shape how we fare over the next half-century; therefore, it is crucial that we take hard, decisive actions to ensure prosperity for future generations.

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Sandra AC GlasgowCEOThe Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ)

he parish of St James once had a flourishing banana produc-tion and export industry, but it is now virtually a thing of the past. Jamaica has drastically scaled down banana farming due to natural disasters and the end of the preferential trading agree-

ment with the European Union in 2008. In the wake of this fallout, the EU has continued to support the local industry, providing more than $4 billion in aid over the last decade to improve competitiveness and, more recently, to support economic diversification activities in banana producing areas.

The St James Youth Training and Job Placement Project is one such undertaking, which was implemented last August through a €300,000 ($32 million) grant to the PSOJ. The project focuses on skills develop-ment and certification of young people, primarily from South St James, a former banana producing area, for job placement in the information communication technology (ICT) sector.

With a total budget of €500,000 ($54 million), the project will train and certify 200 young persons in ICT proficiency skills and capabilities to enable their permanent employment at Global Gateway Solutions Inc (GGS), located in the Montego Bay Freezone. The first batch of 20 trainees started their five-week programme on February 27.

project focusEU Banana Support Project

aids youth development in St James

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Participants in a training session as part of the St James Youth Training and Job Placement Project.

“This is win-win for everyone. We are creating 21st century ICT jobs and need sta"; qualified persons from these communities are looking for work,” said GGS founder Mark Jones.

Training was initially set to start at the Branch Texas College operated by the Maldon Baptist Church in Maroon Town, but when there were delays in getting the accommodations ready, GGS CEO Jacqueline Sutherland stepped in to o"er up the com-pany’s training facilities.

“This was based on our desire to start the flow of qualified ap-plicants as soon as possible. We have immediate hiring needs and the sooner persons can come forward with the necessary technical and communication skills, the sooner we can fill our client’s needs and put people to work,” said Jones.

GGS is the fastest growing Jamaican ICT firm with more than 550 workers. Last year, the company created about 300 full-time jobs, a hiring pace that has continued into 2012.

“Once we hire an applicant who has passed through the initial training processes under the grant, we provide client-specific training to the new hire. This is costly training, a portion of which is subsidised by the grant. Following the successful completion of the client-specific training and subsequent certification, the new hire comes on to the GGS payroll as a full-time ICT em-ployee,” he explained

“We have been impressed with the overall quality of trainees and their obvious commitment to their own success. Atten-dance is excellent and most important, attitudes are positive. We expect to be able to o"er positions to a number of persons from the initial classes,” said Jones, following just over a month of the training programme.

The training emphasises the practical over the theoretical.

“The trainees are taught how to navigate around multiple screens and systems while engaged in comfortable and seam-less voice contact with customers. We need our agents to be facile with technology so the customers receive a first-class ex-perience. In this respect, the computer is a supporting tool with which our agents must be facile,” he said.

Jones has high hopes for the trainees: “We are expecting a steady flow of candidates we can hire and place into full-time employment. The grant is scaled to support approximately 200 graduates over the next 18 months or so and our hiring plans envision that these graduates will be taken up by GGS and be-come valuable members of our team going forward.”

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member focusDean Nevers ‘Konnexx’

Jamaican businesses

ealising that Jamaican telecommunications engineers were being overlooked for major local contracts, Dean Nev-ers took matters into his own hands nine years ago and

started an operation, Konnexx Services Limited. The company was o#cially inducted as a member of the Private Sector Organ-isation of Jamaica on March 20.

“I saw where as Jamaicans, we needed to come forward in terms of promoting our own skill set because at the time, seven years ago, we had a lot of foreigners coming to Jamaica setting up busi-nesses while you had the local experts here that they were using to sub-contract the work to,” said Nevers. “We have the skill set and we’re trained, so I figured why don’t we move forward in-

stead of having persons in charge of things that we already know?” Konnexx provides engineering and network construction services to companies in the data, telecommunications and cable televi-sion industries, combining its in-depth knowledge of fibre optic network infrastructure with an integrated approach to create in-novative transmission technology solutions for its clients. “What we do is support the major utility companies in terms of building out their infrastructure and maintaining the infrastructure,” Nev-ers said.

Konnexx’s fibre optic network and hybrid fibre coaxial infrastruc-ture and installation services are marketed in partnership with Flow Jamaica as it aids in providing data, video and voice services to thousands of that company’s customers. Konnexx also designs, builds and maintains private and commercial fibre networks and provides fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) services for various tele-communication companies and hotels.

The company now employs more than 100 engineers, drafters/designers and field personnel, who are trained in the latest tech-nology. “We probably have three other companies that do the same thing, but what makes us stand out is the quality of work and the programmes that we have in place for training,” Nevers said.

With a solid track record established, Nevers decided to take the company to the next level by applying for PSOJ membership. In addition to getting more exposure for his business, he was also at-tracted to the organisation’s philanthropic endeavours and is plan-ning to get his sta" involved in the YUTE programme. Konnexx currently has its own project, Konnecting Minds, which invests more than $1 million per year into helping high school students from di"erent communities come together and receive training in various areas of technology.

