progressive agenda technical report - pnp 16aug11

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August 15th, 2011 “BE THE BEST”

Policy Commission

THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA

PRINCIPLES, POLICIES & PATHWAYS

“TO BEING THE BEST THAT WE CAN BE”

IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD .................................................................................................................................................... 5

WHAT IS THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA? ................................................................................................ 6

THE EXPECTED MEASUREABLE OUTCOMES OF THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA ......................... 7

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 8

........................................................................................................................................................................ 10

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ 10

GROWTH WITH JOBS: .............................................................................................................................. 11

PROGRESSIVE AGENDA SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS .............................................................................................. 13

A. COUNTRY ...................................................................................................................................... 13

B. THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE .................................................................................................... 14

C. THE PARTY ................................................................................................................................ 15

Low performance of the Jamaican economy and continued alienation of social groups in Jamaica .... 16

What are some of the areas which we assess that our performance did not meet our expectations? 16

What were some of the Progressive achievements of the Party in the past? ...................................... 18

On social development ................................................................................................................... 18

On Economic Growth and Development ........................................................................................ 19

On Infrastructural Development ..................................................................................................... 19

On Foreign Policy and National Development................................................................................ 20

Governance reform ........................................................................................................................ 20

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PHILOSOPHY AND VISION ......................................................................................................................... 21

THE PARTY LEADER’S DIRECTIVES ........................................................................................................ 23

THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA .................................................................................................................... 25

“I -WE” ............................................................................................................................................................ 25

THE FIVE PILLARS OF THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA ............................................................................ 27

(HAPPEN) ...................................................................................................................................................... 27

SOME NEW POSSIBILITIES ........................................................................................................................ 28

POLICY FRAMEWORK OF THE PILLARS OF THE AGENDA .................................................... 30

FULL HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................... 31

A SAFE AND JUST SOCIETY means: ............................................................................................. 31

PARTICIPATION, ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY means: ..................................... 32

PROGRESSIVE INTERNATIONALISM: ........................................................................................ 32

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT means: .................. 33

THE PLATFORM FOR PROGRESS: THE BROADBAND PLATFORM AND HIGHWAY TO THE FUTURE........................................................................................................................................................................ 35

THE NEW ROLE OF THE STATE IN THE 21ST CENTURY ....................................................................... 38

THE NEW ROLE OF THE STATE IN POLICY FORMULATION/IMPLEMENTATION ............... 39

PRINCIPLE OF SHARED GOVERNANCE ..................................................................................... 39

FISCAL MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................ 41

JOINED UP GOVERNANCE ........................................................................................................... 41

THE CIVIL SERVICE BUREAUCRACY: .................................................................................... 41

THE PRIVATE SECTOR: ................................................................................................................ 42

THE YOUTH AGENDA ................................................................................................................................. 42

WOMEN and GENDER ISSUES .................................................................................................................... 44

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES................................................................................................................... 45

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THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY UNDER THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA ................................................. 45

A DEMOCRATIC PARTNERSHIP ................................................................................................................ 46

CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA ..................................................................... 47

THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA ............................................................. 47

THE JAMAICAN DIASPORA ....................................................................................................................... 48

SOME IMPORTANT MIX OF POLICY PROPOSALS ARISING FROM THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA FOR HARMONIOUS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .................................................................... 50

NATIONAL SECURITY and JUSTICE ...................................................................................................... 50

(Safe & Just Society) .......................................................................................................................... 50

POLICY-MIX TO ACHIEVE RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH ........................................................ 50

RESOLVING THE ENERGY CHALLENGE ................................................................................... 54

BUILDING ACCESS TO THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN ............................................................. 54

JAMAICA’S CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES - ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, CULTURE ..................................................................................................................................................... 54

MIX OF POLICIES RELATED TO SOME CRITICAL ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT: ...... 57

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................................... 57

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 58

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: ......................................................................................................................... 59

PROGRESSIVE AGENDA COMMITTEE MEMBERS: ................................................................... 59

TECHNICAL REVIEW TEAM ..................................................................................................... 59

PROGRESSIVE AGENDA RESOURCE DOCUMENTS AND REFERENCES: ............................................ 60

NOTES ........................................................................................................................................................... 64

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FOREWORD The Policy Commission completed its work on the Progressive Agenda in three distinct stages, providing for the widest possible consultation.. This effort involved not only the Party and its grassroots, but included a wide spectrum of the Jamaican people and interest groups at home and abroad.

The Progressive Agenda Master Document is therefore the repository of all the information presented to the Progressive Agenda Policy Committee by the various spokespersons on their areas of responsibility and represents the outcome of consultations with key stakeholder interests in the portfolios, including the views and comments of Party members and supporters.

The first stage was represented by the Conference Document which contains the framework of philosophical principles and the five (5) priority areas of policy namely, 1) Human Resource Development, 2) A Safe, Secure and Just Society, 3) Participation, Accountability and Responsibility, 4) Progressive Internationalism and 5) Economic Growth and Sustainable Development.

The outcome of the harmonious application of the policy mix under the five pillars will produce sustainable National economic development.

The second stage is represented as this Launch Document which contains the Principles, Policies and Pathways of the Progressive Agenda.

This Launch Document is the forerunner to the third stage, the Manifesto, in which the Party’s priorities, strategies, plans and programs will be presented, prior to the date general elections, constitutionally due in September 2012.

The Launch Document represents the deep reflections of the Party’s leadership and supporters, as well as the views of many patriotic Jamaicans on the Party’s years in office. These reflections and views are informed by the invaluable experiences gained in governance and government as well as the spectacular achievements and lessons learnt by the Party in office. The Party’s recent eighteen years in office are of particular importance to these reflections.

Building on the years of experience, the Party, at the instruction of the Party Leader Portia Simpson Miller, has engaged in a process of renewal of its thinking, organs and methods of work. It has also developed a strategic mix of policies aimed at ensuring a smooth integration of the Jamaican economy within the global space, against the background of the rapidly changing conditions both locally and internationally.

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This renewal has resulted in the Progressive Agenda of the Party, which responds to the immediate challenges of our times--- to continue the transformation of the Jamaican economy and society at a greatly enhanced pace and in a manner that ensures sustainability. By PROGRESSIVE we mean: Promoting progress toward change for better conditions, through new ideas, new policies and new methods By AGENDA we mean: An action plan with measureable outcomes identified to meet Jamaica’s National Development goals in a Sustainable way

WHAT IS THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA?

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THE EXPECTED MEASUREABLE OUTCOMES OF THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA Is the mix of data driven policies that will produce:

• Accelerated economic growth and sustained development in ways that achieve social inclusion and equality of opportunity

• A National Economy which is integrated into the Global Marketplace in ways that achieve:

§ High levels of productivity and competitiveness with jobs § Must benefit ALL Jamaicans

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INTRODUCTION Throughout its history The Peoples National Party (PNP) has reviewed and renewed its policies, plans and programs in its search for solutions to the challenges facing the Jamaican people.

The current process continues this tradition to develop and articulate a consistent and coherent policy mix designed to achieve social cohesion and economic transformation. This continuity of effort is embodied in the Progressive Agenda which is in keeping with Party founder and National Hero, Norman Washington Manley’s vision of the Party as a leading “Progressive Force” in the National Movement.

The new Progressive Agenda has retained the essence of the Party’s principles and best practices since its formation in 1938. This historical development is best explained in the two documents entitled: Principles and Objectives and The Compass.

It also restates the PNP’s philosophy and core values in the context of the present reality of globalization, as articulated in the 21st Century Mission Document.

The Progressive Agenda also embodies the call of Norman Manley to transform the Jamaican economy to enable the participation of the mass of the Jamaican people in the building of one nation united in purpose.

The evidence of the past 72 years is reflected in the dynamic leadership of Norman Manley, Michael Manley, P. J. Patterson and Portia Simpson Miller, who continues this process to establish the PNP as the leading political organization in the drive for people-centered economic growth and sustainable development of Jamaica.

The Progressive Agenda is also a process, which seeks to involve the participation of the members and supporters of the Party, as well as all the Jamaican people in their business associations, trade unions, churches, communities, youth organizations and other social groupings. The process has been iterative (step by step).

Presently, political parties of all persuasions have had to face new challenges arising from globalization and the emergence of the global village. Indeed, government, corporate and social organizations have had to make necessary adjustments. Specifically, the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has profoundly transformed the way we live, work, play, study and relate to each other. ICT is at the center of the social, political and economic revolution, which is transforming societies, political parties and economies across the Caribbean region, the hemisphere and the world.

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The digital divide brought about by the widespread use of ICTs, threatens to increase the inequalities among and between individuals, socio-economic groups within countries and between countries in this period of the rise of global knowledge societies and economies. However, ICTs also represent a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship that will continue to stimulate improved standard of living, economic growth with jobs and prosperity.

The Progressive Agenda takes account of these developments in its introduction of the “I-We” paradigm, which itself introduces the concepts of progressive individuals in opposition to possessive individuals and argues for the need to cultivate communities of shared interests and values which harness the best qualities and efforts of all individuals (I) to achieve the best outcomes for all ( WE). The ultimate goal of Sustainable National Development is thus achieved as part of the 20/30 vision of the Progressive Agenda

These technological and social developments have also had far-reaching implications for the Role of the State in the 21st Century, as outlined in this document.

The Progressive Agenda restates the core principles and values of the Party around its first principles of Equality and Nationhood that are attainable only if the allied principles of Integrity, Democracy, Freedom, and Justice are scrupulously adhered to.

The Progressive Agenda is built upon five pillars. Human Resource Development A Safe and A Just Society Participation, Accountability and Responsibility (PAR) Progressive Internationalism Economic growth and sustainable National development. The outcome of the harmonious application of the strategic policy mix under the five pillars will produce sustainable National economic development, (HAPPEN).

The Party gives its assurance to the Jamaican people that its policy decisions, strategies and programs will be evidence based, using the most up-to-date scientific methods and best practices. It will work unceasingly with all citizens, stakeholders and partners to achieve its stated objectives and best outcomes.

As Chairman, I wish to acknowledge the tremendous efforts of the members of the Progressive Agenda Committee and the Technical Review Team (TRT), as well as the Spokespersons Council under the resolute leadership of the Party Leader, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, for their combined efforts in conceptualizing and articulating this important mix of principles, policies and pathways, hereinafter known as the Progressive Agenda.

G. Anthony Hylton, MP

Chairman, PNP Policy Commission

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Launch Document focuses on the principles, policies, and pathways for achieving a range of outcomes that are critical to Jamaica’s competitiveness in a technologically driven and fast paced global economy. In this process the Progressive Agenda highlights the following:

1. The urgent need for a governance structure that is responsive to the citizenry and holds their leaders and representatives accountable. At the same time, the people must be responsible for their actions relating especially to their personal and family life as well as their communities.

2. A macro-economic policy framework that integrates trade policy as an essential part of

achieving macro-economic stability, economic growth and sustainable development. To achieve this outcome we must rely more on EXPORT-LED TRADE.

