- Winston SillExecutive Director of CARE Canada, John Watson, left, A. Roy Megarry, former publisher of the Toronto Globe, beside him; and carpenter, Christopher Wilson, look at a machine Mr. Wilson received during Thursday's launch of Tools for Development Jamaica Ltd. At third right is Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke; Earl Jarrett, general manager of the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) and JNBS's Chairman, Keith Francis.
McPherse Thompson, Staff Reporter
MANY inner-city dwellers will benefit from a Canadian-based non-governmental programme under which equipment will be imported into Jamaica and sold to individuals for use in starting up or expanding their home-based and other small businesses.
The programme, Tools for Development Jamaica, is being sponsored by CARE Canada, which said the project will serve as a model for development in other countries.
Other joint sponsors of the project are the Gleaner Co. Ltd., the Kingston Restoration Company (KRC), and the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS).
It is aimed at improving the efficiency and cost-competiveness of micro-enterprises and to provide additional economic opportunities for residents in poor areas islandwide. Under the project, Canadian companies which are re-tooling are encouraged to donate their used equipment to CARE Canada.
Last year, CARE Canada dispatched a team to Jamaica to assess the feasibility of the project. That culminated in the official launch of Tools for Development Jamaica last Thursday, during a special function in one of the inner-city areas of Central Kingston, attended by chief executive officer for CARE Canada, John Watson, and Tools for Development Director, A. Roy Megarry, who is also a former publisher of the Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada.
Mr. Megarry, in an interview on Friday, emphasised that through the Tools for Development Jamaica programme, they wanted to assist in creating wealth for micro entrepreneurs and employment for other people "so they can be self-sufficient, improve productivity as well as the quality and quantity of their products." The success of the programme in Jamaica would also serve as a catalyst to getting more assistance, he said.
According to Mr. Watson, emphasis would be placed on "employment for young people, because if they do not get employment they will get involved with unproductive things. We're looking to give better opportunities to people to build their communities instead of tearing them apart," he said.
CARE Canada is a registered charity which operates exclusively in developing countries to assist the disadvantaged and dispossessed in improving their socio-economic conditions, said Mr. Watson.
Among the tools from which Jamaican recipients will benefit under the programme are woodworking and metal work equipment, industrial sewing machines and "almost any kind of equipment micro-enterprises can use to set up or expand their business," Mr. Watson said.
Asked about the capital outlay for the project, Mr. Megarry said they have not set a specific budget because that would be dependent on the demand. In Peru, Costa Rica and Ecuador, he said, Tools for Development has created about 3,000 micro-enterprises which help to sustain about 12,000 to 15,000 jobs, and they were hoping to do as well or better in Jamaica.
"We firmly believe that economic development is the ultimate answer to poverty," said Mr. Megarry. "What we are doing will cause economic development to take place. You can't eliminate poverty unless you create wealth and that's what we are trying to do," he said.
Mr. Watson said the KRC, under the direction of its executive director Morin Seymour, will serve as the main vehicle for delivering the programme to individuals.
Noting that there would be an impartial approach to the selection of beneficiaries, Mr. Megarry, who, along with Mr. Watson last week toured inner-city communities in sections of People's National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament Dr. Omar Davies' South West St. Andrew constituency, as well as Western Kingston where Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Leader and Member of Parliament Edward Seaga holds sway, said:
"We don't operate in areas unless we are able to do so in a non-partisan manner. It's our intention to help people no matter where they live and no matter their beliefs. It's an open programme."
At the same time, Mr. Megarry pointed out that the programme was not a charity to the extent that there would be handouts. "We never give things away," said the Tools for Development director. Financing will be available through micro lending agencies including JN Micro Credit.
Mr. Watson, already optimistic about the success of the Tools for Development programme in Jamaica, observed that it has thrived in Peru, Costa Rica and Ecuador without the kind of institutional support being given by the KRC, JNBS and The Gleaner. "We never had this kind of support in the other countries," said CARE Canada's chief executive officer. "With this support we hope to use Jamaica as a model" for developing the programme in other countries.
CARE Canada is no longer directly involved in the project in Peru where it has operated for 10 years, having pulled out after it became self-sustainable, and the intention is to do the same for Jamaica.
Small business interests may participate in the programme through the KRC, downtown Kingston.
