Page 5PROJECT FOCUSPSOJ establishes Commercial Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (CADRC)

Page 8 MEMBER FOCUSJustice Hugh Small, QC

Page 11CURRENT ISSUESYes to private sector partnership,No to high interest rates - Phillips

Page 14CURRENT ISSUESLIME Managing Director presses case for reform of telecommunications sector

Page 16SPECIAL PROJECTSMentoringemerging entrepreneurial leaders

Page 18NEWS

Page 21PAST HAPPENINGS

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Table of ContentsMessage from the EditorThe PSOJ, in response to a demand survey commissioned in 2009 and in support of the reform initiatives of government, has taken the bold step to set up a centre focused on provid-ing commercial alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services to the business sector. The demand survey indicated that the majority of the participants were not satisfied with the courts as an e!cient mechanism for resolving disputes. More than 74 per cent of those surveyed indicated their willingness to use the services of a centre. The Commercial Alternative Dispute Res-olution Centre (CADRC), provides the services of experienced mediators and arbitrators and a modern, private, confidential environment to work through commercial disputes. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has allocated US$150,000 in grant funding in support of this initiative. They have success-fully implemented similar projects in Latin America and the CADRC is the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean.

The primary objective of the centre is to improve the climate for business relations and investment in Jamaica through the use of alternative means of dispute resolution. The PSOJ is encour-aging a change in attitude toward resolving commercial issues in Jamaica. Despite many e"orts and reform initiatives, the court system is backlogged, slow and a costly way to do business. ADR is an e"ective alternative to the court system for busi-nesses.

In our Member Focus feature, we highlight one of our individual members, Justice Hugh Small, QC, who was integral to the es-tablishment of the CADRC as a member of the Jamaica Justice System Reform Task Force. We also look back at the first four sessions in our Mentorship of Emerging Entrepreneurial Lead-ers Series (MEELS) and hear from a participant about how she has benefited from the initiative.

In our Current Issues section, we hear from Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips, who spoke on the importance of partnership with the private sector and other stakeholders to instill greater confidence in the economy, at the recent PSOJ Chairman’s Club Forum. At the same forum, LIME managing director, Garry Sin-clair, also urged the government to modernise the regulation of the telecommunications sector.

Finally, focusing on each sector, we round up our expectations of the new government, as well as highlight PSOJ committee reports and projects for the last quarter of 2011.

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Page 16Sandra A.C. GlasgowCEOThe Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ)

ealising the high incidence of commercial disputes among businesses and the long process of resolution through the court system, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) established the Commercial Alternative

Dispute Resolution Centre (CADRC), with the aim of providing an alternative avenue for resolving disputes.

“The PSOJ wanted to set up a centre as part of its justice reform initiative to address the matter of the delays in the court and the backlog, and provide a service to small and medium business to expedite the resolution of commercial disputes,” said trained mediator and centre manager, Anne Marie Bonner. “What this space o"ers is a neutral, independent centre... a private, confi-dential space. We also provide administrative services; we do all the leg work in setting up the appointments... get all the docu-mentation that would be required, follow up with all the phone calls, then we provide the space to allow it to happen.”

The centre was o!cially established in January 2011 and is fo-cused on providing services in arbitration and mediation. “In mediation, the mediator facilitates the discussion and facilitates the resolution. In an arbitration, the arbitrator listens to the evi-dence from both parties and then determines what the award should be,” Bonner explained. These services will be carried out by experts who will oversee the processes and assist businesses with reaching a resolution. The CADRC is still in the early stages of its development, but it has already conducted eight sensitisa-tion sessions facilitated by James South, international alternative dispute resolution (ADR) consultant and director of training at the Centre for E"ective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) in the United Kingdom. South says he hopes the CADRC will develop

into a world class dispute resolution centre and highlighted that the sessions revealed “a real hunger from the business commu-nity that we met at the workshops for earlier resolution of their disputes before they even got to court.”

“The key points were to explore the impact that disputes have on small and medium business and the limitations and disadvan-tages of the courts in resolving these disputes, such as delays, cost and destroying business relationships,” South said of the sessions, which included a number of local business interests. “We then explored the benefits of arbitration and mediation in resolving commercial disputes. We also explained how the processes worked [by] doing a demonstration for participants.”The sessions were primarily aimed at heightening awareness about the project and the services o"ered to businesses. Ses-sions were held in Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Man-deville and Savanna-la-Mar. The centre is currently conducting a series of in-house briefings with representatives of various busi-ness sectors and additional sensitisation sessions are planned for early this year.

