1. Regional Consultation on Partnership for Jamaica Westmoreland, April 2015

2. Jamaican Governance and its Parishes In 1663 the first “general” election was held in Jamaica, in which 300 white men (out of a population of 6,000 whites) voted for members of the Assembly. In 1664 one of the earliest actions of the Assembly was to divide the country into seven parishes. The first seven parishes formed were all in Eastern and Central Jamaica: Clarendon, Port Royal, St. Andrew, St. David, St. John, St. Catherine and St. Thomas.

3. The Uniqueness of the Parish of Westmoreland in Jamaica In 1670, five new parishes were formed, St. Ann, St. Elizabeth, St. George, St. James and St. Mary; all with the prefix “Saint” because they were established during the reign (1660-85) of Charles II, a secret catholic, whose mother was Henrietta Maria, sister of Louis XIII, King of Catholic France. The remaining surviving parishes, all saint-less, were formed as follows: Kingston (1693), Westmoreland (1703), Hanover (1723), Portland (1723), Trelawny (1770) and Manchester. Westmoreland, although not the youngest parish, is the only existing parish that was named for its Jamaican location. All other parishes were named after British royalty, British Governors, or their wives. Portland, for example, is named after the first Duke of Portland, Henry Bentinck, who was the Governor of Jamaica when the parish was formed.

4. Jamaica’s First Development Priority was to give Voice to the Voiceless through the Vote Prior to the nineteenth century many Jamaicans were voiceless. In 1830 free mulattoes and free black men were allowed to vote. In 1831 Jews were allowed to vote. In the early 1830s Catholics were allowed to vote. In 1838 black men were allowed to vote, but because of stringent property and income qualifications, in 1863, in a population of 441,264 the total electorate was 1,457, or 0.3% of the population. Women were allowed to vote in 1919, but with a higher age of majority (25 versus 21) and a higher income tax payment threshold.

5. Voice through Social Partnership Daily Gleaner, Tuesday May 25, 1979 – Wilmot Perkins “The social contract represented, hypothetically, the Government’s last hope of being able to affect a sufficient degree of national consensus to make possible under its leadership a determined and effective assault upon the nation’s problems.”

6. 1996 National Industrial Policy Called for a Social Partnership Social partnership efforts continued in the 1990s and early 2000s with industry accords (eg. Manley Accord in Bauxite); ACORN Group Dialogue, led by Ward Mills, OD; PSOJ Efforts led by Hon. Beverly Lopez, OJ.

7. In 2011, after three years of consultation, Prime Minister Bruce Golding led in the signing of the Partnership Code of Conduct at Jamaica House

8. In 2013, Prime Minister Simpson Miller led in the signing of the Partnership for Jamaica at Kings House The Partnership for Jamaica is Jamaica’s first ever signed social partnership agreement, which gives voice in matters of national and regional development to all social partners.

9. Partnership Voice Mechanisms Fiscal Consolidation -Economic Programme (with social protection)Oversight Committee (EPOC) Rule of Law Adherence -Unite for Change, Justice (and more timely justice outcomes)Council Energy Diversification and - Energy Council ConservationElectricity Sector Enterprise Team (ESET) Doing Business - National and EmploymentCompetitiveness Council (NCC) General-National Partnership Council Regional Consultations

10. Partnership Organisational Structure National Partnership Council, chaired by the Most Hon. Prime Minister. Partnership Coordinating Committee, chaired by Ambassador, the Hon. Burchell Whiteman, OJ. Partnership Governance Committee, chaired by Rev. Anglin, includes Hon. Donna Parchment Brown and Ambassador, the Hon. Fay Durrant, OJ.

11. International Observations on Jamaica’s Social Partnership Process Is Jamaica Poised for a Turnaround, by Robert Looney, Foreign Policy, Feb. 12, 2014 It’s easy to be pessimistic about Jamaica. The Country has the World’s highest debt burden and its economic growth has been at a near standstill over the past several decades. It has one of the highest murder rates in the World. Consequently its refreshing to hear some good news about the Country. And there is certainly reason for optimism. The ongoing economic crisis and the spectre of default has generated a previously unseen spirit of cooperation. After years of hard work Prime Minister Simpson-Miller established the Partnership for Jamaica on July 31, 2013. Its priority areas include fiscal consolidation (with social protection), rule of law adherence (and timely justice outcomes); improved ease of doing business and employment creation and energy diversification and conservation. The Agreement relies on the cooperation of various groups, which will hopefully build up trust and put an end to the erosion of social capital.

12. Partnership for Jamaica Targets Indicator2013 ActualCurrent2016 Target GDP Growth (%)-o.30.42-3 Murders per 100,000383825 Ease of Doing Business90 th 58 th 75 th Unemployment Rate14.2% 14.2%10% Electricity (per KWH) 42c30c30c % Debt to GDP142132105 Primary Surplus (%)5.37.57.5

13. Jamaica’s significant improvement in the DBR was linked primarily to reforms (collateral registry, single point, company registration process, new credit bureaux) and marginally to the change in methodology.

14. Energy has recently been an important area of partnership focus and concern. Against this background, social partners requested the creation of an Electricity Sector Enterprise Team in May 2014.

15. International Observations on Jamaica’s Energy Plan The Economist, October 4, 2014. Jamaica spends more on fuel imports than it earns from tourism. There may be some movement. Jamaica has dithered for years over its energy investment strategy. But proposals are now circulating for new power plants fueled by liquefied natural gas, ethane or propane made available by America’s shale gas boom, or by low-sulphur Columbian coal. … Too many projects are struck on the drawing board, however. Negotiating terms with commercial developers is a nightmare when costs and returns are uncertain; environmental issues cause endless disputes.

16. Examples of Partnership in Action The voice mechanisms of the partnership have been very active. The examples of the work of EPOC and ESET illustrate. EPOC has issued some 20 communiques and hosted a similar number of press conferences since its establishment in 2013. On her visit to Jamaica, the MD of the IMF commended this institutional innovation by Jamaica. ESET, beginning with its first meeting on June 5, 2014 has met 84 times, made five cabinet submissions and hosted 2 press conferences.

17. Partnership Dialogue Partnership Council meetings have focused on monitoring performance in the key areas of focus: fiscal consolidation with social protection; rule of law and justice, Doing Business and employment; and energy diversification and conservation. Partnership Council meetings have also focused on key issues and governance challenges, for example, adherence to planning permit process by government minister, governance at the National Housing Trust; improvements in national solid waste management structures and processes.

18. Adding Voices in Pursuit of National and Regional Development The first Jamaican “voice challenge” was to ensure that all Jamaicans could exercise their voices in choosing national leaders. Our recent celebration of the seventieth anniversary of universal adult suffrage is an important recognition of a critical Jamaican “voice” milestone. The current national social partnership process is a contemporary effort to “add voices in pursuit of national and regional development” Adding voices can lead to a cacophony of confusion, and so the social partnership process seeks to add voices in a structured way by seeking to fashion consensus on key national priorities, while ensuring that all partners remain commited to the principles enshrined in the PFJ Agreement. Today provides an opportunity to hear the voices of residents of Westmoreland in this structured process of regional consultation.