3. Reviewing the trade policy of 2001 to ensure investments in order to diversify

production and to facilitate the export-led trade strategy into markets around the world, particularly those in the newly emerging economies

4. Transforming the justice system to allow for speedy trials of persons charged for

violations of the criminal and civil Laws. The timely resolution of commercial cases will go a far way to ensure economic justice and to bolster investor confidence.

5. Reforming the legal process by which public and private lands are made available for

shelter solutions or economic activities, with fair compensation. This is necessary, as the need arises, to build industrial, commercial, residential and recreational zones in support of orderly development.

6. Encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship among our young men and women. We

shall give particular focus on the small, medium and micro enterprise sector, by facilitating greater access to credit by addressing the management of risks and implementing changes to the insolvency laws.

7. Introducing fiscal measures aimed at encouraging investment in research, development,

science and technology.

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8. We will enhance the incentives to enable greater investments in the inner-cities and townships across Jamaica, with a view to creating opportunities for a new generation of Jamaicans.

9. Transforming our education and training institutions to ensure global competitiveness

and increased productivity of our human resources (labor, management and technology). This is necessary to ensure economic growth and sustainable development.

10. Transformation of the public sector to deliver timely and customer friendly services.

The creation of an efficient and modern state with the capacity to give critical support to the private sector in new areas of economic activities is vital to successfully penetrating new markets overseas.

11. Building a strategic partnership between public and private sectors in order to improve

the policy environment affecting the investment decisions of both local and foreign investors. We must be investor-friendly to Foreign and Jamaican investors, especially those Jamaicans throughout the diaspora.

12. Protecting the integrity of the Jamaican environment by introducing such polices and

measures aimed at decreasing the national carbon footprint in a sustainable way. The further development of a culture of healthy lifestyles in our relationships with each other and with our environment as a condition for economic growth with sustainable development.

GROWTH WITH JOBS: No single economic activity, taken by itself will engender growth nor will any sequential approach be sufficient to deliver the quantum leap that is required to provide the sustained economic growth with jobs for the Jamaican people. The Progressive Agenda asserts that a holistic approach provides the best possibilities for economic growth and sustainable development with jobs for Jamaica given the very serious crisis which the country faces at this time. These include:

1. Leadership with integrity, trustworthiness and moral authority to engender confidence in the people

2. A clear philosophy which includes all rather than excludes any of our people in all aspects of economic, social and cultural development

3. Integration of the Jamaican economy in the global space on a competitive basis 4. A policy mix which derives from integration of the five pillars of development

identified by the progressive Agenda having Participation Accountability and Responsibility as the centerpiece

5. Developing a business culture of Innovation, entrepreneurship and the application of modern science and technology

6. Joined up Government and Shared governance as a necessary precondition for effective and efficient implementation to achieve desired outcomes

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7. Evidence based and data driven decisions to enable the achievement of measurable outcomes in all our endeavors

Significantly, the Progressive Agenda in its Principles, Policies and Pathways has deliberately stopped short of addressing the detailed plans, programs, and projects which are properly the concerns of the Party’s manifesto. These details will follow from the policies and strategies contained in the Progressive Agenda which is a strategic policy document. The manifesto will indicate the priority commitments of the Party in key sectors in the first 100 days of the coming PNP administration and for the remainder of its first five (5) year term in office. In this sense the work towards the Peoples Manifesto has already begun.

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PROGRESSIVEAGENDASITUATIONALANALYSIS

A. COUNTRY 2010 marked the end of the first decade of the 21st Century and has brought us two (2) years away from the 50th Anniversary of Jamaica’s independence. The year 2010, in most respects, was a tumultuous one for governance in Jamaica -- for the people as well as the Jamaican economy, as the country lurched unplanned from one crisis to another. Jamaica is, today, beset by a series of crises in government, politics, finance and the economy.

Significantly, also the events during the year gave hope of an end to the political embrace of partisan political violence and criminality as an element of strategy in Jamaican politics. It was the year in which Tivoli Gardens’ command and control by the hard men of violence was severely degraded by the state. A reduction in the levels of crime has resulted with immediate, mid-and long term benefits to the country’s democratic process, its people and its economy.

The year 2010 was also the year in which the JLP administration came face–to-face with the harsh realities of the global financial crisis and was forced to embrace a debt rescheduling program, the Jamaica Debt Exchange (JDX), that saw the first default by Jamaica on its debt obligation to creditors, as a pre-condition to entering into a renewed IMF Program. This occurred after the administration failed for years to grasp the significance of the global financial crisis which began towards the end of the PNP’s eighteen (18) year term in office (1989-2007) and of which it was duly warned.

The resulting IMF Program has had the effect of not only imposing fiscal discipline on the public sector deficit spending but also compressed the economy with the predictable fallout of increased poverty and loss of jobs. There was the consequential decline in the quality of life of all Jamaicans particularly the middle and working classes in the country.

The immediate and medium-term prospects for economic growth and development are compromised by the absence of a coherent growth strategy or a development plan by the current administration.

The challenges faced by this and previous administrations to engender robust and sustained economic growth over the last thirty (30) years is the result of deep-rooted historical governance, socio-cultural and socio-economic problems. Yet the situation calls for urgent solutions to the problems affecting sustainable economic growth including:

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• High and increasing debt burden

• Uncompetitive cost of energy

• Underperforming educational system

• Low productivity and global competitiveness

• Disincentives in the areas of taxation, science and technology together with a misaligned, costly and inefficient state bureaucracy.

• Crime and violence

• Dysfunctions in the judicial system

Even as the Jamaican economy is projected to have the seventh worse economic growth performance in the next two years, the countries in the rest of the Caribbean region, the emerging markets of Asia, South America and Africa offer exciting prospects for growth in foreign trade and foreign economic cooperation in a carefully crafted export-led strategy for growth. Sadly, the present administration is too distracted, corrupt and incompetent to take advantage of the medium-term prospects.

The PNP with its recognized tradition of skillful handling of international relations is being increasingly viewed as the Party best able to handle the crises and to rescue the Jamaican people.

B. THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE As an internationalist Party, the PNP believes that a key strategy for realizing the quantum leap now necessary to achieve the sustained economic growth to realize our 2030 vision is the managed integration of the Jamaican economy into the global political economy. For us this is not optional. To do otherwise is to marginalize our country's economy.

However, to accomplish a seamless integration into the global space requires continuing adjustments of our domestic economy to achieve levels of competitiveness that will ensure economic growth and development, rather than economic dislocation and stagnation.

We have taken into account the fact of our small, open and vulnerable economy. We firmly believe however, that the mix of policies outlined in the Progressive Agenda, which includes the policies derived from the Progressive Internationalism pillar, will overcome the constraint resulting from the size of our economy. This integration will enable levels of sustained growth and development never before achieved in our country.

The Progressive Agenda takes account of the 21st Century phenomenon of "jobless growth". This may occur where high levels of economic growth spurred by innovation, the application of technology and increased productivity in a highly competitive global economy sometimes result in job losses.

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Under these conditions the strategies for job creation to be developed from the mix of policies put forward by the Progressive Agenda must be realistic and take account of the dual role played by innovation and technology, in both the destruction and the creation of jobs in the current competitive global economy.

The rapid development and growth of the newly emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, among others, has resulted in the realignment of the centers of global economic power. This reality has fundamental implications for the design of foreign and national economic policies in the short, medium and long term.

C. THE PARTY

The main thrust of the PNP’s effort to regain state power is based on the sustained effort, preparation and hard work by the membership of the Party at all levels. The results of this three year effort of rigorous participation of party members and non-party supporters at home and abroad, has led to the development of one of the most far-reaching, innovative, creative and visionary mix of policies developed by any political organization in Jamaica.

After a continuous eighteen (18) year period in office, and three (3) years in Opposition, the PNP embarked on a process of renewal of its thinking, its party machinery, its structures, its management and its policies under the trustworthy leadership of Portia Simpson Miller, the first female leader and former prime minister. Under her astute and caring leadership the PNP is uniting its traditional coalition of supporters among professionals, teachers, farmers the middle class, workers and the unemployed and is set to create history, again, by ensuring that the current administration becomes the first one-term government, whenever the next elections are called.

These policy directions are central to enabling the Jamaican people to compete in a hostile global environment and to achieve not only accelerated economic growth but, most importantly, sustainable development. This is the essence of the outcome of the mix of policies that the Progressive Agenda is committed to achieve in the next decade of the 21st century.

One important manifestation of the Progressive Agenda in ‘action’ is the evidence of the Party’s establishment of its Integrity Commission under impeccable trustworthy leadership. This is aimed at ensuring financial accountability and transparency of the actions and decisions of its membership, in particular, the Party’s standard bearers, parliamentary representatives and leadership at all levels.

The Progressive Agenda is built on the solid foundation of seventy two years of best practice and experience of progressive policies of the Peoples National Party, grounded in the time-honored

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philosophy of the Party, expressed in the principles of “Equality, Integrity, Justice, Freedom and Democracy”.

The current situation is most unfortunate and utterly disappointing. It is marked by:

Low performance of the Jamaican economy and continued alienation of social groups in Jamaica • People have been and continue to be shut out of the processes of economic and social

development. They are effectively excluded from meaningful participation

• Lack of accountability and responsibility from representatives and leaders

• Partisan conflicts, overriding national consensus, and change of policy direction when a new party takes over the reins of government

• Global political economic changes (depressions, recessions,, the rise of new economies) have led to a very poor response by the present government with the result that Jamaica had to return to the IMF

• Economic and political corruption; murders and violence against persons, some of which is linked to party politics

• Archaic constitutional and administrative procedures, including dysfunctional organizational structures in the public and private sectors

• Need for a 21st century ideology based on the demands of present day national and global realities

• Migration of significant numbers of educated and skilled Jamaicans depleting critically needed human resource capacity

• Poor growth or negative growth (14 quarters of negative growth) in the economy since 2008 as measured by GDP

• Massive and rapid increase in domestic and external national debt: Jamaica’s essentially low wage developmental model keeps Jamaicans in poverty and therefore requires a new model of progressive and sustainable social and economic development

Our honesty requires us in our launch document to admit to the following:

What are some of the areas which we assess that our performance did not meet our expectations?

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• Notwithstanding unprecedented high levels of foreign direct investments in the tourist areas, the outcome, as we had hoped, did not have the effect of stimulating the kind of economic growth we desired.

• We did not integrate the tourism sector in the Jamaican economy to the extent required to benefit farmers, artisans, artists, micro and medium-sized enterprises as well as building a deeper social partnership with the owners of hotels in spite of the generation of significantly new attractions for Jamaicans and our guests

• As a Government we were not able to reverse murders and acts of violence in Jamaica in spite of several notable initiatives.

• We did not achieve quality education in all schools although we left a first class education report for universal access to education..

• Although we had achieved an unemployment rate of 9.6% the lowest since emancipation, we were not satisfied as this was not sufficient for specific categories of school leavers and other categories of poorly paid workers

• Our proposals on campaign finance reform were not accepted as these would have deepened the democratic process and strengthened the integrity of our political institutions to avoid undue influences on political parties.