One of the company’s major plans for 2012 is expanding into alternative energy systems, for which the sta" has already been trained. Going forward, Nevers would like to see more opportu-nities extended to local companies operating in this sector of the telecoms industry. “Most times we’re not protected in the sense that we’re not given the opportunity to work on projects [and] international companies are brought in to do what local compa-nies can do,” he said.

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Dean Nevers,founder of Konnexx Services Limited

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member focusSpanish Court Hotel: Bringing people

together in the heart of the city

he Issa name has long been associated with Jamaica’s ho-tel industry as the family owns some of the island’s most popular resorts, mostly along the north coast. Therefore,

the only surprise when Chris Issa opened the Spanish Court Ho-tel in 2009 was perhaps that he had chosen Kingston instead of a traditional resort area.

“It was a dream to build a unique property to add to how Kings-ton was shaping up as a great city once again. People were begin-ning to want the Kingston experience, saying that they enjoyed coming to the city,” he said. “I have also been drawn to city hotels rather than resort hotels because of the role that a hotel can play in the life of a city. It can bring businesspeople and friends togeth-er as a meeting place and contribute to the life in the community.”

Spanish Court Hotel has been a member of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica since 2009. It was the first new hotel to open in Kingston in nearly 40 years, which attracted a lot of fan-fare. The 109-room boutique hotel brings a decidedly European flair to the o"erings in the city.

The hotel has racked up an impressive tally of awards and ac-colades, including the Tourism Service Excellence Awards for Kingston in 2011, being nominated by the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Best of Chamber Award in the medium-sized busi-ness category for 2012, and voted the third trendiest hotel in the Caribbean by Trip Advisor Travelers’ Choice Awards 2012. In 2010 and 2011, it was voted by World Travel Awards as Jamaica’s Leading Business Hotel. The hotel’s restaurant and spa have also received several awards.

These accomplishments are even more significant when one con-siders the fact that the hotel opened in the midst of a global eco-nomic meltdown. The recession has adversely a"ected the travel industry, but Issa and his team have devised strategies to manage the fallout.

“We have tried to combat this by o"ering more for less and by exceeding our customers’ expectations with our ‘Real Style, Real Service’ mission. We have seen growth in both our occupancies and our average daily rate and hope that this will continue as the world recovers from the recession,” said Spanish Court’s General Manager, Lee-Ann Godfrey. “We have learned from each chal-lenge and experience and practise one of our philosophies which is, ‘the road to success is always under construction’.”

Plans are in place to construct at least two new hotels in the New Kingston business district in the near future and Issa welcomes the prospect of growth for the city. He also plans to open another hotel, should the right opportunity present itself.

Spanish Court Hotel is not only stylish but philanthropic, contrib-uting to several charitable groups across Jamaica, including helping the Teens for Technology charity open one computer lab a month in 12 high schools and supporting various nonprofit organisations such as the Rotary Club, Jamaica Autism Support Association, Ki-wanis Club, Missionaries of the Poor and several church groups. Spanish Court has also sponsored several of the monthly “Men-torship of Emerging Entrepreneurial Leaders” dinners.The most recent project was contributing to the development of a web portal for Do Good Jamaica, an online database of civil organisa-tions.

T(From left) Edmund Bartlett, Daryl Vaz, PJ Patterson, Kimberley Mais-Issa and Christopher Issa

at Spanish Court Hotel’s opening on June 16, 2009.

amaica is currently at an economic crossroads and unless decisive action is taken to implement promised economic reforms, the country faces a major economic crisis, said

PSOJ president Joseph Matalon. He was making a presentation to the Parliamentary Committee on Tax Reform, chaired by fi-nance minister Peter Phillips.

Matalon, who was speaking on behalf of the Private Sector Working Group (PSWG) on Tax Reform, outlined the group’s plans, drawn up over nine months of meetings, deliberations and compromise, which could see Jamaica earning some $7.29 billion in tax revenue.

“Though tax reform is critically important and necessary for continued IMF support, economic stability and as a platform for growth, the people of Jamaica expect and deserve value for money,” Matalon said.

The PSWG painted a picture of the economic crisis the coun-try is currently facing: There has been practically no growth over the last decade, with an average gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of a meagre 0.8 per cent between 2001 and

2010. The current GDP to debt ratio is 131 per cent and the 2011/2012 estimated primary balance (fiscal surplus excluding debt interest) would be 3.4 per cent, as opposed to the five per cent formerly projected.

The proposal contains 145 tax-reform measures aimed at wid-ening the tax net while reducing the tax burden on corporations and the poor.

The current taxation mechanism is burdened by incentives, ex-emptions and waivers that significantly narrow the tax base and high tax rates and a cumbersome system that create loopholes and fosters a culture of non-compliance and evasion.

Presently, only 10 per cent of registered companies file corpo-rate income tax returns and only five per cent declare any tax liability.

Due to this marginal compliance, registered pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) workers are forced to bear the brunt of personal in-come tax as a majority of employees and self-employed indi-viduals are not in the tax net.

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cover storyPrivate Sector Working Group presents tax reform policy to Parliamentary Committee

“It was exciting to meet emerging business leaders from around the world and getting to understand what the US is doing to develop entrepreneurship.”