According to Bonner, findings from a survey conducted by the PSOJ in 2009 indicated that many commercial disputes occurred with customers and suppliers, some in the form of contractual disagreements between two parties and disputes in relation to competitors who commit infringements such as copyright viola-tion, as well as issues to do with labour contracts and partner-ships. It is the aim of the centre to provide the services that will allow businesses to resolve these disputes quickly and without incurring costly legal fees. The CADRC provides an initial three hour session and additional hours after, as necessary.

project focus

PSOJ Establishes Commercial Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (CADRC)

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Anne Marie Bonner, Project Manager of the Commercial Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre

(CADRC)Anne Marie Bonner with Justice Hugh Small, QC

“Typically, if somebody has a dispute and would like the matter to be re-solved, they would come to the centre and we will contact the other party. They will both have to agree to the process. It is a voluntary process... but once they come they have to agree to at least give [it] a chance,” Bonner said. “It is a very confidential process. The mediator does not prescribe a resolu-tion; both parties come up with a resolution on their own. They will both sign an agreement. If for some reason one party defaults, then they can still take that matter to the court afterwards, because then it would mean that they would have reneged on a legal contract.”

Graham Dunkley, General Manager of the agricultural chemicals division of Lascelles Demercado, anticipates that the CADRC will have a meaningful impact on commercial disputes for a number of reasons. “One is that by bringing the commercial focus and the private sector background, this frame-work that they are creating... can move us away from a litigation mindset for dispute resolution,” he said. “Two, this organisation can be a catalyst for change primarily in arbitration and, ultimately, as they develop their history and portfolio of success, there are other areas of commercial law that maybe we can look at modernising and this may help.”

Having previously had experience with commercial mediation and arbitra-tion services, Dunkley is supportive of any initiative that saves time. He en-courages businesses to consider taking this route when faced with disputes. “Arbitration and mediation allow for the settlement of a dispute without the adversarial culture that litigation is going to bring. The quicker you can resolve a dispute and move on to a new relationship, is the better. I think litigation should be the last resort,” he said.

The CADRC is also o"ering businesses the opportunity to apply for grants, which will help to o"set the costs of using the centre. For further information on the matching grant programme, please contact Anne Marie Bonner at the CADRC at (876) 754-3593 or annemarieb@psoj.org

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Anne Marie Bonner in discussion withProject Assisstant Andreen Lee.

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he adage of making lemonade when life throws you lemons might be a bit trite by now, but its meaning is still very true, as Justice Hugh Small,

QC can attest.

One of Jamaica’s most brilliant legal luminaries, his goal was to be a Supreme Court judge, but his applications for the bench were repeatedly ignored. Finally, in 2001, he decided to look elsewhere in the Caribbean and made his way to the Bahamas, where he spent five and a half years as a Justice of the Supreme Court, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who had served in that country in the 1920s.

As fate would have it, he served as a commercial judge and went on to become an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators of Britain. This would lead him to an association with the Private Sector Or-ganisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), which in turn led to the establishment of the Commercial Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (CADRC), the country’s first arbitra-

tion and mediation facility solely dedicated to the busi-ness community.

Upon his return from the Bahamas in 2006, Justice Small began working with the PSOJ as a member of the Ja-maica Justice System Reform Task Force, formulating the proposals that went into the organisation’s report. The report had a number of recommendations, including a requirement that stakeholders commit their organisa-tions to assist in modernising the Jamaican justice system and in dealing with the backlog of cases and ine!ciencies in the court system.

“One of the things that the PSOJ made the commitment to do was to try and promote ADR (alternative dispute resolution) in commercial matters to not only serve the needs of its members but also to assist in ensuring that the justice system was improved,” Justice Small ex-plained. The idea for the CADRC was born out of the PSOJ’s commitment to the report. The centre was of-ficially established in January 2011.

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member focus

Justice Hugh Small, QC

“One of the things that the PSOJ made the commitment to do was to try and promote ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) in commercial matters to not only serve the needs of its members but also to assist in ensuring that the justice system was improved.”