• Our proposals on Constitutional Reform, to modernize our political system in order to position Jamaica to meet the challenges of a competitive global economy, were not achieved.

• The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project into which considerable research and negotiations had been undertaken in order to significantly reduce the cost of energy in Jamaica and increase our economic competitiveness in global markets was unfortunately delayed.

• The creation of FINSAC led to the restructuring and strengthening of the banking sector, and protected the savings of small savers and pensioners who were victims of the collapse of the financial institutions. However, the implementation of this solution resulted in many cases of economic hardships affecting businesses, families and individuals.

• The public service remained antiquated and unresponsive even while a number of executive Agencies created. This was due to the inability of the

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Government bureaucracy to deliver quality service to the Jamaican people. These Executive Agencies have in the main, delivered quality outcomes.

The lessons learnt from these unmet expectations have led to some far-reaching policy recommendations in the Progressive Agenda. Among these are policies relating to governance, the Party’s independent integrity Commission, more transparent Party procedures, and a mix of policy measures to achieve rapid economic growth and sustainable development.

We also learnt from our achievements which were supported by the people of Jamaica who recorded their confidence in us by giving us four consecutive terms in office.

These achievements spanned all the areas specifically identified in the Progressive Agenda and the Party accepted the admonition of the people in 2007.

What were some of the Progressive achievements of the Party in the past? The following achievements, which are by no means exhaustive, reflect a proud legacy of people-centered development of our country.

On social development • Impact Work program – allowed the chief caregivers, women, to have jobs

immediately

• Setting up of numerous platforms, institutions and practices designed to achieve equality for women with men and to elevate both together

• The policy of equal pay for equal work

• Expanding the role of women in the work force in non-traditional areas of employment

• PATH program to assist in reducing levels of poverty to an all-time low. Also to assist the most vulnerable groups – children, the elderly and the disabled

• The policy on Children as the at the promulgation of the Child’s Right Act, the Early Childhood Commission and the Children’s Advocate

• National Health Fund (NHF) to control the chronic disease epidemic

• Established the Early Childhood Commission to improve the quality and convergence of early childhood Education with Primary education, the Child’s Right Act and the Children’s Advocate

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• The Tourism Enhancement Fund which has contributed to the improvement of the tourism product

• The establishment of NI Gold which is providing medical coverage for NI pensioners

• Sports Development Fund and the CHASE Fund to transform sports and culture in Jamaica

• The National Policy for the Disabled and the Signing of the UN Convention

• Free access to health care for all children under 18 years

• The New Company's Act to enhance business development and more effective Corporate governance

On Economic Growth and Development

• External investments in the Bauxite industry and new job creation

• Revolution in Information Technology and the provision of jobs

• Policy of achieving low inflation and stable Foreign Exchange market as a platforms to enable economic growth

• Transformed HEART/NTA into a major workforce development program by rapidly expanding trained personnel for the workforce to an average of over 100,000 persons per year

• Macro-economic stability

On Infrastructural Development

• Significant infrastructure development making Jamaica more attractive for Jamaican and foreign investments, such as:

o Creation of new and modern highways, opening up the country for investments in agriculture, housing, tourism and new entrepreneurial activities

o Free Zone Infrastructure to assist the expansion of foreign commercial business

o Rural Electrification Programs – 98% electricity coverage

o Foreign Investments in new hotels construction and management

o Sea and Airport expansion to increase international trade and competitiveness and promote accelerated economic growth

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o New Transportation Centers to modernize the sector and create efficiencies

• Major land reform to bring more Jamaicans into agricultural production

• Operation Grow – Land Lease, financial and technical support, etc. to enable greater food security

• LAMP 1&2 established to give titles to land and security of tenure (e.g. Operation Pride) to thousands of property owners.

• Provided planned residential and farming lots to over 30,000 beneficiaries in 121 communities

• National Housing Trust (NHT), to provide affordable housing to contributors.

• Access to clean and potable water supply in rural communities across Jamaica.

On Foreign Policy and National Development

• A deliberate foreign policy to diversify foreign relations and to secure more trading partners

• Led the western hemisphere in opening foreign relations with China since 1972 adopting a one China policy

• Leading the developing world in the North/South dialogue for a New International Economic Order

• Expanded the relationship with Venezuela to provide energy and development financing support to Jamaica under the Petro Caribe Agreement.

• Established the major linkages with China and left programs in place which are bearing fruit currently

• A respected member of the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement, G-15 and the UN System

• Jamaica continues to host the International Seabed Authority

Governance reform

• Public Sector Reform, which included the establishing of MIND, creation of Executive Agencies, among other reform initiatives in a bid to achieve greater efficiencies and effectiveness in the delivery of services to the public

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• Initiation, review and reorganization of the Jamaica Constabulary Force , ISCF and general national security apparatus

• The National Commission on Local Government Reform and its report in order to make local government and governance the effective base for social, economic and cultural development

• Legislative reforms in many areas of the economic and social sectors

It is clear that we could have achieved much more. However a very significant positive outcome in these challenging and very difficult times is our considerable experience in government and governance and every area of development of Jamaica.

Further, our careful and deliberate preparation of the Progressive Agenda has enabled us to address all the emerging and existing challenges confronting Jamaica at this time.

We are therefore best prepared at this time to undertake the responsibilities and enormous challenges required of any Party in Jamaica’s history.

The PNP has engaged in the most far-reaching program of consultation and preparation by any Party in Opposition.

We have, demonstrably, learnt from both our strengths and weaknesses of the past and are optimistic in being able to chart the course for a bright and “happe” future for all Jamaicans.

Given the nature and scope of the present international and domestic crises, the PNP has engaged its membership and the Public at large over the past three years in an intense dialogue for change and transformation. This dialogue has so far produced the Party’s Progressive Agenda which represents the new mix of policies, crafted in such a manner as to enable Jamaica to develop in a sustainable way and for all Jamaicans to “Be the Best That They Can Be”.

PHILOSOPHY AND VISION

The Progressive Agenda of the People’s National Party is a modern expression of the Party’s time honored philosophy; our belief in EQUALITY and NATIONHOOD. The expression of this belief in equality is manifested in our core principles of: Democracy, Integrity, Freedom and Justice. In giving expression to this philosophy the Progressive Agenda envisions the following:

• It takes account of the new challenges of the 21st century, the new consciousness, the new globalization, and importantly, the new possibilities for transformation

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under a new role and design of the Jamaican State in partnership with the people in a stakeholder democracy.

• Understands that we must leverage the gains of the past, build on them and use all available modern technologies and creative approaches to build the knowledge society and economy to achieve rapid growth and sustainable development.

• Recognizes the new role for the State in fulfilling Jamaica’s mission of achieving

developed country status in the 21st Century.

• Mainstream gender policies and programs in keeping with the Party's core value of Equality

• Defines an harmonious mix of policies which, when properly implemented, rigorously monitored and consistently evaluated through measurable criteria, will yield the Quantum Leap required for Jamaica to attain Developed Country status as outlined in the Vision 2030 Plan for National Development

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The Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, O.N., M.P.

THE PARTY LEADER’S DIRECTIVES

• Renew the Party’s thinking, organs and methods • Retain the best of our Party’s principles, values and practices, • Ensure that the Jamaican People remain the central focus of the process and outcome of

sustainable national development • Identify ways for the mass of the Jamaican People to achieve their full potential • Renew and rebuild the organization to reach out to ALL Jamaicans at home and abroad • Engage the Jamaican People in a new mandate for change and sustainable development

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• Develop a platform and an agenda that involve the inputs and participation of the Jamaican People

• Ensure that this Agenda advances the mission of the People’s National Party for social and economic progress and transformation at home and abroad

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THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA

“I -WE” The I-We paradigm seeks to combine the new individualism (“I”) of the late 20th and early 21st Century resulting from the liberalization of global market forces with the traditional focus on the communities of shared interests of social groups (“We”). A balance of both is recommended. This balance once struck will bring us closer to achieving the goal of nationhood, “OUT OF MANY ONE PEOPLE”.

This means cultivating a progressive individual who is ethically and socially responsible as distinct from a possessive individual who is materialistic, self- centered and hedonistic.

At the same time, communities of shared interests and values are also to be cultivated; that respect individual freedoms along with responsibility to collective obligations to family, community, occupational and civic associations. In other words, as we each pursue our personal and family objectives we must do so within a framework that respects the rights of other men and women and accept our responsibility to help the weak and disadvantaged to achieve their goals.

The touchstone of this ideal is Participation, Accountability and Responsibility (PAR). Both the individual and the group must accept and encourage participation, accountability and responsibility for self and to social memberships and to the National Community.

These PAR standards aim for the best that is possible in achieving Democracy, Equality, Freedom and Justice.

These are the core values of the Party and are embraced in the policy-mix of the Progressive Agenda.

These PAR standards and core values will also be the principal guidelines for leaders of the Party (in or out of Government) and of our membership. This must be manifested in both our individual and group behaviour, maintaining always the highest levels of integrity.

Standards will be established in Mission Statements and Job Descriptions but each Leader is expected to use good judgment founded on ethical precepts of accepted values, attitudes and behaviour.

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This ensures a balance between idealism (founded on humanism’s search for equality, by the pursuit of democracy, human rights and justice) on the one hand; and on the other hand, the realism that recognizes the limits of what is possible under given situations.

“I-We” means that as individuals and as groups forming society we should all recognize that our individual interests are linked in a fundamental and unavoidable way to the interests of all Jamaicans. An illustration of this fact is the impact of crime and violence on the lives of all Jamaicans. This single scourge undermines our capacity to develop as individuals, groups, business enterprises and the Nation as a whole.

The observance of individual rights and freedoms should not and need not give rise to rampant individualism with each person pursuing his/her interests and desires oblivious of the needs and interests of others. Neither should recognition of the collective interests of the nation result in the tyranny of the majority over the minority or a trampling of the rights of any individual.

Further, a consequence of globalization is the empowerment of individuals through their participation on social networks (the internet), manifested in the emergence of the knowledge society and economy. The potential power of individuals and these social networks tend to increase relative to that of the State, whose legitimacy can be challenged and whose authority can be circumvented or undermined by the activities of informed individuals.

Osama Bin Laden is a recent example of an empowered individual using information and communication technology to undermine the state and to circumvent authority, resulting in wide scale destruction of lives and property with far reaching global consequences.

A further consequence is that power is more widely dispersed and the mobilization and concentration of social/political power required to achieve desired collective goals will become even more difficult.

The Progressive Agenda takes account of these developments in its introduction of the “I-We” paradigm, and harnesses the best qualities and efforts of all individuals (I) to achieve the best outcomes for all (WE). The ultimate goal of Sustainable National Development is thus achieved as part of the 20/30 vision of the Progressive Agenda to enable ALL Jamaicans to “Be the Best”.

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THE FIVE PILLARS OF THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA

(HAPPEN)1

The Five Pillars upon which the Party’s next mix of government policies will be based are:

• Human Resource Development

• A Safe, Secure and Just Society

• Participatory, Accountable and Responsible Society (PAR)

• Progressive Internationalism

• Economic Growth for Sustainable National Development

These pillars are consistent with and will inform the new PNP Government’s implementation of a revised and renewed and modernized 2030 Vision Plan, which was initiated in 2004 by the then PNP Government under different local circumstances and world conditions.