Front (L-R): Francis Kennedy - Vice President, Jamaica Chamber of Commerce ( JCC); Sandra Glasgow - CEO, PSOJ; Metry Seaga - Deputy President, Jamaica Manufacturers Association ( JMA); Rosalea Hamilton - President, MSME Alliance; Brian Denning - PSOJ member; Marjorie Kennedy - Vice President, Jamaica Exporters Association; Michael Lake - Chairman, Jamaica Developers’ As-sociation

Back (L-R): Howard Hamilton and Ronald Waite - Ornamental Fish Farmers Association; Howard Johnson - President, Realtors Association of Jamaica; Christopher Bicknell - JMA; Donovan Wignall - President, Customs Brokers Association; Joseph Matalon - President, PSOJ; Milton Samuda - President, JCC; Wayne Henry - Jamaica Bankers Association; Paul Lalor - President, Insurance Association of Jamaica

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The PSWG has proposed that where personal income and payroll taxes are concerned, the government employ a lower rate of 15 per cent up to $1.1 million, form a common tax base for all payroll taxes and o"er PAYE employment tax cred-it. This would lead to greater equity and significantly lower compliance burdens.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the PSWG’s pro-posal has been the suggestion to lower the general consump-tion tax (GCT) rate from 17.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent and broadening the tax base to include previously exempted items.

Contenders have argued that it is taxing the poor, but Mata-lon quoted data showing that low-income earners are not the ones who actually benefit from these exemptions. “Of every $100 of revenue that the government foregoes through these exemptions, approximately $11 actually finds its way into the pockets of the two lowest quintile (40 per cent) of the popu-lation,” he said, adding that 28 per cent ends up going to the wealthiest 20 per cent of the population.

Another major change is proposed for corporate income tax, which is directly aimed at the private sector. One proposal would see the majority of companies taxed at an aggregate rate of 25 per cent, down from the current 33.3 per cent.

Highly regulated entities would be asked to agree to pay the current rate for a transition period. There would also be a cessation of tax holiday incentives except for charitable or-ganisations.

Such a competitive tax regime would make it easier to incen-tivise local and foreign direct investment as well as transform the current revenue loss of $3.5 billion to a gain of $6.5 billion within three to five years.

Demonstrating its commitment to tax compliance, the PSOJ Council met following the group’s presentation and passed a resolution requiring all member companies to provide evi-dence of their tax compliance in order to maintain their mem-bership.

“For high, sustained rates of growth, tax reform must be ac-companied by measures that maximise e#ciency, minimise waste, and which e"ectively combat corruption in both public and private sectors, with appropriate sanctions imposed on guilty parties irrespective of their status in society,” said Ma-talon.

The IVLP delegation in San Francisco.

Page (left) shares a light moment with other participants in the IVLP.

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Crayons Count is a special project of Do Good Jamaica, a web portal for Jamaican charities. This project aims to put learning materials in 2,700 early childhood institutions across the island. The initiative, which is supported by a number of corporate entities, aims to highlight the importance of basic education to children’s development and growth. This is necessary to ad-dress the serious lack of learning materials at this level of the education system.

Children learn fastest at this age, therefore it is important to have the necessary tools to stimulate their senses and teach lit-eracy and numeracy and build fine motor skills, movement and coordination. It is believed that there is a direct link between inadequate stimulation at early childhood institutions and poor performance at the primary/prep and secondary levels. Stimu-lation at the early childhood level is crucial to fixing this prob-lem.

Do Good Jamaica is an online database for and about civil soci-ety organisations and was developed by former senator Deika Morrison, who is a member of the PSOJ’s Economic Policy Committee.

HOW TO HELPCrayons Count is seeking donations in cash and in kind. Mone-tary donations allow the campaign to buy in bulk at wholesales and receive discounted prices. Any amount is welcome. Enti-ties and corporations interested in contributing can sponsor one of two school kits: Basic Kit (Cost: $10,000 or USD/CAD 125) What’s included: 240 crayons, 10 books, two balls, two sets of blocks, four kids scissors, four puppets, four tubs of play dough

and four packs of paper. Complete Kit (Cost: $15,000 or USD/CAD 175) What’s included: Basic Kit plus four puzzles, four manipula-tives, four sets of kids paint, eight kids paintbrushes and eight glue sticks.

WHY ARE THESE LEARNING MATERIALS IMPORTANT?

motor skills, movement and coordination.-

press themselves and be creative.

-change.

You can also donate to Crayons Count through their Scotia-bank accounts: J$ AC# 930228 and US$ AC# 930287. Do Good Jamaica can also arrange shipping from Florida.

For further information, contact:DO GOOD JAMAICAThe Guango Tree House, 29 Munroe Road, Kingston 6Tel: 970-4108, Fax: 977-5999

Do Good International Inc.Florida: 3350 SW 148 Ave, Suite 203, Miramar, Fl, 33027

Twitter: @CrayonsCount Facebook: CrayonsCountWebsite: www.dogoodjamaica.org/crayonscount

philanthropy‘Crayons Count’ in early

childhood education

Meet the staffViolet Verona Vassell: Motivated by success

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When and how did you join the PSOJ?I joined the PSOJ in August 2006. Prior to that, in 2001, I was contracted along with two other persons to USAID Projects managed by the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce ( JCC). When the funding ended, I pursued a career in insurance sales, but I soon realised this was not my calling at all! About that time, Evett Coombs from PSOJ was going on vacation leave and asked me to fill in for her. During that time, the position of Communications O#cer became vacant. I applied and was successful. I smile each time I think about the insurance switch.

