JAMP is a non-partisan, non-government and not-for-profit company dedicating itself to improving public financial governance in Jamaica.
In a democracy, citizens’ responsibility goes beyond voting for a political representative, paying taxes and obeying the country’s laws. Citizens have an important role to play as part of the country’s oversight system, helping to keep in check the enormous power that governments have, especially over the use of our tax dollars and therefore the quality of our lives.
We pay more taxes in Jamaica than in many countries around the world. And though there are improvements, still, hospital beds are scarce, police stations and courts are ill-equipped, communities lack bridges and for decades media headlines continue to speak of the significant lack and waste.
JAMP sets out to harness the power of citizen engagement, monitoring and oversight to improve PUBLIC FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY.
JAMP is run by an enthusiastic, dedicated bunch of hopeful thinkers and doers who know that our just being Jamaican – means we can and will make a difference.
We are banking on the fact, that like us, other citizens of Jamaica care, and are willing to try something different in order to achieve a different outcome.
For more information about how we work and our focus, we invite you to explore the rest of this Portal.
Vision
Why WE EXIST
Why We Exist
JAMP works to
| Improve Public Service Delivery | Improve Understanding of Public Administration | Increase Citizen Engagement |
|---|---|---|
We work to achieve greater value from our taxes and to influence improvement in the delivery of public goods and services. We seek to do this by challenging inefficiency and waste and exposing potential fraud and corruption in the stewardship of public funds and assets. | We work to provide fellow citizens with a better understanding of how government works and shapes our lives, in order to equip them to more effectively hold public servants to account. | JAMP seeks to foster a culture of responsibility and good stewardship in both citizens and public servants. We therefore work to increase citizens’ informed, public demand and advocacy for accountability in national governance and for consistent and clear consequences for improper or corrupt behavior. |
Improve Public Service Delivery
We work to achieve greater value from our taxes and to influence improvement in the delivery of public goods and services. We seek to do this by challenging inefficiency and waste and exposing potential fraud and corruption in the stewardship of public funds and assets.
Improve Understanding of Public Administration
We work to provide fellow citizens with a better understanding of how government works and shapes our lives, in order to equip them to more effectively hold public servants to account.
Increase Citizen Engagement
JAMP seeks to foster a culture of responsibility and good stewardship in both citizens and public servants. We therefore work to increase citizens’ informed, public demand and advocacy for accountability in national governance and for consistent and clear consequences for improper or corrupt behavior.
GOVERNANCE
Governance Structure
Executive Director
Jeanette Calder conceptualized and founded JAMP following her experience as researcher into six years of Auditors General reports, and the resulting findings and recommendations; as well as researcher and writer of citizens’ guide to better understanding of the national budget.
In addition to such research, Jeanette has spent the last five and a half years engaged in civil society advocacy, as a member of the Jamaica Civil Society Forum (formerly Jamaica Civil Society Coalition), with one of those years in the capacity of co-executive director. She has been vocal on governance issues, in particular those relating to procurement, corruption and public sector reform.
Jeanette spent 6 years in the public sector and has served on a number of Government boards and committees (National Contracts Commission Sector Committee, Rent Board, Land Divestment Board among others). Her public sector experience furthered her appreciation of the threats to effective and transparent public service delivery and left an indelible impression about the need for change.
She is a graduate of the Caribbean School of Architecture at the University of Technology, Jamaica and obtained a MSc. in Urban Management and Development at the Erasmus University in The Netherlands.
Jeanette currently serves as President of both the Liguanea Community Development Committee and the South Liguanea Citizens’ Association; is a member of the advisory board of the Jamaica Institute of Planners and the Construction Industry Council.
I asked myself the question, what would I want to see done to move Jamaica to the next level of development, to make it the haven of happiness and peace I know it can be – and once the answer presented itself, I decided not to demand change from another but to initiate the change I desperately wanted to see myself.
Board of Directors
CHAIRPERSON: An accomplished educator and development policy analyst. Her extensive professional experience spans fields related to human, social and organizational development as well as media and communications.
Carol has a keen interest in all facets of Jamaica’s development and has had a leading role in civil society as an advocate for women, children and youth, human rights and on issues of good governance. She served as founding Chairperson of the Jamaica Civil Society Coalition from 2010 to 2014 and is Co-founder of Mensana – a mental health support group serving affected individuals and families since 1997. In addition, Carol has served in leadership of a number of non-government organisations’ including •51% Coalition for Women’s Development and Empowerment, Jamaicans for Justice and the S- Corner Clinic and Community Development Center.
Horace is a former Deputy Chairman of the board of the Peace Management Initiative, a Civil Society Organisation engaged in violence interruption and community development. A former senior lecturer in the Social Work Unit of the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work of the University of the West Indies, Levy was lead researcher of They Cry ‘Respect’ (1996, 2001) and author of Killing Streets and Community Revival (2009) and Youth Violence and Organized Crime in Jamaica: Causes and Counter-Measures (2012). His most recent literary work is his 2022 book, Jamaica – Fractured Nation Vibrant People.