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Justice Small’s determination to see the CADRC up and run-ning comes from his experiences in the Bahamas. “My inter-est in mediation developed as a result of the exposure that I had to dispute resolution when I was a judge. There were a lot of disputes that came before the courts in a very combat-ive and adversarial way that would better be solved by having some form of intercession by someone to try and bring the parties closer together, not only to help them save money but also to help them get solutions with which they could live, no question of winners and losers,” he said. Currently, many commercial cases take up to 10 years to be resolved in the local court system, which Justice Small sees as detrimental to the economy, especially as it relates to small and medium-

sized enterprises (SMEs). These businesses su"er the most from lengthy trials because they usually lack the human and financial resources to maintain operations while paying for costly, protracted court cases and often have to close down. “The future of the Jamaican economy depends upon our abil-ity to bring more investments into the economy and most of these investments are going to come in medium and small businesses,” he added.

After his interest in ADR was piqued, Justice Small made con-tact with several commercial ADR facilities in Latin America through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and visited centres in Argentina and Chile. Of course, ADR is not exactly a new concept to Jamaica as the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF) has been in operation since 1994. How-ever, the DRF is not strictly for commercial clients and they are usually sent cases that are lagging in the court system. “We are conscious of the fact that some mediation and arbi-tration is undertaken at the Dispute Resolution Foundation, but we feel that there is an additional aspect of it that can be introduced into the Jamaican society that will strengthen the existing work. We believe that it is possible to establish a new culture that will let people see this as an alternative to going to court and this is what we are about,” Justice Small said. He also stated that people are interested in the services o"ered by the CADRC and are supportive of the idea, but it will take a little time for the centre to really take root.

Although he has been integral to its establishment, Justice Small wants to now take a back seat in its operation. How-ever, he will make himself available should his vast experi-ence be required. “I don’t want the centre to be identified with me. I want it to be identified with the interest of the business community, particularly the small and medium-sized businesses,” he said. His vision for the CADRC is that it will become an active service that the PSOJ is able to o"er all sections of the business community, particularly SMEs. There is also scope to expand the CADRC regionally if it does well locally. “The Caribbean is the only region in the entire hemi-sphere that doesn’t have commercial ADR centres. They ex-ist everywhere else. There was an e"ort to get one going in Trinidad but it didn’t really get o" the ground. I think what we need to do is demonstrate clearly its success in Jamaica here before we start to think about going regional. Businesses do have inter-relationships within the Caribbean. If we succeed here, it will be a natural stepping stone.”

Justice Hugh Small, QC

eeks into his tenure as Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr Peter Phillips is calling for a new and deeper partnership with the private sector while continuing to allay fears about con-

tinuity in economic policy, chiefly the maintenance of a low interest rate regime.

“There is no policy of high interest rates and there will be no policy of high interest rates,” Phillips told his audience at the PSOJ Chairman’s Club Forum held at the Wyndham Hotel in New Kingston on Tuesday, January 24.

“Our objective is to get these rates even lower if conditions allow.”

However, he said that while government would seek to pro-vide macroeconomic stability that will facilitate low interest rates, banks needed to do more to reduce their spreads and pass on the benefits to borrowers.

Throughout his speech, the minister returned to the im-portance of partnership with the private sector and other

stakeholders. This he said would instill a greater degree of confidence and growth in the economy. He acknowledged that too many constraints remained on the economy, such as high national debt, crime and energy costs.

“At the outset, let me make it clear that our objective is to accelerate private sector-led growth through increased in-vestment and e!ciency gains… so as to generate jobs, re-duce unemployment and poverty,” he said.

He also invited private sector interest in the government’s divestment programme, acknowledging that certain entities would otherwise remain too ine!cient if they stayed within the public sector.

Phillips singled out the PSOJ’s Youth Upliftment Through Em-ployment (YUTE) programme as an example of proactive involvement by the private sector. Responding to a question from the audience, Phillips called for patience regarding the nascent Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme ( JEEP).

Current IssuesYes to Private Sector Partnership,

No to High Interest Rates - Phillips

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“Our objective is to get these rates even lower if conditions allow.”

Minitser of Finance and the Public Service, Dr Peter Phillips speaking on the importance of private sector partnership at the PSOJ Chairman’s Club Forum.

He also gave positive signals about preliminary talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), due for comple-tion on the day of his speech, ahead of full negotiations.

“The Government is desirous of entering into a new agreement in the shortest possible timeframe. These ne-gotiations are going to be tough, but based on the discus-sions today, I can say that there is a spirit of goodwill and the atmosphere is good.”

Following previous finance ministers who did not arrive with a background in finance, former University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona lecturer, Phillips nonetheless has a diverse résumé of ministerial portfolios already be-hind him: health, transport and national security.