This 21st century modern vision plan now demands higher standards and the urgent and dynamic implementation of a harmonized mix of policies, informed and determined by the epochal events and process of globalization and Climate Change.

The goal is to achieve rapid harmonious and sustainable development of Jamaica’s national economy.

The outcome is to enable Jamaica’s development in a sustainable way, transforming the country to become a first class society playing its part as a genuine partner in the emerging global family of nations.

We recognize that, given the recent negative impacts of the Global Recession, the incontrovertible and creeping effects of Climate Change and the added dimension of “unprogressive” leadership that has recently affected Jamaica, a Quantum Leap is needed to cover the great distance that still lies ahead.

1 HAPPEN is the acronym which refers to the Five pillars, of the Progressive Agenda, which are the foundation for Sustainable National Development in the 21st Century

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Together, these pillars are developed on the realistic premises that:

• Jamaica will attain its 2030 Vision of this epoch if its human resources and well demonstrated talents are given equal opportunity for fuller expression and development;

• Jamaica’s talents can be best developed in an environment of peace and caring where Jamaican men, women and children feel safe at home, school, work and in their daily cultural pursuits;

• Jamaicans will under such circumstances participate more freely, hold themselves and each other to account more readily, and take responsibility more honestly for their roles and functions in the society and in government;

• The talent and freedoms of Jamaicans are immense and the possibilities of each and every person to “be the best that they can be” must be given expression here in Jamaica and on the world stage, justifying an internationalism that respects the right to freedom of movement of our law abiding citizens;

• The cultivation and development of our talents, individually and collectively (I-We), are the most important conditions for ethical wealth creation from which economic growth will surely come in sustainable ways.

• This must be built on the right infrastructure and guided by the right mix of policies to secure a sustainable future of a well-trained and educated population of Jamaicans for generations to come.

SOME NEW POSSIBILITIES The policy-mix is expected to create new possibilities we never thought we had in us as individuals acting alone or acting harmoniously with others.

The investment we all must make in human resources should aim to bring out the “best that we can be”.

§ We are inspired by our human talent. Our educational and training institutions hold the keys to the release of the knowledge society we must create.

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§ We must remove gender inequality wherever and in whatever form it exists, e.g. the glaring absence of talented women from our corporate board rooms or the marginalization of our young men from the education and training institutions.

§ Our sports and cultural institutions must release the wider talents that we have as artistes and athletes and managers of both. We are poets, storytellers, actors and actresses, designers and models, singers, sportspersons and innovators. We are Jamaicans and there is great untapped human capacity in us to create economic wealth for our rapid development.

§ We must invest in our safety, security and justice systems. The first place to begin is to take responsibility for our conduct, and let our positive behaviour and good social attitudes positively influence the behaviour of others. Respect must again become normative.

§ We must discipline ourselves and inculcate the right values in the family and community.

§ We must dissociate ourselves from crime and a fixation on the ‘get rich quick’ mentality, which can sometimes lead to false hopes, frustrations and illegal activities.

§ We must cooperate with our crime fighters and safety officers. We must all become safety officers in our homes, institutions and communities. Think of the possibilities when we participate fully in our education system, facilitate our creative development, and act collectively for our safety and security.

§ When we as politicians, teachers, policemen, taxi drivers, workers, students and so on hold ourselves to the highest standards and give account of ourselves, the development possibilities are unlimited. When we stop making excuses and blaming others, we empower ourselves. When we take responsibility for our shortcomings we will march onward with a deeper and greater resolve to “be the best that we can be”.

§ As a small country we can do much. Nevertheless in the wider world we need partners. We need to be internationalist. We are a global people anyway. Jamaicans have come from many places and we Jamaicans are everywhere. Internationalism is a natural way of being for us. The

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possibilities are endless when we have the training and the freedom to move anywhere to take advantage of opportunities.

§ We can compete successfully with the best in the world. We have demonstrated this over and over again. We must join forces with those other countries that will co-operate with us and open their doors and markets in partnership with us. That is Progressive Internationalism.

§ The end result of all of this is to use our best resources – our people – to generate national wealth. If we develop our natural resources without destroying our environment, we can generate clean and healthy ways of living to make our resources serve our purposes in sustainable ways.

§ If we match our human resources, our God-given talents, with our natural resources of our God-blessed country, the possibilities are not only fantastic but endless.

§ Let us build a strong economy together. Let every small, medium and large enterprise play its part in the growth, development and rewards of the fruits of the national economy.

§ We are highlighting integrity as a core PNP value by recalibrating all our actions on the precepts of our founding father, Norman Manley, who ingrained integrity into the party and was himself universally acknowledged as a ”Man of Integrity”.

§ We must develop our country in such a way that the society which we create is in a state of harmonious adaption to our ever-changing fragile island ecosystems and environment. This is an essential feature of our paradigm of sustainable development.

Our progressive mix of policies must enable all this to HAPPEN in dynamic and sustainable ways. This is how we shall assure innovativeness and responsiveness in the current hyper-competitive environment. This is how we shall achieve that Quantum Leap in development. This is how we shall achieve the rapid and sustainable growth we need at this time and in this epoch taking us into a truly exciting and achievable better future.

POLICY FRAMEWORK OF THE PILLARS OF THE AGENDA This agenda has five (pillars). Indeed one pillar, Participation, Accountability and Responsibility (PAR) is seen as both a process of governance of each pillar and also a pillar in its own right, to enable sustainability in the national development process. PAR is the hub around which the other four pillars revolve.

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1. ACHIEVE FULL HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT 2. BUILD A SAFE AND JUST SOCIETY 3. ACHIEVE MAXIMUM PARTICIPATION, ACCOUNTABILITY AND

RESPONSIBILITY (PAR) IN GOVERNANCE 4. PURSUE A PROGRESSIVE INTERNATIONALISM 5. ACHIEVE RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

In the Progressive Agenda, achieving:

FULL HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT means:

• Promoting the family as the basic building block of society • Promoting social and economic mobility and the right to development in general,

through education and training, • Managing and protecting the environment to enable sustainable development • Creating and supporting initiatives which enable healthy lifestyles • Identifying and resolving challenges faced by the hundreds of thousands of

disadvantaged and disenfranchised citizens • Addressing the under-achievement of young men, and the under-rewarding of

young women • Promote equity and quality in employment for all, including youth, women, the

physically and mentally challenged and the elderly. • Protecting and promoting the rights and optimum development of our children

A SAFE AND JUST SOCIETY means:

• Applying a holistic approach to transforming the social order, national safety and security

• Modernizing the management, technical and scientific capabilities of our security forces and security systems

• Preserving and protecting human rights • Enabling the empowerment of communities through social and economic

interventions • Undertaking a rescue mission for our youths at risk – Innercity/Urban renewal

programs • Ensuring fair access to an efficient and effective Justice System • Promoting socially acceptable means of resolving disputes in the home, among

families and within the wider community

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• Promoting a culture of tolerance, respect, social responsibility, respect for other people, for animals, and for nature

• Building Police/Citizenship partnership

PARTICIPATION, ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY means:

• Holding decision-makers in the public sector and private enterprises accountable for governance

• Achieving transparency in the management and the use of public resources • Requiring financial integrity and ensuring zero tolerance for corruption in the

public and private sectors • Requiring responsibility in the use of private resources and a commitment to build

a participatory democracy within the Party and Society • Emphasizing the importance of personal responsibility and accountability for our

actions • Engaging Jamaicans in decision-making and the setting of national and personal

priorities

PROGRESSIVE INTERNATIONALISM: This is based on the Party’s belief in the equality among states and the absolute importance of global peace and security as a pre-requisite to prosperity and a guarantor of the Right to Development.

It means:

• Re-positioning Jamaica/CARICOM to respond to the geo-political shifts, represented by the rise of China and other emerging economies to effectively participate in the dynamic international political economy

• Promoting democratic changes in international institutions, e.g. the United Nations, the WTO, IMF and the World Bank;

• Pursuing new avenues for international trade and economic cooperation • Strengthening Regional and other International Alliances • Strengthening our Political relations with fraternal parties and friendly

governments throughout the Region, Hemisphere and the World • Pursuing a non-exclusive policy of domestic market building and export capacity

strengthening before entering into further market opening agreements; • Diversification of our Trade relations with non-traditional goods and services as

the need and opportunities arise • Pursuing asymmetrical trade liberalization (in the absence of preferential

arrangements) focusing on the following:

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1. Food Security 2. Fair Trade 3. Protection of Intellectual Property in support of our creative industries i.e.

sports, music, entertainment and other cultural forms • Standing up for CARICOM in Jamaica and for Jamaica in CARICOM • Leading CARICOM efforts in ensuring that the international commitments for the

rebuilding of Haiti is realized • Strengthening our security, transportation, production and energy linkages in

CARICOM and in the wider Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and take appropriate decisions on how we will relate to Cuba, the Dominican Republic (Cariforum) and their possible integration into Caricom.

• Negotiating an acceptable framework for the Association Of Small Island States (AOSIS), in mitigating/compensating for the effects of Climate Change on our National Economies

• Identifying measures to address the impact of cross-border migration on Jamaica/CARICOM`s ability to meet the Millennium Development Goals

The essential logic is to be able to:

“Compete where we can, cooperate where we must”.

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT means:

• Undertaking prudent fiscal and monetary policies in the management of the economy to achieve sustainable macroeconomic stability and conditions which enable economic growth and reduction of the public debt

• Modernizing tax administration to promote equity and compliance among all segments of society while encouraging investment, business and job creation

• Review the public sector pension system in order to enable its sustainability • Focusing on wealth creation by encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting the

growth and development of the Micro, Small and Medium Size Enterprises sector, thereby deepening and widening participation and ownership in the economy

• Reducing inefficiencies and frustrations at the points of contact between the business enterprises and the state bureaucracy

• Making Jamaica`s Trade Policy a focal point of the national economic policy framework on which we shall build our global competitiveness for marketing our locally produced goods and services

• Promoting export-led strategies spurred by scientific and technological advances as a means by which economic growth with employment will be generated in an increasingly competitive and rapidly globalizing world

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• Enabling the application of science, technology, research and innovation to support economic growth and development

• Promoting and facilitating private investment, especially for export industries • Recognizing the role of the state in enabling the establishment and launching of

new sustainable industries • Tapping our potential for self–reliance especially for food production to reduce

vulnerability to external economic shocks • Taking such strategic measures necessary to ensure stability in domestic food

prices as a consequence of the impact of changes in the global economy • Ensuring environmentally-friendly economic activities and promoting

adaptations in national development projects which minimize the risks and costs of the impact of climate change on the economy

• Focusing on wealth creation by deepening and widening participation in the development of the economy especially in the areas of inner-city through the development of cultural and sports industries

• Facilitating job creation by encouraging entrepreneurship, and supporting the growth and development of the Micro, Small and Medium Size Enterprises sector

• Building an economic climate for investments and incentivizing and encouraging economic partnerships at home and abroad especially in the service industries

• Creating the necessary infrastructure to enable optimum and vibrant economic growth, e.g. rural farm roads, irrigation and marketing of agricultural products

• Prioritizing and Integrating rural development, build capacity (Energy, ICT, Human Capital, Infrastructure, etc.) to enable efficiency, productivity and competitiveness

• Enabling the growth of industries producing tradable goods and services • Building a modern transportation infrastructure involving air, land and sea as a

strategic thrust for developing a globally competitive economy • Tapping the full potential of alternative sources of energy while practicing

conservation so as to effectively manage the import bill and enable sustainability of economic development

• Diversifying our bi-lateral economic relations to ensure greater access to economic resources

• Unleashing the creativity and talent in the cultural, sports and entertainment activities

• Focusing on the efficient utilization of our available natural resources in domestic water, land, mineral, the ocean (the Exclusive Economic Zone) and the air (spectrum management)

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THE PLATFORM FOR PROGRESS: THE BROADBAND PLATFORM AND HIGHWAY TO THE FUTURE We (government and people) shall invest in our human and natural resources. Human genius and nature’s resources have combined to give mankind the power of Science and Technology. Science is about the knowledge and application of the Laws of Nature. Technology is the means whereby we apply this knowledge to create something of value to our country’s development.

