Above: Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and Works Minister Dr Omar Davies at a JEEP project site earlier this year (JIS Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Jamaica has received an $11.5 million USD grant from the PetroCaribe Fund for its Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme.

The grant will take effect during the 2012/2013 fiscal year, and will also provide support for the Students Loan Bureau and social housing programmes, according to Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips.

The Minister said the JEEP funding boost would provide assistance to those in need of jobs and help jumpstart the macroeconomic environment.

“This is part of our commitment overall,” Phillips said. “We are not simply about fiscal consolidation. We intend to not only protect the marginalized, but to create the impetus for growth as well.”

The JEEP plan, which was launched in March, has already created 3,000 new jobs, according to government data.

It was a key prong of the People’s National Party’s campaign in December that vaulted the party into power, ousting the Jamaica Labour Party.