Tell us, who is Violet Verona Vassell?I am always on the go and have a vision for success and greatness and like to be with likeminded people. Recently, I started cultivat-ing a new mindset/mantra: “I love success. God has programmed and wired me for success; therefore, I am the head and not the tail, first and not the last, above and not beneath. I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me and gave His life for me.”

What is your proudest achievement working for the PSOJ? Two of my happiest events were the successful staging of the PSOJ Fambiz Project’s three-day residential family seminar in Au-gust 2010 and the Hall of Fame dinner to honour Robert Levy, which was totally subscribed. Something that I have always said to my colleagues is that even if I might be the face for events, we are working towards a common cause for greatness and success so when we do well, everyone wears a crown.

What motivates you as Marketing O!cer – what is the importance of the PSOJ message? Business represents an important segment of any society, provid-ing goods and services, job creation, investments, improving the standard of living. The PSOJ’s message of advocating for a better business climate is a solid and practical one and is demonstrated in the various lobbying e"orts that the organisation gives its voice to and participates in.

My motivation comes from the fact that this message is a demon-stration of the PSOJ’s commitment to bringing meaningful solu-tions. I am sold on that message and therefore, to broadcast this vision through the various means available spurs me to lend my energy to this cause and to do my job to the best of my ability.

Please explain the events that the PSOJ holds and also what to expect for the new quarterly mixer.The PSOJ takes pleasure in bringing to our members and the general public activities/events that are not run-of-the-mill, but content-rich, giving depth and o"ering cutting edge information. These include: six bi-monthly Chairman’s Club forums, spon-sored by LIME and NCB; two DFID (UK aid)-funded trade export workshops (CARICOM and Europe); two members’ luncheon in the first and second quarter of the year; two FamBiz Project seminars; and the annual Private Sector Hall of Fame dinner.

The newest addition is the quarterly membership mixer called Executive Lyme, aimed at creating increased networking oppor-tunities and socialising for members in a relaxed atmosphere.

Violet Verona Vassell, PSOJ Marketing O#cer

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CoMMittee reportThe Private Sector Working Group on Tax Reform:

Achieving consensus on tax reform policy

imely tax reform has been clearly and repeatedly flagged as one of the key commitments given by the govern-ment of Jamaica to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a condition of its continued assistance, as well as to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for

its policy-based loan support. This has been slow in coming, but now that Jamaica finds itself at a crucial economic crossroads, it is more important than ever that a comprehensive tax reform policy be implemented, and soon.

Compromise and burden sharing are necessary to facilitate the transition from the current cumbersome tax system to a stream-lined, competitive general tax regime that does not depend on excessive and arbitrary waivers, exemptions and concessions. Several key groups in Jamaica’s private sector have collaborated to demonstrate these principles by coming together to form the Private Sector Working Group (PSWG) on Tax Reform. After nine months of meetings, deliberations and compromise, the group presented its policy consisting of 145 recommen-dations to the Parliamentary Committee on Tax Reform on March 14.

“Our proposal does not seek special consideration for our group. On the contrary, it puts Jamaica first and points to the way in which Jamaica’s co"ers will benefit by some $7.29 bil-lion. Everyone bears some responsibility for its success, and the public engagement and informed analysis can only redound to the public good,” PSOJ president Joseph Matalon said, while ad-dressing the Parliamentary Committee.

The group was formed in response to the government’s Green Paper on Tax Reform published in April 2011. All associations have endorsed the package of tax reform proposals submitted to the Committee, with the exception of the Jamaica Agricul-tural Society ( JAS) and Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association ( JHTA), which are continuing their process of evaluation and internal consultation.

Members of the PSWG include the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), representing 21 business associations, the Ja-maica Manufacturers Association ( JMA), Jamaica Exporters As-sociation ( JEA), Jamaica Chamber of Commerce ( JCC), Jamaica Agro Processors Association ( JAPA), JAS, Jamaica Bankers As-sociation ( JBA), JHTA, Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ) and the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) Alliance, representing some 35 business associations.

“Since submitting our proposal, we have widened the consulta-tion and a broad cross section of interests throughout Jamaica has weighed in. We are particularly grateful for the thoughtful and insightful observations made by some of these interests, particularly the JCSC ( Jamaica Civil Society Coalition) and the BITU (Bustamante Industrial Trade Union), who have, like us, recognized the absolute urgency of the situation if we are to avoid the far-reaching economic crisis which looms,” Matalon said.

There are significant fundamental risks for all Jamaicans if an agreement is not reached on a tax reform policy. These include deteriorating business and consumer confidence; inability to meet debt service obligations, leading ultimately to default and steep depreciation of the local currency, impacting price levels and living standards. The PSWG is urging the government to take the hard, decisive actions that are necessary to move Ja-maica forward.

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Current issuesGovernment accelerating

crime fighting plans

ith a vision to reduce Jamaica’s crime rate to first world levels by 2017, the Ministry of National Se-curity is rushing out a rash of measures to contin-

ue the downward trend in crimes. National Security minister, Pe-ter Bunting, outlined several of these plans during his address at the most recent Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Chairman’s Club Forum breakfast on Tuesday, March 20.