The complex mix of our cultural heritage has given us the capacity to create the brilliant technology of reggae music which sustains many industries and artists in our country and the world today. We can create and/or innovate in any area of human endeavor we so choose; whether it is in the area of manufacturing products or implementing new ideas in the cultural or virtual spaces industries. We know this to be true because of the history of brilliance of our people in developing new technologies.

By unleashing those secrets embodied in our immense human capacity we will revolutionize the way we live, work, study, and play. We will transform the society so that more people have greater access and opportunity to live, work, study, and play in ways that are fit and proper for human beings in a civilized society.

Science & Technology application is the best way to achieve all of this and to generate the wealth that we all desire and in an equitable and sustainable way. It is the best platform that will enable us to become the best individuals and the best society that we can be. With the right technology and the best technique, we will achieve that Quantum Leap; we will “be the best that we can be”.

This is the best way to give all Jamaicans equal access nationally and globally to the means of production of human knowledge and information, economic goods and services, cultural values and entertainment. To do so we will require regional and global partners - both of which are needed for our sustainable development.

These are the means of our individual and collective self-actualization (I-We).

We are confident we can revolutionize our ways of being because PNP Administrations have already started this revolution. This was started by liberalizing the information and communications (ICT) industry and the creation of a fund to broaden access to all Jamaicans – the Universal Access fund.

Now, every Jamaican has a cellular phone, hundreds of thousands have access to the Internet and to newer forms of social media.

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These tools, along with broadband access right across the country, will transform our ways of producing value and wealth to build our society and economy. Imagine the possibilities, the potential is still untapped.

This is just a start. The possibilities for greater benefits are revolutionary. Now we must give everyone broadband access as a necessary affordable infrastructure for every micro, small and medium sized enterprise in Jamaica. This will open up the means of faster access and processing of a variety of voice, video, audio and text sources of information to add value to product creation of all these emerging business enterprises. Think of the possibilities for legal onshore and offshore activities and enterprises.

o Education and training of vastly more Jamaicans and transforming our educational sector;

o Restructure and modernize the health care sector using the application of current information and communication electronic record system technologies to enable global health portability and competitiveness in all categories of the global health tourism market

o Provide universal comprehensive Primary Health Care including ICT mobile and remote health care delivery systems for All the population, in every community, as a matter of priority utilizing a system of integrated health care delivery access to the population everywhere anytime and anywhere

o Developing and marketing our cultural, manufacturing, agricultural, financial and knowledge based industries globally;

o Applying Science and Technology to safety standards, crime-fighting, corruption detection, better justice systems and governance. The sensory and intelligence support that is possible offers great hope with the right investments;

o Using Science and Technology for greater social networking online so that local communities can participate in national governance, raise accounting standards and take responsibility for their own development through greater involvement acting as one national village. It is the modern way of building and strengthening Progressive Community action and engineering a Progressive Society;

o Networking globally for sharing the global living space with our friends and relatives abroad and for working together, developing new global enterprises, and working and playing around the world wherever the jobs and other opportunities arise.

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o This situation will enable greater competitiveness of our goods and services thus allowing Jamaicans to tap into the global economy contributing their talents while benefiting from others with whom they will be able to join in common enterprise, building vibrant and sustainable enterprises to add much value and wealth to our economy.

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THE NEW ROLE OF THE STATE IN THE 21ST CENTURY This modern vision of transformation requires a State which demands that its leaders and managers perform their respective roles and functions very differently. This requires innovation in developing a new set of policies, a new process of policy making and a new approach to policy management. It must implement more sustainable policies and must do so better and faster because the best ideas are of no help if they are not implemented in a timely manner.

The State must be outcome-oriented.

• It must be participatory because exclusion of talent is self-defeating

• It must be accountable because corruption wastes resources

• It must take responsibility for what it promises

• It must deliver the public goods and services efficiently, effectively and in a customer friendly manner

• It must be based on integrity because people need to trust their leaders and their policies if those people are to be united in a common effort to build the nation

• It needs competent leaders who respect the constitution, parliament, the public sector, the electoral process and the rule of law, that is, democracy, equality, freedom and justice. These are the vanguards of Human Rights

• It must have a structure that reaches into communities, coordinates agencies efficiently, and works in partnerships with stakeholders because the central State cannot and should not do everything, everywhere, every-time

• It must be a Hub for all ministerial policies centering on development and democracy; using modern Intelligence in the application of information Technology for developing knowledge for the Transformation of our lives (HITT).

• In essence it must develop an integrated structure referred to as “joined-up-government” to increase its synergies, efficiencies and to streamline its functions to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks

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• The Progressive State must deepen Democracy and integrate Local Authorities to widen the Participation, and enrich the system of Governance while supporting diversity.

THE NEW ROLE OF THE STATE IN POLICY FORMULATION/IMPLEMENTATION The Jamaican State needs to overcome its glaring implementation deficit which it has accumulated over many years if it is to possess the capability of facilitating rapid and sustainable development which is vital and necessary to achieve accelerated growth and development of the country. Both structural and organizational reforms are necessary to carry out the following roles efficiently and effectively to;

• Enable • Regulate • Mediate • Adjudicate • Implement

To perform these roles seamlessly and with maximum efficiency is a vital and necessary action, though not sufficient, in achieving the desired outcomes of the progressive agenda. Using the five pillars from which ministerial policy clusters and mix of policies are derived the principle of “SHARED GOVERNANCE” AND “JOINED-UP-GOVERNANCE” becomes the basis for achieving the following outcomes:

• More efficient Government • More effective Government • Smaller and better managed Government

This is possible because of:

• The synergies derived from integrating overlapping or duplicating Government structures and/ or functions

• The use of the national broadband infrastructure to build information and communication technology platforms to automate ministerial and agency administrative functions standing in the way of rapid progress and

• Eliminating traditional redundant managerial gate-keeping functions and operations where necessary or desirable.

PRINCIPLE OF SHARED GOVERNANCE This principle is defined as an administrative function, mainly to coordinate administrative services for purposes of speed, time, and cost-saving and efficiency gains and the resolution of inter-ministerial inter-agency and inter-departmental functional contradictions.

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A vivid example is the sometimes irreconcilable tension in the relationship between the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Justice in the public domain. This tension sometimes manifests itself in street demonstrations in calls by the public for justice against the brutality of the security forces. The Pillar of creating a Safe and Just society in the Progressive Agenda seems almost impractical if taken at face value. The organizational framework for the principle of “Shared Governance” is the development of “Inter-ministerial Commissions”. The function of Inter-ministerial Commissions would be one mechanism for “shared governance”. Commissions would be “executive creatures” that would monitor policy, standards and practices for continuous improvement. They would be especially important in “super ministries” with many departments that serve large numbers of people and through which the State comes in more direct contact with the public. They could be inter-ministerial commissions, inter-departmental or inter-agency committees, serving the following clusters (Pillars):

a) Security and justice b) Water, electricity, housing and Roads (planned infrastructure) c) Education and Health d) Housing Agriculture and Rural development e) Security, Science and Technology, Health (trauma) and Justice f) Others, to be identified

Examples To concretize the idea we should use our experience of cases where ministries with potential for synergy work either at:

• Cross purposes (like water agency digging up roads to repair lines and not fixing back the roads properly) or Ignorance of each other (like different infrastructure agencies involved in a housing project),

• Are insensitive to the importance of what the others are doing (like finance not being

sensitive to trade and therefore the potential for customs revenue)

• Lack of common appreciation for a project in which both are necessary complements (school building and road access to that school)

• Purposely trying to undermine each other (because of personality or ideological

differences or competing ambitions)

• Differences of style and understanding (one laid back or lazy or backward in thinking, another passionate, progressive, forward thinking)

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FISCAL MANAGEMENT As a matter of principle, the PNP is committed to introducing greater transparency to the

management of the country’s finance and economic affairs. Historically, matters relating to the budget, the size of expenditures, spending priorities and the sources of revenue have been exclusively the preserve of the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet. Parliament’s role has been purely formal and has been involved simply as a rubber stamp with little consideration of either spending priorities or revenue options and with little consultation of affected stakeholders. Fiscal imbalances, persistent deficits and low-rates of growth in the national economy have been consequences of this over many years. In an effort to secure greater transparency, greater fiscal responsibility and greater levels of public accountability which is at the heart of good governance, the PNP will establish an Estimates Committee in the Parliament, to have consideration of Expenditure priorities in the context of a medium term economic framework. We will also ensure the effective functioning of a Committee on Taxation in the Parliament able to consult with stakeholders in considering taxation policy and revenue raising measures.

JOINED UP GOVERNANCE Joined up governance refers to structural, functional and organizational integration of the relevant government entities to enable greater cost savings and efficiencies, effectiveness and responsiveness to the public at large in the role of the state as enabler, regulator, adjudicator, and implementer. This is in sharp contrast to “shared governance” which is administrative in function, mainly to coordinate administrative services for purposes of speed, time, and cost-saving and efficiency gains Joined up governance is made possible by the use of information and communication technology means and methods, to eliminate duplicating functions, streamline activities, reduce bureaucratic bottleneck improve transparency and be more responsive and customer friendly to the public at large. This principle of joined up Governance has been demonstrated to be an invaluable tool for achieving best practice in governance. As part of the Progressive Agenda it is a deliberate attempt to gain economic and functional synergies and efficiencies in the management of government and process of governance. Such systems which can integrate and coordinate administrative services for purposes of speed, time, and cost-saving and efficiency gains (such as one-stop tax payment centers, registration and fees, application and processing) are vital and necessary functions of a modern system of governance. THE CIVIL SERVICE BUREAUCRACY: The PNP will enable the transformation of the existing administrative bureaucracy into one based on merit and performance rather than one based on seniority, quasi-professionalism or political patronage.