He now faces a number of challenging tasks including: preparing a new budget to be delivered in three months time; maintaining economic stability and restricting bor-rowing; avoiding public sector job cuts while fostering job creation; and renegotiating Jamaica’s relationship with the IMF.

Phillips has stressed that medium-term goals will include reform of the taxation system and of the public sector

pension system; public sector transformation and reduc-ing public sector costs.

Not the first finance minister to be questioned over his supposed lack of experience, Phillips prudently respond-ed that he has taken advice from financial experts and re-ferred to his appointment as a “natural evolution” in his political career.

A Fulbright scholar, he holds a doctorate in international political economy. He has maintained that his latest job is actually a better fit than previous portfolios given his academic interest in economic growth and development.

Phillips has sought to dampen uncertainty and boost con-fidence by promising continuity from the last government in terms of macroeconomic policy: keeping the economy stable, restricting debt and ensuring that Jamaica reduces its dependence on borrowing.

He has, of course, extended this continuity to his senior team, which includes Dr Gladstone Hutchinson, director-general and Executive Chairman of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Financial Secretary, Dr Wesley Hughes and Governor of the Bank of Jamaica, Brian Wynter.

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(L-R): Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips, PSOJ President Joseph Matalon and PSOJ CEO Sandra Glasgow.

Current IssuesLIME Managing Director presses case for re-

form of telecommunications sector

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Encouraged by a recent statement by telecommunications minister Phillip Paulwell, LIME Managing Director, Garry Sinclair, is nonethe-less demanding that the government take immediate action to fur-ther modernise the regulation of the sector.

Addressing the PSOJ Chairman’s Club Forum on January 24, Sinclair used the opportunity to continue LIME’s lobbying e"orts following Digicel’s acquisition of Claro, which gives it a cumulative total of 2.6 million customers. LIME currently has 350,000 customers, a disparity which the former monopoly provider argues has reversed the gains of liberalisation in the absence of lower cross-network rates and number portability.

“I look forward to seeing this matter progress beyond talk because frankly, now is the time for action,” Sinclair told PSOJ members. “And yes, we’ve been hearing positive utterances, but we can’t just discuss these issues, we have to do something to rectify the current situation.”

The LIME MD contended that the regulatory framework had be-come outdated in the 10 years since liberalisation and that the cur-

rent reform debate was the most important issue to face the sector during this period.

“Currently, the dominant player (Digicel) is in a position to confine most of the national call tra!c to its network by making calls o" its network punitive, starving other operators of revenue from cross-network calls. In other words, the deficiences in our existing regula-tory regime facilitate the dominant player’s ability to make it unprof-itable for other players to o"er a voice service,” said Sinclair.

The consequence, he argued, is that individual customers and busi-nesses are being denied the benefits of a competitive market.

He also moved to a!rm LIME’s determination to remain in the mar-ket against the background of a news report that the regulatory en-vironment was forcing the company to reconsider its future.

“We remain 100 per cent committed to our employees, our loyal customers, our shareholders, our suppliers, the wider public and ev-eryone who supports us and depends on us,” said Sinclair.

“We remain 100 per cent committed to our employees, our loyal customers, our shareholders, our suppliers, the wider public and everyone who supports us and depends on us.”

LIME Managing Director, Garry Sinclair addressing the PSOJ Chairman’s Club Forum.

ntrepreneurship is a key factor in economic development. Entrepreneurs contribute to society in ways such as pro-viding jobs, conducting business locally, creating and par-ticipating in entrepreneurial networks, investing in com-

munity projects and giving to local charities. Realising both the economic and social impact of entrepreneurship, many coun-tries and organisations have implemented aggressive strategies aimed at cultivating and nurturing entrepreneurs.

In this vein, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) launched a new initiative in July 2011 called the Mentorship of Emerging Entrepreneurial Leaders Series (MEELS). This is one of the ongoing activities of the PSOJ’s Membership Committee, designed to deliver business-related value for members and en-hance the value proposition. In this venture, some of the organ-isation’s young entrepreneurs and some prospective members who are entrepreneurs are invited to attend sessions where they are mentored by local business leaders and senior statesmen.