“We’ve seen our murder rate move from at least 52 per 100,000 to 41 per 100,000 in 2011 and we’re looking to bring that down to 12 per 100,000 by 2017. That means a murder figure of about 320 per year or less than one per day,” Bunting said.

Among these crime-fighting measures are plans to target king-pins, combat gangs, change the culture of the Jamaica Constabu-lary Force ( JCF), develop and strengthen community-based so-cial intervention programmes and reduce the ine#ciencies in the judicial system.

Noting that in the past, emphasis has been placed mostly on seizing weapons, Bunting said the ministry will be shifting its fo-cus to going after the kingpins – powerful members of the soci-ety who finance and support criminal activity.

“The kingpins tend to stay far away from the scenes of the crime… They tend to stick closer to the money,” he said. The aim is to develop an Operation Kingfish-type task force to bring in the lawyers, accountants, business people and politicians who fall into this category. This multi-agency force should be opera-tional by May.

One measure that will aid this process is the Proceeds of Crime Act, which includes asset forfeiture and money laundering leg-islation. Bunting stated that the government is moving to fast track other necessary legislation to assist the court in clearing up crimes, such as the anti-gang bill and the Evidence Act.

Unfortunately, when crime cases do reach the court, many of them take years to be resolved due to what Bunting called the “culture of adjournment”, where they are repeatedly post-poned. “What this does is expose your witnesses. It gives more time to organise criminals to find the witnesses, to intimidate them, and even to kill them. And even if they don’t get mo-lested, with the passage of time, their memories of the incident become more vague, and they are more vulnerable to cross-examination,” he said.

WMinister of National Security, Peter Bunting

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Current issuesGovernment accelerating

crime fighting plans

These constant adjournments also reduce the number of convic-tions. For instance, the current conviction rate for murder is five per cent per annum. Bunting wants this rate to be much higher, somewhere between 60-70 per cent, which would go a long way towards reducing the approximately 480,000 backlog of cases currently on the books.

Regarding changing the culture and operations of the JCF, Bunting said the ministry is looking to merge the organisation with the Is-land Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) to improve e#ciency. The move has been on the cards for some time now.

“We want to create a new police management authority that will have a governance board, that will combine the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Police Civilian Oversight Authority (PCOA) functions, and really hold the commissioner accountable for performance,” he added.

Other e"orts to improve the police force include increasing the use of technology. Bunting stated that the tra#c police have been using BlackBerry applications to check licences for validity and vehicle registration statuses, among other things. Better use of technology would make the police better able to counteract gangs, whose members Bunting said are “smart, adaptable, and constantly evolving.”

Turning his attention to social intervention strategies, Bunting said these measures are necessary to divert vulnerable young men and even new gang recruits from a life of crime. In this, he commend-ed the PSOJ for the work it has done with young people from inner-city communities through the Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE) programme. The national security ministry also recently launched a youth-centric communication campaign entitled A Gang is a Dead End, which encourages young people to avoid a life of crime and fea-tures local celebrities like Chino, Romain Virgo and Alaine.

Bunting assured the audience that the government has the re-quired political will to e"ectively combat crime, which, studies have shown, has adversely a"ected Jamaica’s economic develop-ment for the past 40 years. He pointed out that in addition to the local measures outlined, the country is strengthening cooperation with its international partners.

Bunting is encouraged by the fact that all major crimes, including murder, have recorded lower figures since the start of the year. With these new measures already in place or coming on board in the near future, he declared that failure is not an option.

PSOJ President Joseph Matalon and Minister Peter Bunting

lanzo Mothersill just started a new job at the Heart Foun-dation of Jamaica as a trainee CPR instructor. He was also one of the first mentors to sign up for the Youth Upliftment

Through Entrepreneurship (YUTE) programme last March.

Why did you decide to become a YUTE mentor?I decided to become a YUTE mentor because I believed it was a great opportunity for me to e"ect change in someone’s life. I have been involved in community service for more than 10 years through Key Club in high school and Circle K in university, so when I was introduced to this initiative, I was sure it was some-thing that would be good for me.

How did you first connect with your mentee?I first connected with my mentee, Troy Collins, at the mentor’s training forum at St Andrew High School for Girls in June 2011.

Tell us a little about your mentee. What do you ad-mire most about him?My mentee is a high school graduate who is currently studying Information Technology (IT) at the HEART Academy  in Stony Hill. He is also employed in the IT department at Jamaica Money Market Brokers. Both these opportunities were a"orded to him through the YUTE programme. He hails from the community of Olympic Gardens in Kingston. He is also a parent to a two-year-old son. He is, in e"ect, a single parent, as his child’s mother takes no part in the raising of their son. He also has to take care of his mother, who is very sickly.

I really admire my mentee because he does not shy away from his responsibilities. He works hard to provide for his family. He also does his very best to pass all his exams and stay focused on what he wants to achieve. He is facing a lot of financial chal-lenges, due to the fact that his salary is unable to meet his needs. However, he continues to persevere, knowing that if he is suc-

cessful in his studies, then he will reap the financial benefits. He hopes to pursue a career in web design and computer program-ming. He also does phone and computer repairs from his home.