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To this end the Party will set minimum standards for all civil servants both at the leadership and professional levels. This will be done through the establishment of a new Civil Service Examination Model, with a view to create an elite professional Civil Service. This must be well-led and capable of providing the leadership expected of a government/administration focused on achieving the highest standards of productivity, efficiency and cost effectiveness, always mindful of the demands for global competitiveness of the Jamaican economy. The Party is committed to building world-class social and economic sectors capable of supporting modern processes of development and of integrating the Jamaican economy harmoniously within the rapidly expanding economies of the global space. The specific plans of a PNP administration will include the transformation of the MIND Institute into a best practice professional leadership training institution providing the resources necessary to enable the best outcomes of knowledge, skills and application of a highly trained civil service workforce. This modern bureaucracy will be based on merit and quality performance which is a necessary ingredient for rapid and sustainable development of Jamaica’s economy in the 21st century. THE PRIVATE SECTOR: Mindful of its current mission/responsibility in this period of hyper-competitive globalization, the PNP embraces the pre-eminent role of a modernized, entrepreneurial and innovative private sector. The Party will place particular emphasis on micro, small and medium sized enterprises operating in an efficiently functioning market as one of the essential engines of growth and wealth creation in the Jamaican economy, providing sufficient numbers and quality jobs to engage the entire population in sustainable economic development activities This is not confined or limited to any particular aspect of socio-economic activity. As has been proven recently, markets can and do fail and therefore must be sensitively and sensibly regulated in a common sense way, for the benefit of the nation as a whole. Additionally, the PNP recognizes the catalytic role for the state in the situations where the private sector deems the risks to be uneconomic but the benefit to the nation is empirically demonstrable. The PNP will build partnerships with the private sector wherever the sector is willing and able to add value through innovative and creative means, in economic activities which support sustainable national development goals. The PNP does not approach the challenge of sustainable socio-economic development in any ideological way but will be guided and informed by data derived from objective evidence. THE YOUTH AGENDA In Hopes and Dreams of the Jamaican Youth, the PNPYO has acknowledged that a multi-sectoral approach to empowering our nation’s youth is crucial, including the strengthening of mechanisms for coordination and collaboration among youth-serving organizations, faith based organization, youth

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clubs, NGO’s, young entrepreneurs, young professionals, students and working youth, among others. Its recommendations have been designed to deepen democracy within the youth sector through active consultations with youth across Jamaica and in the Diaspora. As an imperative in addressing the development of our nation’s youth, a multidimensional approach will be adopted, through which young persons are assisted to meet their basic developmental needs and to build individual assets and competencies, which will assist them to function and excel as adults. Critical to this is the process of human growth and development, as well as, activities, programs and services provided to assist young people in the overall development process, and in making the transition to adulthood easier and more productive. The diagnosis started with the following observations. There are approximately two hundred thousand (200,000) unattached youth who are Not Employed, in Education or Training (NEET) and approximately thirty thousand (30,000) young people are added to the list of unattached youth each year. Twenty Six Thousand (26,000) young men and women leave the secondary school system without certification. Furthermore the youth unemployment rate is one of the highest in the region (24%) and (32%) among young women. Approximately 60% of crimes are committed by young men and a large percentage of the victims are youth. The response led to several proposals of which only a few are now highlighted. • Establish in the Ministry of Youth an Inter-Ministerial/ Multi-Sectoral Team Chaired by the Minister. The Inter Ministerial Committee will seek to reduce cost of intervention programs, improve and maximize the impact of these programs on the youth constituents. • Expansion of the National Youth Service from a cohort of 2,500 to 10,000 over the next 5 years, utilizing residential and non-residential training of the age cohort. This will address the issues of training as well as apprenticeship and employment for young people. • Establish a National Entrepreneurship Development Programs (NEDP). This program has a three pronged approach geared towards the holistic development of young entrepreneurs - Loan, Empowerment/Mentorship and Network (LEN). • Youth Integration Programs (YIP) – The YIP is geared towards intervention of those youth who are at risk of violence, Sexual Transmitted Infections and those youth who are in need of information about available opportunities. Using the on the corner youth intervention strategy by agencies such as HEART Trust/NTA, SDC, MOH, National Youth Service, JFLL etc. to empower those youth who are on the corner or in communities. • Tertiary Education Funding Reform (TERF) Program- This program is geared towards Government funding students who have qualified and matriculated to Government colleges and universities. • NCTVET Level 1 qualification should be mandatory for all 10 and 11 grade students. This will reduce the number of student leaving school without qualification/certification. • Level 2 of HEART NCTVET will be free to students within the age cohort 17-24 years old including Wards of the State. • Establish the National Youth Foundation (NYF) which will seek to source funds for youth development program and activities from Private Sector, Multilaterals and NGO’s etc. This will also support the Expansion of the NYS and other Youth Programs. • Affirmative Action for Youth Apprenticeship and Employment – This program seeks to encourage employers to employ young persons who are qualified / certified within respective

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organization Private Sector, NGO’s and Government. This is in an effort to reduce the high youth unemployment of 24% and 32% for young females. WOMEN and GENDER ISSUES Gender is a social construct - assigning different roles and responsibilities to women and men because of biological difference. These structural differences affect the entire population and reinforce differences and vulnerabilities according to other structural differences, such as social class, age, disability and race. The Peoples’ National Party has over the seventy-three years of its existence embraced the challenge of inequality of persons generally. The Progressive Agenda will take the next step – ensuring that inequality and discrimination are looked at within genders and between genders. This requires from the outset, a profound understanding of gender by policy-makers as well as a political commitment to continue to create a methodology to assess whether policies will deliver gender “equality of opportunity” across the board. This also challenges policymakers to question the assumptions that policies and services are gender neutral and affect everyone in the same way. The Party has a proud record of dealing with the inequalities of women, vis a vis men and men vis a vis women. Despite several attempts, beginning in the 1990’s - we have not succeeded in mainstreaming Gender in all policies and programs. A Bureau of Women’s Affairs (BWA) was set up as far back as 1974 as the institutional mechanism to deal with these issues. The BWA will be transformed to deal with the technical expertise involved in creating and monitoring the necessary gender instruments. Across the world, it is proving problematic to develop the tools necessary for mainstreaming gender. In spite of this, a Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) tool has been created as an implementing instrument for gender mainstreaming. Successful policies and programs are the result of careful targeting of the persons they set out to benefit. However, people-oriented policies of the Peoples National Party in tackling the challenges of equality of opportunity, have not sufficiently dealt with equity outcomes. This is due, in large part, to the fact that gender disaggregated data even when available, is not necessarily utilized. The Progressive Agenda enhances the equality agenda by ensuring that throughout the stages of policy formulation from the design stage to planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation – all policies and programs take equity outcomes into account. Gender mainstreaming is the integration of the gender perspective into all these stages of the policy process. Hence, the need to recognize that policies and programs are not gender neutral but in fact have gender relevance and different impacts within and between genders. Gender mainstreaming is not a goal in itself but a means to achieve equality and equity outcomes. It is not concerned only with women, but with the relationship between women and men for the benefit of both and the harmonious and sustainable development of our country. In keeping with the pillar of Participation, as outlined in the Progressive Agenda, the PNP will work on an ongoing basis with women’s organizations and the Bureau of Women’s Affairs; carry out Gender

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Awareness Education within the Party and the wider society. This coalition will also develop the necessary methodology to mainstream gender throughout the Progressive Agenda. PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES The PNP recognizes the challenges of persons with disabilities in Jamaica. As such, we will move to establish, as far as possible, an inclusive and accessible society for all persons with disabilities. This will be achieved through the following policy mixes: 1. To enact the National Disability Act to protect the rights of persons with disabilities in Jamaica. 2. To establish the Disability Advocate to actively promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities. 3. To actively promote the education of persons with disabilities as the means of transforming their lives. 4. To ensure that public facilities, are accessible and inclusive of persons with disabilities. 5. To promote the employment of persons with disabilities in both the public and private sectors. 6. To ensure that persons with disabilities are allowed to participate effectively in the community agenda. THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY UNDER THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA When Party founder, Norman Manley established Jamaica Welfare in 1937, he gave leadership to Jamaica’s first organized civil society movement. This movement has always been conceived as a vital part of nation building. It brought citizens and self-help groups into the process of nation building. Our Progressive Agenda conceives of civil society as having a major and dynamic role as advocates in promoting and safeguarding:

• Justice • Peace • Human rights • Human development • Social welfare • Civic bonding and social solidarity • Good governance • Community-based participation and development • Community health, safety and security • Values of respect, human dignity, trust and integrity • Innovation, Production, empowerment and sustainable development • Environment and Climate Change

In all of these areas, civil society will play a vital role in helping to make the Progressive Agenda HAPPEN, as these areas find expression in the five pillars of:.

• Human resource development

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• A Safe, Secure and Just society • Progressive Internationalism • Participatory, accountable and responsible governance • Economic transformation that makes development sustainable

A DEMOCRATIC PARTNERSHIP We understand civil society to be that sphere between the State and the community where citizens form their own free associations and act out responsible citizenship in civic activities. This may also be an expression of Voluntarism. Under the Progressive Agenda we encourage:

• Partnership, where civil society organizations are valuable partners with the State, the private sector and all other sectors;

• Where this partnership is based on mutual respect and shared accountabilities and responsibilities for achieving common agreement and pursuing joint activities;

• All partners must be governed by the rules and principles of democracy in order to achieve transparency, accountability and integrity.

What are these rules?

• Timely democratic election of the leadership • Registration of organizations • Disclosure of sources of funding • Relevant accounting

In the present era when our organizations can be corrupted by criminal gangs and individuals or manipulated by domestic and foreign forces that do not respect the Jamaican Constitution, sovereignty, and the rule of law, we must take all measures to protect our associations from being used for uncivil purposes. Just as we support a law for political parties requiring all of the above, so too do we support laws for civic organizations that hope to receive funds from the Jamaican State or act for and on behalf of the Jamaican people. Civil society organizations, like the PNP and its Government, will be held to the principles of PAR – they must be participatory, accountable and responsible. We know that civil society organizations will welcome this.