Approximately seven young entrepreneurs are invited to each session, along with members of the PSOJ team. A guest mentor is invited to share some of his experiences in business as well as to field questions from the entrepreneurs and assist them with developing strategies that will assist in the growth and develop-ment of their businesses. There have been six such events and the mentors to date have been: Hon William McConnell, Dr Marshall Hall, Hon Maurice Facey, Richard Byles, Oliver Clarke and Patrick Hylton. Each mentor has brought his own unique style to the proceedings.

Marsha Smikle, Managing Director of Delivery Solutions, who was a part of the session with Dr Hall, recounted her experienc-es: “He provided guidance on our business models. It was a very interactive session. We talked about the issues and challenges we face.” One of Smikle’s issues was finding suitably qualified people to work in her company. “He said the government has

to put more emphasis on skills training, but I’ll probably have to invest in an in-house trainer to train sta" in specific skill sets.”

Among the lessons she took away from her mentoring session were the importance of working hard, having a passion for what you do and being fair and ethical in all business a"airs.

All mentees and mentors came together on December 13, 2011 for the MEELS networking event, where mentor Patrick Hylton spoke about the journey to his current position, which included a story on how he prepared for and completed a marathon in his quest to live a better life. “It was very inspiring,” Smikle said. “We also got the chance to see each other again and make link-ages.

“The mentorship programme gives you a chance to interact with fellow entrepreneurs – hear their stories, their challenges and hear from an entrepreneur who has gone ahead and learn from their experiences,” she added.

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MENTORINg EMERgINg ENTREPRENEuRIAL LEADERS

special programs

(L-R): Sherrone Blake-Lobban, CEO – DPM International Ltd.; Adam Laing, Projects Manager – TARA Courier Service Ltd; Dane Lafayette, Service Manager – Geddes Refrigeration Ltd; Janelle Pantry, Managing Director – Spaces Ltd; Hon Maurice Facey OJ, Chairman – Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust, guest mentor; Patrice Wilson-McHugh, Managing Director – Bars to Go Group Ltd; Sandra Glasgow, CEO – PSOJ; Tyrone Wilson, Managing Director – eMedia Interactive Ltd; Aisha Morgan, Managing Director – Nettle and Moss Ltd.

(Seated): Dr Marshall Hall CD, Chairman – Jamaica Producers Group, guest men-tor; Sandra Glasgow, CEO – PSOJ.

(Standing, l-r): Alexander Melville – Finance Director, Chukka Caribbean & Tropi-cal Battery; Mark Dean, CEO – Prime Fencing and Roofing Systems; Gale Peart – CEO, Caribbean Fortress Ltd; Marsha Smikle, Managing Director – E!cient Delivery Solutions Ltd.; Duane Lue-Fung – CEO, Lutec Ltd; Kimala Bennett –

Managing Director, The Business Lab/The Production Lab; Stephen Whittingham - CEO, Island Ice and Beverage Co; Chris Reckord – Chairman, PSOJ Membership

Committee.

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OVERVIEW: NEW GOV’T AND THE ECONOMY

Relationship with the IMFFinance minister Peter Phillips is currently engaging in preliminary talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to review the country’s financial obligations. The aim is to change the agree-ment to an Extended Fund Facility, rather than the 27-month stand-by agreement currently in place.

Tax reformSeveral months ago the then Jamaica Labour Party ( JLP) govern-ment tabled a green paper on tax reform that proposes, among other things, to lower GCT rates and reduce the numbers of exempt items, as well as to drastically reduce many waivers and concessions granted to businesses. The People’s National Party (PNP) manifesto agreed in principle with this approach, noting, “broadening of the tax net and revamping of the incentives re-gime was a tool to stimulate growth”. As part of the “revamp-ing” of incentives, the PNP is proposing a four-year tax holiday for start-ups in any sector and incentives for companies that hire disabled workers.

Public sector reformIn its manifesto, the PNP acknowledged the need to reduce pub-lic sector wages as a percentage of GDP, but observed that the reduction could be achieved “through frank dialogue with work-ers and their representatives, as was done in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2003-2004”. In a post-election pro-nouncement, Phillips reiterated that the PNP did not believe that large layo"s of public sector workers were necessary or feasible.

Public sector pension reform Given estimates of the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) liability for public sector pension of $255 billion or 15 per cent of GDP, there is little likelihood of the GOJ being able to continue to solely fund pensions from the budget. A contributory scheme therefore appears to be in the short-term future for Jamaican public sector workers.