How do you interact with your mentee?My mentee and I connect through face-to-face interactions, Facebook and telephone conversations. We try to use a time that is convenient to both of us. I try to keep our conversations as regular as possible.

How do you hope to impact your mentee’s life?I hope to o"er him guidance and direction in his pursuits. I try to o"er him tips on how to cope with the various challenges he is facing, using my past struggles and how I overcame them as an example. I also try to get him to drop certain bad habits that will slow down his upward mobility. I try to be his friend, someone he can relate to about everything. Over the past six months, we have achieved that. He listens to my advice and he is willing to share all his problems with me. I have seen a lot of improve-ments in the way he interacts with his friends. He has even been able to improve his time management skills and be more pro-ductive at work.

Why do you think mentorship is important?Mentorship is important since it o"ers you an opportunity make a positive impact on someone’s life.  It enables you to deposit certain life lesson to our young people that they might not have a chance to achieve. By mentoring one person, you can change the culture in a family, community and, ultimately, our society. It is through mentorship that our disadvantaged youths will realise that life is not about crime, drugs, partying and things of such nature. They will learn that hard work and dedication does bring success. As mentors we can develop good graces and common courtesies that will be with them throughout their lives.  

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Alanzo Mothersill: Leading by example

yute feature

A

YUTE mentor Alanzo Mothersill

happeningsMembers mix and mingle

at Executive Lyme

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he Membership Committee of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica hosted its first quarterly membership mixer at Devon House on Friday, March 23, entitled Executive Lyme.

“We decided that we should do something like this because we realise that the strength of this organisation is in the people and meeting the people,” said committee chairman, Christopher Reckord. “We wanted to do more of these types of events so that people can understand the relation-ships that are here.”

Members nibbled on appetizers courtesy of Rainforest Seafoods and sipped wine courtesy of Caribbean Produc-ers Jamaica (CPJ) Limited.

T

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newsFrom the CEO’s Report

THE PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANISATION OF JAMAICA TRADE POLICY COMMITTEE’S BREAKFAST MEETINGThe Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica Trade Policy Com-mittee’s breakfast meeting with Antonio Francisco Da Costa E Silva, Ambassador of Brazil, will be held on Tuesday, April 3 at the Knutsford Court Hotel (Windward Suite) from 7:45 am - 10:00 am. Members of the TPC who wish to attend are asked to con-tact Violet Vassell at the PSOJ as seating is limited.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEEThe committee met on February 7. The following were the high-lights:

-lic ServiceThe framework was approved by the previous government and has now been posted on the website of the Ministry of Finance. It was reported that the Code of Ethics is not yet completed, but a sensitisation programme should begin towards the end of February.

The CEO advised committee members that letters had been sent to the major company members of the PSOJ requesting volun-teers to serve on the boards of public bodies. About 40 resumes had been sent in. Letters had been sent to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and other Cabinet ministers, along with a list-ing and the resumes of the volunteers. The PSOJ is also collabo-rating with the 51 Per Cent Coalition to identify qualified women to serve on boards and a list of about 12 names had been sent to the coalition for consideration.

Committee member Suzanne Goldson had facilitated a two-hour training session for the board of PanCaribbean Financial Services, which is the first of four planned over the next year.

The PSOJ is working in partnership with the Mona School of Busi-ness, (MSB) the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Jamaica Stock Exchange ( JSE) to host a two-day regional seminar on Risk Governance and Management for Directors, on March 30 and 31.

The project is in its closing phase, having successfully achieved all the milestones. The only remaining activity was the printing of individual case studies, which would be marketed to local univer-sities.

The committee discussed the need for a special award for com-

panies listed on the Junior Market of the JSE. Committee mem-ber Garth Kiddoe noted that it would take time for Junior Mar-ket companies to get “up to speed” and felt that a special award would be appropriate to encourage them to improve their corpo-rate governance practices. It was suggested, and the Committee agreed, that an award specifically for Junior Market companies should be instituted, essentially for them to compete amongst themselves.

It was noted that a policy decision on the naming of the desig-nated authority had not been taken by the previous administra-tion and would now have to be decided by the new government.

Committee members were advised that the programme should have ended in December 2011 but because of the elections and other issues, the work had been extended into 2012. In-firm tech-nical assistance to the participating companies is being provided but four of the 12 firms had not yet indicated dates for facilitat-ing the consultants. It was noted that the IIC plans to convene a meeting of the three country teams ( Jamaica, Barbados and Trini-dad and Tobago) and had asked the PSOJ to organise the meeting in Jamaica scheduled for March 27-28. A proposal had been sent in this regard.

The committee discussed the matter of executive pay. It was noted that ‘Say on Pay’ legislation had recently been passed in the US, which allows stakeholders to have a say on pay for executives. The legislation is careful to confirm that this is just a recommenda-tion, but it puts pressure on boards to do the right thing. It was noted that it would likely be institutional investors who would take up the issue, but the question was whether there was likely insu#cient shareholder activism in Jamaica to exercise control over executive pay. Given their interest in and knowledge of the subject, Suzanne Goldson and Howard Haughton were asked to prepare a paper/presentation that would be discussed at the next meeting of the Committee.

