REMARKS

UNDP Resident Representative Denise E Antonio

Closing Ceremony, Training Workshop on Advanced Enterprise Skills

in the Development Mineral Sector in Jamaica

Thursday 4 March 2021, 8:30 a.m.

Salutations

• Charge d'Affaires, European Union in Jamaica, Mr Fredrik Ekfeldt
• Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Mining, Dr Janine Dawkins
• Assistant Secretary General, Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, Mr. Escipion Oliveira Gomez
• Commissioner of Mines, Mr Roy Nicholson
• CEO, Jamaica Business Development Corporation, Ms. Valerie Veira
• President, Jamaica Bankers Association, Mr Jerome Smalling

UNDP is pleased to join you this morning to signal an important milestone in our shared journey of unearthing the significant potential of Jamaica’s development minerals sector.

Sixty representatives have been immersed in an advanced enterprise training to strengthen their capacities to establish, manage and support development minerals enterprises in a more sustainable manner. Teaching the sector how to value their mineral deposits is a gamechanger, as it will enable industry players to leverage their mineral resources as collateral for financing assistance.

As we continue to navigate through this pandemic, this training is both timely and necessary to advance the development minerals industry to the next level and unleash its potential.

Development minerals serve as an essential raw material for many products in construction, manufacturing, agriculture, crafts, tourism, the components of climate smart friendly technology and equipment; therefore, expanding this sector in a sustainable manner will have a multiplier effect on national development.

The Development Minerals Programme is committed to ensuring that exploration and extraction operations are and continue to be environmentally and socially sustainable while providing opportunities to strengthen the policy, legal and institutional frameworks of the sector.

As noted in the 2017 Baseline Assessment published under Phase I of this programme, it is projected that Jamaica could earn up to US$ 7 billion annually through increased production of limestone and its value-added items for local and export markets.  

We are getting there. But there is more work to be done. Stakeholders need to sharpen their entrepreneurial skills and be able to spot opportunities and take advantage of business development services in collaboration with Approved Financial Institutions (AFI’s).   We are aware that a local bank has just partnered with JBDC in setting up a resource centre to focus on assisting Small Mining Enterprises.  We look forward to additional partnerships established through the collective efforts in this training workshop of JBDC, local banks and the mining sector.

We are particularly proud of the programme’s successes in facilitating the passing of the National Minerals Policy in March 2020, spearheaded by the Ministry of Transport and Mining; support in the development of new Certificate and Degree Courses on Mining, Quarrying Management and Land Restoration; the Baseline Assessment Study of the industry and other valuable knowledge products including a suite of capacity development activities focused on sustainable environmental practices, entrepreneurship, gender and safety and health standards to name a few. In addition, market and value chain training has fostered the development of accredited laboratories which are ensuring that mineral products are free from hazardous materials that would cause damage to the environment.

Financial support through grants awarded to some small-scale mining companies/individuals particularly during this COVID period have also been especially welcomed and appreciated towards maintaining some semblance of livelihoods as low productivity and sales are being experienced amongst ceramics, pottery and semi-precious jewelry artisans.

We look forward to a more productive phase two of the programme, confident that we can create the conditions for a reliable, sustainable supply of Development Minerals that will potentially contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction through job creation and successful SMEs.

Let me once again extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to  the European Union, the main financier of this programme, the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, for working to ensure sustainable development and poverty reduction within its member states, as well as their greater integration into the world's economy,  the Government of Jamaica through the Ministry of Transport and Mining and Mines and Geology Division, JBDC the catalyst for entrepreneurial development and all other partners for the excellent work undertaken in Phase one and the continuing successes being scored under Phase 2, ably coordinated by the Programme Country Coordinator Ruth Clarke.

I convey UNDP's best wishes for you as you apply the knowledge acquired from this workshop, and for our continued collaboration to “make Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business”.

Thank you.