Job creationThe PNP has begun to implement the Jamaica Emergency Em-ployment Programme ( JEEP) to counter rising poverty. JEEP will comprise assorted public works projects such as: the construc-tion of retaining walls, paving of gullies and reforestation. Private sector companies adding jobs will also be given an appropriate incentive for a period of three years. The public sector portion of JEEP is to be financed by diverting 15-25 per cent of the funds in the Jamaica Development Infrastructural Programme ( JDIP) and the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF).

EnergyThe PNP manifesto places energy at the forefront as one of two “overarching” sectors to “reposition the economy for growth”.

Intertwined within the many PNP energy proposals are four key strategies, namely: modernising the electricity generation infra-structure; diversifying the fuel mix; strengthening regulations and institutions; and promoting energy e!ciency and conservation.

ICTICT was the other “overarching” sector identified by the PNP. The ICT strategy identifies awareness, access, di"usion, exploi-tation and innovation as the trajectory followed by nations to maximise benefits from ICT. The PNP’s manifesto then outlines short, medium and long-term strategies for moving the country along that trajectory. The party also plans to establish one mil-lion square feet of ‘plug and play’ facilities in partnership with the private sector. At estimated construction costs of $300-$500 per square foot, the build out of ‘plug and play’ facilities could cost $500 million.

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COMMITTEE UPDATES

Corporate Governance CommitteeThe Committee will meet again in February 2012.

Crime StopThe Crime Stop coordinator’s report highlighted the following for the pe-riod ending December, 2011:

-ceived in November.

in November amounted to $15,000.-

covered property was valued at $391,624. -

ber, $15,000 was the value of the narcotics recovered.

Education CommitteeThe Education Committee was on recess for the month of December. However, members of the sub-committee, comprising Sandra Glasgow, Renee Rattray and Lloyd Eubank-Green, met on Wednesday 30, 2011 to discuss the draft policy paper.

It was agreed that relevant statistics would be used to demonstrate that the education system is broken.

The four pillars model proposed by the PSOJ will be focused on:

The revised paper is to be completed in time for the January 2012 Educa-tion Committee meeting.

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MSMEsDuring the election campaign, both parties prom-ised to focus on MSMEs given their job creating potential. The PNP’s focus was on encouraging formalisation to improve MSMEs’ access to financ-ing and other benefits. The PNP also promised to provide a four-year tax holiday for start-ups.

AgricultureThe PNP emphasised food su!ciency and agro-processing to add to the agricultural sector. Again, the best course would be to combine the best ideas from both parties to move this sector and help it achieve its potential.

TourismAs for agriculture, the PNP and JLP had quite simi-lar and sound positions in the tourism sector. Both parties support market diversification, improving and diversifying Jamaica’s tourism product, im-proving the country’s infrastructure, increasing the number of attractions, and enhancing the hospi-tality skills of workers in the industry

National security National security is especially important to inves-tors and business, and the PNP observed in its manifesto that violence and criminality has for many years “stymied economic growth and in-vestment”. To deal with these challenges, the PNP proposed a three-pronged strategy consisting of: Institutional improvements a"ecting the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Jamaica Defence Force; Targeting organised crime; and Engender-ing trust.

As important and necessary as these broad initia-tives are, what seems critical at this stage is a more detailed sector by sector strategy as the measures to address the security needs of farmers are not necessarily those that will be most helpful to ho-teliers or business persons operating in the com-mercial and industrial districts.

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PROJECTS

CADRCDuring the period, sensitisation sessions were held with retired judges and all five of the invited retired judges attended and ex-pressed support and interest in being on the panel. Two have submitted their resumes and one has expressed interest in par-ticipating in the commercial mediation training.

The sensitisation sessions scheduled for the maritime industry, and the public sector were rescheduled for January 2012.

Two mediations were held, one for a full day and the other half day. The mediations are to continue in the New Year as the mat-ters were not concluded.

An o!cial letter was received from the Development Bank of Ja-maica confirming the approval of a grant request for US$60,000 for public education and MSE grants. The funds are to be dis-bursed in three tranches. The Inter-America Development Bank has also approved our request to reconstitute the Project Steer-ing Committee without the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Dispute Resolution Foundation.

YUTEYUTE activities were largely on hiatus during December be-cause of the impending general elections.

With the assistance of Advisory Council member, Brian Den-ning, we secured the remaining approval from the Minister of Fi-nance under Section 13(q) of the Income Tax Act for Youth Up-liftment through Employment ‘YUTE’ Limited. This means that individuals and companies making donations to YUTE. can claim a tax deduction for same (provided that the aggregate amount of donations made to approved charitable organisations does not exceed five per cent of the donor’s chargeable income for the relevant year of assessment).