Sandra Glasgow and Joseph Matalon

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JUSTICE REFORM COMMITTEEThe Justice Reform Committee met on March 1 and was pleased to welcome the Minister of Justice, Senator Mark Golding and his team, including Perma-nent Secretary Robert Rainford, Peter Wilson and Peter Parchment. Given similar concerns about justice system reform expressed by the Standing Com-mittee on National Security, this was a joint meeting of the SCNS and the JRC.

Justice ReformGolding advised that a Justice Reform Implementation Unit is being set up in the MoJ to be headed by Justice John McGarrie, a Canadian judge, who will come on board in April to drive imple-mentation of the reform process in the ministry. He noted that the MoJ will have to prioritise a range of activities that had been outlined in the Task Force Report. A local person will support Jus-tice McGarrie and is shortly to be hired.

JRC member Hugh Small asked if the public would have an opportunity to influence the GoJ’s perception of the areas that should receive highest pri-ority and if a study had been done to identify the areas of justice reform, cit-ing the recently published UNDP report highlighted a big gap in how the public perceive the justice system vis-a-vis “of-ficialdom” like lawyers and the Ministry itself. The Minister indicated that the MoJ was not anticipating holding fora, but will start doing what needs to be done.

Court facilitiesOn the matter of physical facilities for Courts, attempts are being made, for example, with Justice Square, but there are major funding challenges. This will impact the pace at which that project will be completed. Rainford advised that the MoJ is projecting a May date for completion of the current works at Jus-tice Square.

Regarding the Court Management Ser-vice, the Minister advised that this was

now being established with the Principal O#cer reporting directly to the Chief Justice. One area in need of attention, the minister said, was the document management process within the courts. He noted that the Justice Enforcement Management System ( JEMS) system that had been purchased but not implement-ed needed human resources to make it work. He noted that the GoJ was con-sidering using the JEEP project to pro-vide these resources. The minister ap-pealed to the PSOJ to provide help in designing and executing the project, as PSOJ CEO Sandra Glasgow shared that two member companies specialise in this area.

Arbitration The committee raised the question of the lengthy delays in agreeing to a policy decision and enacting a new Arbitration Act. Hugh Small advised the minister that we had been discussing arbitration for at least six years and noted that a cabinet submission dated June 10, 2011 had approved drafting instruction for the new arbitration legislation - one piece of legislation to cover internation-al and domestic arbitration.

The committee urged the Minister to pay attention to the criminal justice sys-tem, ensuring that the civil system has breathing space facilitated by such ap-proaches as mediation and arbitration. It was noted that we had made a request to the Chief Justice for the CADRC to be designated a centre for the referral of cases for mediation under the civil procedure rules. It was noted that the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF) was not able to handle the number of cases now being referred to it.

Plea bargainingThe minister advised that a plea bargain-ing agreement had been introduced. He noted that he had not received a re-port on how this is being used “on the ground” but that the Director of Pub-lic Prosecutions (DPP) and the Clerks of the Courts would have to become

comfortable with the approach.

It was noted that in promoting the CADRC, the PSOJ had met with the general insurance group who expressed the view that one of the biggest prob-lems is collusion between police, certain law firms, certain hospitals and doctors in personal injury claims. The commit-tee agreed that the problem of crime in the country could not be solved unless trust was re-built amongst these groups.

Longer court hoursThe minister promised to take this up with the Chief Justice. It was agreed that accurate statistics on the backlog would be required. The Minister agreed that we should be using retired judges and retired magistrates in the civil courts to free up judges for the criminal system.

Justice Hugh Small

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CRIME STOPThe Crime Stop coordinator’s report highlighted the following for the month of February:

for January.

three arrests in January.

of nine over the 50 calls received in the previous month.

compared with $63,000 paid out in January.

January, property recovered was valued $91,400.

compared with $8,857,400 worth of narcotics recovered in January.

EDUCATION AND CSR COMMITTEEThe PSOJ Education and CSR Committee met on Friday, Febru-ary 10 and the discussions focused on the revised draft Educa-tion Policy Paper. The document contained a number of recom-mendations, one of which was the ‘Four Pillars-Model Solution’. This would form the foundation for a quality education system and included:

It was agreed that another pillar, titled “Involvement of Stake-holders”, should be added.

The final review of the draft Education policy is expected to take place at the March meeting and then approved and ratified at the Executive Committee and Council Meetings also scheduled for March.

Trade Policy ReviewThe Trade Policy Committee participated in a trade policy re-view organised by the Ministry of Foreign A"airs and Foreign Trade on February 21.

The guiding principles of the revised trade policy are to:-

dresses the development challenges facing Jamaica.

implementation.

and related national policies.

while preserving Jamaica’s policy space to defend domestic pro-ducers from unfair foreign competition.

rule-making and enforcement of regulations and practices in keeping with national and international laws and regulations

The revised trade policy has four interrelated objectives:

competing in international markets. -

mestic producers and service providers to international com-petition.

development plan and related national policies.

PROJECTSCADRCThe Jamaican Institute of Arbitrators had its first meeting on February 13. It is expected that the transition from the PSOJ to JIA will take a few months. The Jamaican Bar Association has named Janet Morrison and Donovan Walker as its representa-tives on the board. The nominee representing the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica, Linroy Marshall is to discuss his membership with his board.

