The World Bank is well positioned to support the Inner City Basic Services Project for a number of reasons. First, in August 2004 Jamaica formally requested the assistance of the Bank to prepare and finance an urban infrastructure and public safety enhancement operation targeting inner city and informal urban communities. The ICBSP project has been formulated in the context of the Government of Jamaica inner-city renewal program, formulated in 2002. A commitment to inner-city renewal was reinforced in the Government’s Medium-Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework (MTSEPF) in 2004.

Second, the World Bank Group Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Jamaica is closely aligned with the MTSEPF and focuses on three key pillars: 

(i) accelerating inclusive economic growth; 

(ii) improving human development and opportunity; and 

(iii) crime prevention and reduction. 

The ICBSP project is closely aligned with all the pillars of the CAS and is specifically referenced in the strategy. In particular, the ICBSP project will reinforce the first CAS pillar through investments to improve the quality of basic infrastructure services for the poor. Additionally, the project is closely linked to the third CAS pillar on crime violence prevention. In this regard, the project designed infrastructure investments in a manner that reinforces public safety. The public safety component will also finance technical assistance to support mediation activities and multi-purpose community centres that will support youth and adult skills training, homework classes and related community capacity-building initiatives. The ICBSP project also reinforces the conclusions of the Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) which emphasized the importance of reducing crime and violence as this has a major impact on the investment climate, the competitiveness of Jamaican firms, and worker and firm productivity.

Third, the Bank will leverage its global experience in the preparation and implementation of integrated urban infrastructure projects and its increasing experience and knowledge base on crime and violence prevention.

Finally, the project will build upon the experience of the ongoing and successful Bank-supported National Community Development Project (NCDP) – being implemented by JSIF. JSIF has successfully implemented community infrastructure projects under NCDP in inner-city communities and has developed an effective mechanism for community-based contracting that will be replicated in the ICBSP project.

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