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Against the background of the scandalous and dangerous Manatt/”Dudus” affair, we take note of the following: “Arising out of a joint dialogue held on Wednesday, June 2, 2010, we the several groups signed below have given consideration to the grave and urgent matters facing the nation, and announce our intention to work together on a long term basis, to demand non-partisan civic participation in the affairs of the nation going forward. To this end, we affirm our commitment to a process that broadens and increases public participation in, and oversight of the national decision-making process. We pledge to hold ourselves and our leaders to account (our emphasis). CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA As Jamaica succeeds in integrating its economy and society into the global space, it will inevitably adjust in order to accommodate the new realities. In this regard it will be confronted by issues of Cultural Diversity which are the unavoidable manifestation of the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nature of a globalized world. The resultant clash of cultures is manifested in new highly selective migration policies, exclusion of ethnic minority, religious intolerance and discriminatory practices. Some of these practices include discrimination:

• Against persons because of race or severe poverty • Against persons with different sexual orientation • In the treatment of children and the elderly in the custody of the State • Leading to human rights abuses

These differences may heighten cultural contradictions to such an extent, as to challenge deeply embedded cultural values, norms and practices in the Jamaican society. In building a civilized society, how does the Progressive Agenda proposes to resolve these contradictions? The principles of dialogue, tolerance, education, respect for human dignity and human rights are core values embraced in the Progressive Agenda. These represent the basic standards for Jamaica's engagement in a multicultural multi-ethnic globalized world. The resolution of these contradictions must begin at home. The application of these principles defines the method of approach of the progressive agenda in addressing controversial issues whatever they may be and wherever they may arise. THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA

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Every movement, every mission, must be guided by the conscience of the people; must have a moral compass and purpose; and must be driven by the spiritual needs of the people. Our Party has always been driven by the high ideals of democracy, human rights, justice, equality and opportunity. We believe these are consistent with the moral and spiritual agenda of the Jamaican people. These ideas drive the conscience of the Progressive Agenda. The PNP has always been led by moral and spiritual values. The Party accepts that Jamaica is primarily a Christian nation. But we believe in tolerance and accept diversity. We believe in our Motto, “Out of Many- One People”. We are richer for our cultural diversity and Inter-faith dialogue and practices. These are principles which are embodied in the Progressive Agenda The Progressive Agenda regards the Church as a vital and essential institution in the process of nation building. The Church is that institution which enjoys the highest level of confidence and relevance in the lives of the Jamaican people. The role of the Church is to build a progressive just and caring Jamaican society. Its role is also to mentor the family; to inspire service; to counsel leaders; and to help the nation realize its Anthem: Eternal Father, bless our land; Guard us with Thy Mighty Hand; Keep us free from evil powers; Be our light through countless hours THE JAMAICAN DIASPORA

• The Peoples National Party has made pioneering efforts in building the diaspora infrastructure currently in place. This includes the development of the Diaspora Foundation, the Bi-annual Diaspora Conference and the Joint Select Committee of the Houses of Parliament, on the Diaspora.

• The next PNP Government commits to advancing this process of integrating our diaspora

community into our national development strategies to our mutual benefit.

• The Jamaican Diaspora has and continues to be an integral part of the Jamaican experience. It plays a central role in the country’s economic and social development through remittances. However, it also possesses other significant human, financial and material resource assets that are critical to Jamaica’s economic, social and cultural development.

• The Party recognizes that it has the responsibility to engage, enable and advance the

medium and long-term diaspora population's interests, as well as to build partnerships at the National and Community levels. These partnerships may also draw on the knowledge

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and other resources in the diaspora to foster mutually beneficial enterprises and philanthropic initiatives for the advancement of Jamaica's development.

• We will give special focus to a policy environment which provides a platform for the

participation of the diaspora in an investor friendly economy. This, we expect, will engender the confidence necessary to attract their investments in profitable and productive enterprises thus ensuring Jamaica`s economic growth prospects.

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SOME IMPORTANT MIX OF POLICY PROPOSALS ARISING FROM THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA FOR HARMONIOUS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT NATIONAL SECURITY and JUSTICE (Safe & Just Society) There is an understandable tension between programs to achieve security and justice (human rights)

• Using the principle of shared governance a new security and justice commission which will monitor policy, standards and practices for continuous improvements in achieving security while ensuring delivery of justice

• Establish an independent National Forensic Pathology Institute which will apply scientific methodologies to acquire the evidence needed to secure conviction for crimes committed

o This new proposal will ensure the speedy achievement of security and justice (rights) for all our citizens

• Establish an entirely new statutory body -- currently being called the Police Management Authority (PMA) - and the Act to establish the PMA, which will contain all the matters relating to the management and accountability of the police.

o One united Jamaican Police Service, to be governed by the PMA and a Jamaica Police Service Act.

• National Public Morgue, Trauma Hospital and Epidemiology Research Unit to determine the causation, prevention and control of trauma in general and violent crime in particular

POLICY-MIX TO ACHIEVE RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH GROWING THE NATIONAL ECONOMY The Agenda recognizes that, within the context of a tight fiscal policy, priority objectives must be to focus on increasing firm and national levels productivity, the containment of the rate of growth of the national debt and improvement of the debt ratios.

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We must:

1. Work closely with the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises sector to identify and eliminate the obstacles to them benefiting more from Foreign Direct Investment inflows. Specifically the Progressive Agenda recommends the following:

i. Individual and corporate insolvency legislation: a. A key objective of the new legislation will be to provide a legal procedure to

give breathing space to businesses that are experiencing cash flow problems but can be resuscitated by improved management, additional capital or a restructuring of their debt profiles, rather than shutting those businesses down and throwing people out of work. The legislation will also provide the benefit of greater certainty as to the rights and ranking of preferred, secured and unsecured creditors.

ii. The Fair Competition Act and the Customs Duties (Dumping and Subsidies) Act:

a. Both of which will be amended to effectively achieve their underlying purpose of promoting fair competition and market access in the Jamaican economy.

iii. Loan terms and interest rates: a. Legislation will be established to ensure accurate disclosure to borrowers, in a

standard format, which allows like to be compared with like, and to prevent unscrupulous debt collection and collateral enforcement practices.

iv. A modern Consumer Credit Act: a. This will replace the out-dated and ineffective Moneylending Act.

v. An Unfair Contract Terms Act: a. Will be established. It will offer protection to consumers from unreasonable

clauses in contracts, often tucked away in the fine print of tickets and forms, which exempt or limit their legal recourse

vi. A Secured Obligations Act: a. This will facilitate the introduction of a searchable database to protect lenders

and purchasers from undiscoverable, undisclosed prior liens on collateral. This will also benefit borrowers, by reducing the overall cost to lending which is currently inflated because of losses resulting from the inadequate system which now prevails and are currently priced into loan rates. This legislation will be an important corollary to the Credit Reporting legislation that is about to be finalised.

vii. Factoring of receivables, as a method of credit management for development of the MSME sector and securing jobs

2. Direct attention to stimulating investments in sectors such as health tourism – a new and exciting prospect

3. Pay significant attention to investment in housing construction and infrastructure development.

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4. Collaborate effectively with domestic entrepreneurs to increase quality jobs in a massive shift to use science and technology to release the productive and competitive energies of all Jamaicans and provide broadband access for all Jamaican children and adults

5. Prioritize and ensure an integrated rural development strategy, build capacity (Energy, ICT, Human Capital, Infrastructure, etc.) to enable efficiency, productivity and competitiveness

6. Begin Exploitation of our Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZS) • Sea based asset (EEZS) • Oil, Gas, fisheries, other sea-based minerals

7. Recognize and exploit the Radio Frequency Spectrum as a national strategic knowledge-based economic asset for the development of knowledge based industries and not merely as an inert asset to be regulated by the Office of the Spectrum Management Authority

8. Build national broadband infrastructure platform with universal access to the population as an essential service to all Jamaican businesses to enable greater competitiveness and greater access to global markets

9. Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development § Provide disaster risk mitigation § Provide insurance for crops and animals § Provide market intelligence and research to avoid oversupply(and gluts) § Provide roads, water and infrastructure in general § Establish economic linkages with agriculture and tourism § Use science and technology, such as GIS technology to map crop zones,

and biotechnology to cultivate new breeds of animals and plants, § Revitalize tree crop growth and production § Support investments and financing of agri-business and in particular agro-

processing industries § Explore and exploit niche markets and international trade opportunities

10. Regulate the sectors in the best interest of the environment, the health of the people, and

responsible/sustainable use of our resources. 11. Enhance the Land Administration and Management Program (LAMP) Island wide and

revive the program of Land Reform. 12. Develop policies and give generous incentives to enable new energy clean and efficient

industries and population activities which are environmentally sustainable and which decrease the carbon footprint of the nation as we rigorously pursue our integrated national development strategies.

13. Ensure that tourism, sports, culture and entertainment become parts of a comprehensive national economic development strategy.

14. Foreign Direct Investment – In order to achieve a successful foreign direct investment flow, we will ensure:

§ A harmonized domestic and foreign economic policy environment. § A safe, secure and business- friendly environment. § Proper promotion abroad, always including the Jamaican Diaspora.

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TAX REFORM The PNP is committed to reforming the tax system. The present crisis presents an opportunity to reform our tax policy and administration to achieve the following objectives:

i. Economical -- Taxation will incentivize production and income creation.

ii. Convenient – Tax administration policy will be easy and cost effective and will fall

directly on the ultimate payers of the tax

iii. Certain -- Its effects on the economic actors will be predictable, so that people know how much, when, where to pay the tax.

iv. Equitable -- Taxation will be treated equitably and proportionately and will be

consistent with the ability to pay.

v. Adequate -- Taxation should be adequate to raise the desired revenues.

vi. Investment – Reform of the tax system will assist in creating the conditions conducive to attracting investments from both local and foreign sources.

vii. Innovation --- The reform of the Tax system will affect businesses both large and small, but particular consideration will be given to the micro and small business enterprises to unleash the creativity and innovation existing within the various firms and other institutions within the sector.

The Party commits to working with the various stake holders to achieve higher levels of productivity and competitiveness, guided by a sense of equity, flexibility and creativity

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RESOLVING THE ENERGY CHALLENGE

BUILDING ACCESS TO THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

JAMAICA’S CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES - ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, CULTURE

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Cultural and Creative Industries are important to nation building for two specific reasons – the cultural and economic development of the peoples of the nation. The intangible processes of projecting, reflecting, archiving and showcasing elements of national identity, building national pride and demonstrating Jamaica’s cultural prowess are as important in the considerations of cultural and creative industries, as is the rising global market demand for cultural commodities. The Party recognizes the tremendous importance of the creative talent and its cultural antecedence. It also recognizes that these industries are critical in the development of Jamaica’s culture and economy. It further recognizes the tremendous growth in these industries over the past 25 years and the critical role they play in the lives of all Jamaicans. In economic terms, demand for cultural products and services continues to rise steadily. This is particularly true within the entertainment and media industries. Although countries adopt different methodological approaches to measuring the contribution of cultural industries to the global economy, estimates show that the cultural industries are worth US$2.2 trillion growing at an annual rate of 5%. UNESCO 2000 reports that annual world trade in cultural industries was US$387.9 million in 1998. These industries are immense, employ thousands of our people and are very significant contributors to GDP. Further, they enhance the Jamaican brand and image the country in a positive way, helping to provide recognition and respect around the world. They also provide a platform and open doors for the marketing of other Jamaican brands internationally. The Party, as Government, will position Jamaica’s cultural and creative industries, including sports, as priority industries, given their enormous potential for growth, export, employment and general economic development, as well as the development of our people. The Party as government will seek to develop a modern cultural/creative industries policy that is informed by research and analysis of emerging global cultural/creative industries policy models. It will take into account the global movement towards the convergence and intersections in cultural, industrial, ICT and information policy that make up modern, converged cultural/creative industries policy worldwide. This is with a view to developing a model that is culturally-specific and suitable for the development of Jamaican cultural and creative industries. This process includes the classification of industries in Jamaica that are deemed cultural and/or creative and the establishment of a comprehensive schedule of the categories and components of these industries. Where appropriate, Government will assist, support or directly facilitate the further development of these industries through:

1. The establishment of Cultural Industries Development Council made up of representatives of specific cultural/creative industries to guide the process of policy development.

