The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica has so far raised more than $80 million through the PSOJ COVID-19 Jamaica Response Fund. The Fund is a multi-sectoral, private, public and social services initiative done in partnership with the Council of Voluntary Social Services (CVSS), United Way of Jamaica (UWJ), American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ) and other key stakeholders. It aims to raise an initial target of $250 million, to aid in Jamaica’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. UWJ Chairperson Dr Marcia Forbes, says her organization is committed to partnering with the PSOJ to ensure this initiative helps to bolster the support Jamaica needs to successfully counter the effects of COVID-19. Dr Forbes praised the PSOJ leadership for bringing key partners together for the PSOJ/COVID-19 relief initiative. “This global crisis affects us all and requires a united effort to bring urgent and impactful relief,” said Dr Forbes. She explained that UWJ is using its partnerships and network to disburse the Fund to organisations that will provide at-risk groups with resources. “The mission of the United Way of Jamaica, an organization established 35 years ago with the support of the PSOJ, is to mobilize the caring power of communities. Our volunteer leaders working with the PSOJ team and partners, bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in mobilizing and managing funds and undertaking strategic interventions to bring relief and assist in rehabilitation and restoration in times of disaster.” Another key partner, the CVSS, is focused on ensuring that the campaign operates efficiently to facilitate the greatest level of success in meeting the needs of Jamaicans. CVSS Chairperson, Saffrey Brown noted that it will be leveraging the support of its membership of 125 organisations to mobilise their efforts in handling the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 in Jamaica. As a member of The Fund’s Allocation..Read More

The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) strongly supports the Government of Jamaica’s  decision to access the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI). The IMF’s RFI is available to all member countries facing an urgent balance of payments need, without having a full-fledged program in place, ongoing reviews or conditionalities. The COVID-19 pandemic has already had a negative impact on the country and there is no doubt that Jamaica will continue to experience a sharp decline in FX earnings. Tourism is a key economic driver and is one of Jamaica’s primary earners of foreign exchange. For FY18/19, the overall US$3.2b visitor expenditure accounted for approximately 36% of Jamaica’s foreign exchange inflows. With a halt in the industry due to the COVID-19 virus spread and an anticipated reduction in remittance (remittance inflows of US$2.7b contributed to 30% of total flows for FY18/19), the country’s FX earnings will be negatively impacted which would be offset by lower imports and reduced prices for oil. This reduction in FX will put pressure on the country’s external accounts and consequently the Net International Reserves. The Government’s request to access the IMF RFI should help to mitigate or cushion the impact of the open-ended nature of the pandemic and its economic spillovers which poses significant risk to Jamaica’s balance of payments which could reverse the macroeconomic stability achieved over the past 7 years. The organisation therefore believes that requesting access to the RFI is a prudent and proactive strategy by the Government as Jamaica experiences fallout in the economy resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

We continue our discussion of leadership during the outbreak of COVID-19 this time with a focus on the private sector and the efforts of the private sector organization of Jamaica attempts to raise $250m through donations from individuals and corporations for the provision of food security and health services. To discuss the efforts of the umbrella group we are joined by the President of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica, Keith Duncan and Saffrey Brown Chairperson for the Council of Voluntary Social Services (CVSS).