Horace has served on the following boards, Community Enterprise Organisation 1979-1980, S-Corner Clinic 1993-2013, Environmental Foundation of Jamaica 1993-97, Jamaica Civil Society Coalition 2011-2015, Chairman, Jamaicans for Justice.
David is a Co-founder and Principal of the SlashRoots Foundation supporting strategy, research, and implementation. Much of his expertise falls into the realms of research and design, to help bring complex, multi-stakeholder governance, and development programs to reality.
A graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, David holds a BFA in Graphic Design and an MSc in Computer Science from the University of the West Indies (UWI). He has over 20 years of experience in graphic design, animation, interactive design and user experience. As a Creative Director, David has led teams of designers for various creative agencies, and offered freelance creative direction and design services for non-profit and development agencies. David serves on the advisory boards of multiple design, animation and creative start-ups.
As an Academic, David has lectured in the area of Design and Visual Communication at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, the University of Technology and San Francisco State University. Currently he is a Lecturer of Digital Media at the Caribbean School of Media and Communications at UWI. David’s research interests include Design Thinking and Research, the Creative Industries as well as Civic Communication and Technology Policy.
David Salmon is an award-winning journalist and a young leader who is passionate about national development. He has written more than 200 articles Gleaner as a columnist, with a focus on the economy, youth development and sustainable development.
In 2019 he not only received the Morris Cargill Award for Opinion Journalism, making him one of the youngest ever Press Association of Jamaica Awardees at age nineteen, but in that same year, he was awarded the ‘Prime Minister Youth Award for Nation Building’.
In addition to the contribution he makes to JAMP as a member of the Board, David also serves as
- a member of the Political Awareness and Respect Initiative and has continued to make is contribution
- a Region 1 Coordinator for the Jamaica Association for Debating and Empowerment (JADE)
- an Ambassador for the Governor General I Believe Initiative.
- the youngest Commissioner for the Early Childhood Commission where he conceptualised the Year of Early Childhood Development and,
- as a parliamentarian on the National Youth Parliament of Jamaica, where in 2020 he took the role of Prime Minister.
For his academic performance and community involvement, David received the Governor-General Achievement Award in 2021 and he is also the recipient of the coveted UWI Open Scholarship.
FORMER Directors
FORMER BOARD CHAIRMAN: A lawyer by profession, Mr. Howard Mitchell maintained a successful Commercial Law Practice for thirty-five (35) years, with concentrations in Mining Law and Taxation, before retiring in 2010.
Mr. Mitchell has demonstrated a strong commitment to Public Service for decades and was appointed to the Board of the National Housing Trust (NHT) in 1987 and again served as Chairman from February 2008 to June 2012. He serves as a Justice of the Peace (JP) and 2017 he was awarded the Order of Distinction (Commander Class) for outstanding service to Business and the Public Sector.
He has also served as Chairman on the following Boards:
- Coffee Industry Board; Jamaica Bauxite Institute; Bauxite and Alumina Trading Company Ltd. 2008 – 2012
- Cocoa Industry Board – 2009 – 2011
- Director of the Jamaica Deposit Insurance Corporation – 2012 – 2016
- Vice President of the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association – 2013 – 2016
- Director of Cari-Med Limited and Kirk Distributors Limited – 2013 to Present
- Chairman of The Financial Services Commission – June 2016 – July 2017
- Chairman of the Council of the Institute of Jamaica – December 2016 to Present
- Deputy President of the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association – 2016 to 2017
- The Gaming Commission – 2016 – 2017
- Director of the Jamaica Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association – 2018
- Director of Issa Trust Foundation – 2018
Mr. Mitchell has negotiated a number of Mining Agreements on behalf of the Government of Jamaica and continues to provide advice on developments in that sector. His contribution to Private Enterprise includes the resuscitation of the Sports Development Agency (SDA) to become the Jamaica Lottery Company Limited (operators of Jamaica’s first successful private lottery) and the co-founder of the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) (which was the forerunner of the CHASE Fund), as well as his leadership of the popular chain of Island Grill Restaurants and the establishment of Jamaica’s largest packaging manufacturing plant, Corrpak Jamaica Ltd., before selling the company in 2016.
Mr. Mitchell is the immediate past President of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) and is also currently serving as Chairman of All Jamaica Air Services (AJAS) Limited, Chairman of the Council of the Institute of Jamaica as well as Company Director of TM Traders Ltd., CariMed and Kirk Distributors Limited.
Mr. Mitchell’s philanthropic activities include his financial support of numerous charities and his membership on the Board of Mustard Seed Foundation and former Chairmanship of St. Patrick’s Foundation.
His interests include fishing and politics. He has been married for over 40 years, and has 2 daughters.
Former Company Secretary: An Attorney-at-Law who was admitted to the bar in 1996 and is a proud graduate of the University of the West Indies and the Norman Manley Law School. She is a former member of the Board of the Excelsior Community College and is a present member of the Bar Association and the St. Richard’s Primary School Board.
Senior Research Fellow and Acting Director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of the West Indies. She is a prolific researcher with a sustained body of original work in the field of public policy on poverty, gender, Caribbean childhoods and human rights (particular focus on children’s rights). She has served as Chair of the annual regional Caribbean Child Research Conference and on several committees organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the Child Development Agency.