2. The complete re-examination of policy and legislation related to cultural and creative industries 3. Identification of converging sectors that make up cultural and creative industries to develop a

strategy for both individual and synergistic growth and development, given their inter-relatedness, mutual compatibility and ability to enhance each other.

4. The establishment of a streamlined approach to converging, integrated and related portfolios affecting these industries.

5. Holistic re-examination of issues to do with taxation and incentives as they affect cultural and

creative industries; with a view to developing a uniform protocol.

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6. Consultation with the widest cross section of industry stakeholders island wide, with a view to understanding, clearly the challenges and successes that hinder and advance the industries and application of this knowledge to policy development.

7. Public and private sector engagement regarding issues to improve investment in and access to funding to develop cultural/creative industries, programs, projects and practitioners.

8. Provision of enhanced training opportunities with support for new and existing facilities as well as more relevant and appropriate syllabi. This process will be research driven.

9. The examination of certification and standardization in keeping with international and regional requirements (CSME, EPA etc)

10. Quantitative and qualitative research to inform development. These will include labour market surveys, industry mapping and ethnographic approaches to culture and cultural industries to provide a clear indication of historical and contemporary nuances, cultures, stimulants and deterrents to industry progress.

11. Support of key projects through grants, sponsorships and other forms of assistance including specialist cultural/creative enterprise incubators.

12. The establishment of performance centres, especially in areas where visitors can better enjoy Jamaica’s entertainment product, with the specific long term goal of establishing a national performance centre and smaller multipurpose recreational centres in each parish.

13. The planning and implementation of a major national scale projects that can benefit several of these industries and become a catalyst for rapid growth and economic benefit

14. Consideration of the Madrid Protocol, which will enable copyright and trademark protection for Jamaican intellectual property in several countries of the world through a single registration. This would replace the long, tedious and extremely expensive process of individual registrations on a country by country basis, which currently pertains.

15. Creation of such infrastructure as may be required to facilitate the expansion and better operation of these industries.

16. Building and strengthening institutions within cultural and creative industries to ensure representation and solidification of specific industry groupings.

17. Review of international and domestic trade policies, practices and protocols with a view to informing domestic policy. In particular, re-examination of the EPA as it affects cultural and creative industries.

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MIX OF POLICIES RELATED TO SOME CRITICAL ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

1. A specific innovation will be the establishment of a National Education Trust which will

administer the financing of education. It will have the responsibility for allocating financial resources to the respective levels of education. This institution would also incorporate the services of the SLB and would contribute to significant financial savings

2. Work with the educational policy for early childhood cognitive and social development, for children with special needs and against gender, physical or mental stereotyping

3. The passage of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms 4. The National Disabilities Bill 5. National Public Policy on Care for the Homeless and others that help to promote a caring

and compassionate society consistent with Jamaica’s spiritual and socially progressive values

a. Work with the educational policy for early childhood cognitive and social development, for children with special needs and against gender, physical or mental stereotyping.

b. Develop policies for recognizing and encouraging the value of cultural diversity as a necessary prerequisite for human integration in a culturally diverse regional and global economy

c. Greater access of Jamaica’s children to state of the art hospital services by building a Children’s Hospital in the Western part of the Island

6. Establish the Office of the Persons with a Disability Advocate, similar in intent, scope and powers as that for the Office of the Children’s Advocate

7. Put all legislation (planned or already in existence) through a rigorous Gender Analysis Evaluation in all areas and at all levels to ensure that women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences become an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs

8. Ensure that the concerns of women and men and girls and boys are cross-cutting issues for all governmental programs

9. Ensure that gender issues are mainstreamed and taken into account, requiring all data collected to be gender-disaggregated. In keeping with the PNP’s core values of EQUALITY and NATIONHOOD, women and men must have equality of opportunity and this will be measurable and monitored on an ongoing basis

10. Support the creation of a positive family structure; and develop a program for integrating unattached youth within a family environment

11. Reserve designated employment in all enterprises as affirmative action for marginalized inner-city youth participation in economic activities in the national economy

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12. Establish a National Council on Sports to be primarily responsible for National Sports Development

13. Establish a Sports Museum 14. Measure the GDP contribution of sports and organize Sports Tourism. 15. Establish a National Reggae Museum 16. Establish a Community Transformation Program – From Inner-Cities To Winner-Cities 17. Establish a Jamaica Emergency Employment Program (JEEP) 18. Establishment of a National Council on Energy 19. Establishment of a program integrating Culture, Arts, Recreation and Education (C.A.R.E)

to create jobs.

CONCLUSION Over the past two and one half years, the process of developing the Progressive Agenda involved the widest participation of stake-holders at home and abroad. The process has been step by step and has relied on information from best practices and evidence from the most credible and rigorously tested scientific sources available. However wide this participatory effort has been, it must now be shared with the people of Jamaica in a deeper process of consultation which must be led by the Party, its leadership, membership, supporters and patriotic Jamaicans at all levels of the society. This process, therefore, represents an effort at renewal and commitment of the Peoples National Party to involve the Jamaican people in building the national consensus on the changes needed to address the deepening crises confronting the Jamaican economy and people at this time. This Progressive Agenda Launch Document is the second Stage of a three stage process and which outlines the Principles, Policies and Pathways for achieving accelerated economic growth and sustainable development. The Progressive Agenda restates the core principles and values of the Party around its first principles of Equality and Nationhood that are attainable only if the allied principles of Integrity, Democracy, Freedom, and Justice are scrupulously adhered to. The overarching strategic objective of the Progressive Agenda is to integrate the Jamaican economy into the global market place on a competitive basis and on terms that support nation-building, social cohesion and national unity. The broad policy priorities reflected in the five (5) pillars of the Progressive Agenda, provide the basis for achieving enhanced levels of productivity and competitiveness in the production of goods and services. This process will be driven essentially by the private sector with the vital inclusion of the micro, small and medium sized enterprises, where a significant number of Jamaicans earn a living for themselves and their families and on which they build their hopes and aspirations.

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END

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

PROGRESSIVE AGENDA COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Chairman: Anthony Hylton, MP, Deputy Chairman, PNP Vice Chairman: Senator Mark Golding

Vice Chairman: Senator Basil Waite Councillor Angela Brown Burke, Vice President, PNP Jennifer Edwards, President PNP Women’s Movement

Beverley Manley, PNP Women’s Movement Representative Damion Crawford, PNP YO Representative

Raymond Pryce, PNP Patriots Representative Lambert Brown, Worker’s Representative

Michael Ennis Marlon Lowe

Clyde Williams Michael Palmer

TECHNICAL REVIEW TEAM

Chairman: Professor Winston Mendes Davidson Professor Neville Duncan

Robert Budhan Ambassador Byron Blake

Reginald Nugent Ralph Thomas

Benthan Hussey Silburn Clarke

Editorial: Colin Campbell

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PROGRESSIVE AGENDA RESOURCE DOCUMENTS AND REFERENCES: 1. The Progressive Agenda (Master) Document by: Anthony Hylton MP

2. Democratic Socialism and the Progressive Agenda in the 21st Century: Prof Neville Duncan

3. The Role of the State: Robert Budhan

4. The National Forensic Institute by Dr. J. Legowik & Prof. W. Mendes Davidson

5. The Progressive Agenda Paper on PAR by Mrs. Angela Brown Burke

6. The Progressive Agenda Strategies on National Security Mr. Peter Bunting

7. The Progressive Agenda And Principles Of Justice Reform By A.J. Nicholson QC

8. Science and the Link between Security and Justice: Prof W. Mendes Davidson.

9. The PNP Policies of Jamaica’s New Health Economy by Dr. F. Ferguson; Prof W. Mendes Davidson

10. The Progressive Agenda Policy Paper On Health by Dr. Fenton Ferguson

11. Policy Commission’s Economic Forum towards a Progressive Agenda; Robert Budhan

12. Guidelines for the Progressive Agenda Technical review team: by Anthony Hylton

13. Progressive Agenda Marketing Document: By Y. Nicholson, W. Mendes Davidson

14. Progressive Agenda summary on discussions on the Taxation system by. W. Mendes Davidson

15. Program For Accelerated Recovery & Sustainable Economic Development (PARSÉD) by Stanley Redwood

16. Jamaica’s progressive agenda; Bold New Initiatives for overcoming obstacles and meeting the challenges of today by John Bancroft Brown (Miami Florida)

17. Policy options on MSME’s, Energy etc. by Phillip Paulwell 2010 budget debate.

18. Growth Development & Productivity: Labour Market Imperatives by Benthan Hussey

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19. Economic Choices for the next PNP administration by Omar Davies

20. Some Important Proposals arising from the progressive agenda by; Anthony Hylton: Chairman PNP Policy Commission (presented and ratified by NEC 26th July 2010

21. Growing the Jamaican Economy under IMF and Global Constraints – A PNP discussion document: by Michael Witter

22. The New Health Economy: by Prof. Winston Mendes Davidson

23. The challenges of today by John Bancroft Brown (Miami Florida)

24. The Progressive Agenda Agricultural policies; by Roger Clarke MP

25. The Progressive Agenda Education Policies: Sen., Basil Waite

26. Deteriorating Economic Situation In Jamaica by Ralston Hyman 25th July 2010

27. The Community Transformation Program “From Inner-cities to Winner-cities” by Lambert Brown & Portia Simpson-Miller 15th August 2010

28. Youth “rescue mission” by Portia Simpson-Miller

29. The Progressive Agenda “A safe and just Society”; discussion paper by Mr. Clyde Williams

30. Economic Management: Past, Present And Future by Omar Davies

31. Common features of the Progressive Agenda and the PIOJ Community Renewal Programme by PIOJ

32. Progressive Agenda Policies on Community Renewal by Anthony Hylton, Chairman PNP Policy Commission

33. Development as the on-going improvement of the human capabilities of our people (2010) by Silburn Clarke

34. Jamaica’s cultural and creative industries - entertainment, sports, culture: by Kingsley Cooper, Debbie Hickling et al: August 2011

35. Jamaica’s “Factoring” Potential- An Innovative Method Of Job Creation By Senator Mark Golding

36. Joined up Government: A review of national and international experiences: © Copyright State Government of Victoria State Services Authority 2007

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37. The Balance between the Individual and the Collective: “I vs. We” by Peter Phillips PhD, MP.

38. 2011 Budget Presentation: by Leader of the Opposition; the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller O.N., M.P.

39. The Progressive Agenda and the Class Alliance; by The Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller O.N., M.P., Speech delivered in April 2011 at the Wyndham Hotel, Jamaica

40. 50/50 Independence Lecture Series, hosted by The Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Research for Former Jamaican Prime Ministers, delivered by The Most Hon. PJ Patterson O.N., Q.C., O.C.C., at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, 12th May 2011.

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NOTES

progressive agenda technical report - pnp 16aug11

Documents

progressive agenda principles

progressive achievements

social development

best philosophy

national development

infrastructural development

best policy commission

party leaders directives