EU Banana Support Programme – St James Youth Training ProjectSite visits were done at the two locations in St James where training is to be undertaken. An assessment of the proposed training facilities determined that refurbishing and some amount of infrastructural work was required before computer equip-ment could be installed.

Improving the Competitiveness of Family BusinessesThe Disbursement Requests justification report was completed and delivered to the IDB for the third quarter.

The Counterpart Report for the third quarter was completed and delivered to the IDB.

Request for the procurement of resources for Final Audit and Impact and Final evaluation is being carried out by the IDB.

The PSR is being updated with the outcomes and lessons learned. The project manager is also in the process of comple-tion of the documentation in anticipation of the audits.

The financials for December cannot be finalised until January, 2012. The timing is dependent on receipt of the final disburse-ments from the IDB. The administrative matters a"ecting closure of bank accounts and the audit will be based on this occurrence.

EU-Proinvest Project: Capacity Building of Caribbean Pri-vate Sector Environmental and Energy Management Capabilities

Final energy and environmental audit reports from Caribbean Esco are outstanding.

Final financial audit report of the project received from Ernst and Young and submitted to the EU in December.

CDB Project: Improving CARICOM Market Access for Jamaican Goods and ServicesTrevor Hamilton and Associates is carrying out consultations with stakeholders for the development of a private sector-driv-en mechanism to improve regional market access for Jamaica; and business to business meetings in Barbados and Trinidad.

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Past HappenIngs

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Eaton Haughton, Consultant on the EU/ProInvest project addressing an Environmental workshop. Looking on are (from left) Omar Chedda, the PSOJ’s Trade and Environment Manager; Curtis Deenah, Technical Information O!cer – Scientific Research Council and David Barrett, a

member of the Environmental Auditing Team.

Lynval Freeman of Ernst and Young giving the Auditors Report at the PSOJ AGM on June 3, 2011. Listening attentively are PSOJ O!cers: Earl Jarrett (partly hidden) – Honorary Secretary, Jackie Sharpe – Honorary Treasurer, Don Wehby – Vice President , Joseph Matalon – President, Sandra Glasgow (partly hidden) –

CEO, William McConnell – Honorary Member, PSOJ Executive.

Former Commissioner of Customs, Danville Walker, makes a point during Dialogue Two entitled ‘Do Tax Incentives Enable Growth?’ at the PSOJ/JMMB Annual Economic Forum on June 28, 2011 at the Wyndham Kingston Hotel. Also participating were (from left) panelist Dr. Damien King, Executive Director of The Caribbean Policy Re-search Institute (CaPRI) and moderator, Imani Duncan, Group Marketing Manager at

JMMB.

In 2011, the PSOJ secured funding from the EU, under the Pro-Invest facility, to undertake a regional energy and environmental management project in collaboration with private sector part-ners in Trinidad and Tobago. This involved energy and environ-mental audits for selected firms, training workshops, a learning and investment mission to the EU and a regional conference in Trinidad in July 2011.

Many businesses face increasing challenges from environmental degradation, which threatens their sustainability. Trade agree-ments increasingly require improved environmental practices in response to global climate change and achieving international competitiveness for export success is critically impacted by en-ergy consumption.

The PSOJ-led project utilised a private sector collaborative ap-proach to create opportunities for regional inter-company part-nerships in developing solutions to the energy problems facing the region.

On Tuesday June 28, 2011 the PSOJ/JMMB Annual Economic Forum was held at the Wyndham Kingston Hotel under the theme ‘Dialogue for Growth – Enquiring. Listening. Solutions.’ Two dialogues were held. The first was entitled ‘Does the Monopoly Within the Electricity Indus-try Keep Energy Costs High?’ and the second was entitled ‘Do Tax In-centives Enable Growth?’ These dialogues were followed by round table discussions on energy and taxes.

The PSOJ held its 23rd Annual General Meet-ing at the Knutsford Court Hotel on Friday, June 3, 2011. Three individuals, 14 associa-tions and 10 companies were elected to the PSOJ Council.

Maureen Webber of the YUTE Project Man-agement O!ce – Development Options, gave an update on the programme and mem-bers were introduced to Lascelles Page, a YUTE participant who has been hired on a full-time basis as the PSOJ CEO’s Administra-tive Assistant.

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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