A Justice of the Peace and a Minister of Religion for 17 years. He assumed responsibilities in 2010 for the Webster Memorial United Church, Kingston where much of the focus is on national, community and youth development. He has served on the JCDC Board for 3 years (2013-2015), St. Andrew Preparatory Board for 8 years, the St. Andrew High School’s Board for 8 years and the Not for Profit, Back to Life Foundation for 1 year.
Jeanette Calder
Jeanette Calder conceptualized and founded JAMP following her experience as researcher into six years of Auditors General reports, and the resulting findings and recommendations; as well as researcher and writer of citizens’ guide to better understanding of the national budget.
In addition to such research, Jeanette has spent the last five and a half years engaged in civil society advocacy, as a member of the Jamaica Civil Society Forum (formerly Jamaica Civil Society Coalition), with one of those years in the capacity of co-executive director. She has been vocal on governance issues, in particular those relating to procurement, corruption and public sector reform.
Jeanette spent 6 years in the public sector and has served on a number of Government boards and committees (National Contracts Commission Sector Committee, Rent Board, Land Divestment Board among others). Her public sector experience furthered her appreciation of the threats to effective and transparent public service delivery and left an indelible impression about the need for change.
She is a graduate of the Caribbean School of Architecture at the University of Technology, Jamaica and obtained a MSc. in Urban Management and Development at the Erasmus University in The Netherlands.
Jeanette currently serves as President of both the Liguanea Community Development Committee and the South Liguanea Citizens’ Association; is a member of the advisory board of the Jamaica Institute of Planners and the Construction Industry Council.
I asked myself the question, what would I want to see done to move Jamaica to the next level of development, to make it the haven of happiness and peace I know it can be – and once the answer presented itself, I decided not to demand change from another but to initiate the change I desperately wanted for myself.
Carol Ann Narcisse
DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON: An accomplished educator and development policy analyst. Her extensive professional experience spans fields related to human, social and organizational development as well as media and communications.
Carol has a keen interest in all facets of Jamaica’s development and has had a leading role in civil society as an advocate for women, children and youth, human rights and on issues of good governance. She served as founding Chairperson of the Jamaica Civil Society Coalition from 2010 to 2014 and is Co-founder of Mensana – a mental health support group serving affected individuals and families since 1997. In addition, Carol has served in leadership of a number of non-government organisations’ including •51% Coalition for Women’s Development and Empowerment, Jamaicans for Justice and the S- Corner Clinic and Community Development Center.
Horace Levy
The Deputy Chairman of the board of the Peace Management Initiative, a Civil Society Organisation engaged in violence interruption and community development. A former senior lecturer in the Social Work Unit of the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work of the University of the West Indies, Levy was lead researcher of They Cry ‘Respect’ (1996, 2001) and author of Killing Streets and Community Revival (2009) and Youth Violence and Organized Crime in Jamaica: Causes and Counter-Measures (2012). Horace has served on the following boards, Community Enterprise Organisation 1979-1980, S-Corner Clinic 1993-2013, Environmental Foundation of Jamaica 1993-97, Jamaica Civil Society Coalition 2011-2015, Chairman, Jamaicans for Justice
David Soutar
David is a Co-founder and Principal of the SlashRoots Foundation supporting strategy, research, and implementation. Much of his expertise falls into the realms of research and design, to help bring complex, multi-stakeholder governance, and development programs to reality.
A graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, David holds a BFA in Graphic Design and an MSc in Computer Science from the University of the West Indies (UWI). He has over 20 years of experience in graphic design, animation, interactive design and user experience. As a Creative Director, David has led teams of designers for various creative agencies, and offered freelance creative direction and design services for non-profit and development agencies. David serves on the advisory boards of multiple design, animation and creative start-ups.
As an Academic, David has lectured in the area of Design and Visual Communication at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, the University of Technology and San Francisco State University. Currently he is a Lecturer of Digital Media at the Caribbean School of Media and Communications at UWI. David’s research interests include Design Thinking and Research, the Creative Industries as well as Civic Communication and Technology Policy.
Former Board Chairman: Howard Mitchell
Former Company Secretary: Karene N. Stanley-Jones
Former Director: Civic Rights: Professor Aldrie Henry-Lee
Former Director: Agency & Community: Astor Carlyle
Our History
History
- which agencies were responsible for accountability,
- what provisions were made under the law to hold officials to account
- which public officials had powers to sanction or reward
- what sanctions are available
- were there any gaps in Jamaica’s systems of accountability and
- how could citizen engagement contribute to needed change.
The findings of the research were more alarming than anticipated.
Click HERE to read the key findings and recommendations of the research.
Click HERE to read the entire report.
One year later, JAMP was established as an independent organisation and tool to empower citizens based on the realization that:
- There is no one better to address Jamaica’s accountability challenges than citizens themselves.
- There is no place better to begin than with the early warning and breaches identified by the Auditor General’s Department, and
- There is no better time to begin than NOW.