During February, one briefing session was held with lawyers. Preparations were made for two sensitisation and two briefing sessions in March. Discussions were held for our first case man-aged Arbitration to be held in July. There was one booking for mediation and two for consultations.

The Project Steering Committee held a quarterly meeting on February 28. There were two mediations and two consultations held during the month. A Request for Proposal was sent to six PR firms for proposals to undertake the Promotion and Market-ing Programme for the Centre. Four firms responded. An award is to be made early March.

A team including Glasgow, Morrison and Small met with Ste-phen Facey of Jamaica Property to discuss concessions for the maintenance expenses of the Centre. We await his response.

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YUTEU-Turn Rap SessionThirty-five young men from the U-Turn stream were enthusi-astic participants during a rap session with the Honourable Lisa Hanna, Minister of Youth and Culture on Friday, February 24. The event, which followed on the heels of a post-camp evalua-tion session, represented an excellent opportunity to share the impact being engaged in the U-Turn programme had on their lives, as well as provide feedback on programmes and services o"ered through the National Youth Service, The 4H Club and the Youth Information Centres.

Pre–Skills Programme Celebrates First GraduationOn February 21, over 80 young adults received certificates from the Jamaica Foundation For Life Long Learning for their success-ful completion of the literacy and numeracy programme. The certification signalled their ability to matriculate into a secondary level institution, with many having been contacted by the Heart/Trust NTA to pursue vocational training. Forty young men from the first cycle of the U-Turn Programme were given special awards for their performance during the challenge camp held.

Junior Achievement WorkshopOn February 9, 20 participants gathered at the Duke Street United Church to commence the first Junior Achievement train-ing. The training, which is funded by Citi Foundation, will target 276 young persons to start and run a company over the next 11 months. The training is conducted by Zann Locke and Gihon Mitchell. Training is o"ered once per week over a six-month pe-riod and discusses and develops critical key concepts such as company structure, company capitalisation, product market pricing, product sales and company liquidation. The group train-ing also introduces trainees to the realities of conducting mar-ket research and preparing a business plan. During the training, participants will register their business idea with the Companies O#ce of Jamaica.

EU BANANA SUPPORT PROGRAMME - ST JAMES YOUTH TRAINING AND JOB PLACEMENT PROJ-ECT

appointed liaison o#cers.

-gramme has been prepared.

Solutions on February 27.

totalling $1.7 million, which was not in the budget. Consequent-ly, another facility, the Branch Texas College, was located in Ma-roon Town. The PSOJ finalised an agreement with Maldon Bap-tist Church, the owners of the facility. Now awaiting approval from the EU o#ce for budget re-allocations to pay for the use of the facilities.

re-modelling to be used for the training. The PSOJ is awaiting an authorisation letter from the owners.

-ment have been received from Tech-pro Business Solutions, Global Gateway Solutions, Prodigy Systems and Tactical Radio.

EU"PROINVEST PROJECT: CAPACITY BUILDING OF CARIBBEAN PRIVATE SECTOR ENVIRONMEN-TAL AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES

Caribbean Esco.

and Young and submitted to the EU in December. Awaiting final payment from the EU after review of documents submitted.

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23

CDB PROJECT: IMPROVING CARICOM MARKET ACCESS FOR JAMAICAN GOODS AND SERVICES

the PSOJ based on consultations undertaken in January, with an initial plan for a trade mission to Trinidad and Barbados in March. However, after discussions with the CDB, revisions were requested to the report to include an analysis of existing regional private sector mechanisms and the CET’s impact.

services for a regional trade database; prototype being devel-oped.

-ICOM Market Access for Jamaican Goods and Services” was held on March 6 and 7.

-sultations to refine their workshop design and training manual. Workshops scheduled to take place in April.

MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

Membership Application Packages Membership packages were sent to:

New MembersThere were two new members:

Miscellaneous Activities The following events were communicated to members:

retreat

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEEThere was a second meeting of the Planning Committee for the Jamaica 50th Programme, ‘Fifty Under Fifty Business Leaders Shaping Jamaica’s Future’.

The second of the 2012 Mentorship of Emerging Entrepre-neurial Leaders Dinners was held on February 28 at the Spanish Court Hotel. Guest mentor was ICWI’s Dennis Lalor.

Front (L-R): Dean Nevers - Konnexx Services Ltd; Susan Fox - individual member; Kimala Bennett - The Business Lab; Camille Facey - Howard Facey and Company Ltd; Sandra Glasgow - PSOJ; Jean Lowrie-Chin - PROComm; Tyrone Wilson - eMedia Interactive Ltd

Back (L-R): Gale Peart - Caribbean Fortress Ltd; Gabrielle Chung - Nexus Hospitality Ltd; Stacey Halsall-Peart - Advantage Integrated Systems Ltd; Trevor Forest - 876 technology Solutions Ltd; Pierrette Blake - Streamline Solutions Jamaica Ltd

The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ)

The Carlton Alexander Building39 Hope Road,

Kingston 10, Jamaica, W.I.

Tel: (876) 927 6238 Fax (876) 927 5137Email: info@psoj.org

www.psoj.org

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(876) 970-5657info@ezineslimited.com

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237 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6