Innovative Financing for Development Forum – Accelerating the Advancement of the SDGs and Creating the Jamaica we want by 2030

Delivered at a UNDP forum on Development Finance on October 31, 2018 at the PIOJ at 9:00 am – 12 noon.

Salutations

• Chair Person, Barbara Scott, Deputy Director General, PIOJ
• UNDP – Bruno Pouezat, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative
• Other IDPs – EU, USAID, OAS, CDB
• Regional and International Organizations – TNC,
• Private Sector (JN)
• Government Representatives
• Colleagues at the PIOJ

Good morning.

Like Barbara said, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) is pleased to partner with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to host today’s forum on innovative financing for development.

It is recognized globally, that financing will play a critical role in countries meeting their development outcomes. Jamaica, like other developing countries, faces a financing gap.

Jamaica’s financing problem is further compounded by the limited fiscal space, due to the country’s high, albeit declining debt stock, and the country’s vulnerability to external shocks, like natural disaster, which can setback Jamaica’s development agenda.

The country continues to make strides in aligning government expenditure with our National Development Plan – Vision 2030 Jamaica, which is our country’s first long term development plan. This  provides a strategic road map for Jamaica to achieve develop country status by 2030.It is important to note that there is 91.3 per cent alignment between Vision 2030 Jamaica and the SDGs, one of the highest level of alignment globally. Therefore, implementing our National Development Plan, will lead to the achievement of our SDGs.

The National Development Plan is implemented through a series of Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Frameworks (MTFs) which identify the priority outcomes, strategies and actions for each three year period from 2009-2030 and which provides a good foundation for aligning financing flows with development priorities. 

The planning system continue to be strengthened by the reform programmes that are currently being implemented by Government of Jamaica, that seeks to make the government more efficient and effective in achieving its development objective.

The resources for the implementation of successive MTFs come from a range of sources, including the GOJ budget, private sector investment, and civil society, IDPs and the diaspora. Emphasis is therefore placed on ensuring that planning , budgeting and resource allocation mechanisms are successfully aligned and integrated for the implementation of each MTF. But it is important for us to benefit from new and emerging trends in international finance and the lessons learned and best practices of others.

These discussions on financing our country’s development should not be a separate conversation from the SDGs. Rather it ought to be consistent, integrated, and benefit from the perspective of all stakeholders. Today’s forum provides us with this opportunity, let us make the most of it

We believe that this forum is timely given:

• The rise of inward-looking policies by some countries which may result in reductions in development funding through bilateral engagements as well as contributions to international development organizations.
• The emergence of new innovative financing instruments which provide opportunities for wider engagement of the private sector both locally and internationally – specifically using technologies which could have positive implications for the financial industry (….. we can think readily of the emergence of Bitcoin).
• The rebalancing of the Chinese growth model from an export-driven one to one centered on household consumption. The implications for Jamaica are still not well understood.
• A large diaspora which continues to expand across the world. The challenge is how to effectively engage and leverage the diaspora as a source of financing for investments towards fuelling growth and development.
• The continued strengthening of the Jamaican economy with a greater focus on economic independence where we are able to better use domestic sources to finance our development objectives.

Closing

We hope that today’s forum provides useful insights, encourages frank and purposeful discussions around financing for our country’s development outcomes, towards making Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families and the do business

Download: Innovative Financing for Development Forum – DG Speaking notes