SDC moves to reset community governance framework

The Social Development Commission (SDC) is seeking to reset collaboration between state and non-state actors through a renewed focus on governance and community participation, according to its executive director, Omar Frith.

Speaking to The Gleaner on the sidelines of the Greater St Catherine Governance Conference on Wednesday at the Caymanas Golf Club, Frith said the shift is being driven through the agency’s governance department.

“At this junture the SDC is seeking to reset the meaning, we have been focus through our governance department on building capacity of groups and individuals to participate at the community level,” he said.

The conference, staged in partnership with the Planning Institute of Jamaica , has so far been held in St James, Clarendon, Westmoreland and St Catherine, with a final staging scheduled for Kingston and St Andrew.

Frith acknowledged that while aspects of the Local Governance Act of 2016 remain to be refined, its core purpose is to create spaces at the community and local levels where citizens can participate meaningfully in decision-making.

“So the ordinary citizens who live in communities and have issues with crime and violence, garbage collection, sanitation and youth participation, you have a voice, but the SDC has to ensure that it provides the formal mechanisms through which you can articulate your ideas,” he noted.

He said these mechanisms include community development committees and other community-based organisations, such as youth clubs, which in turn feed into parish advisory committees.

GRANT FACILITIES

Frith also disclosed that the SDC had made $20 million available through a grant facility for eligible groups.

“It doesn’t mean that money is available to throw away, we still have a system in place where they must qualify, but the point is if they are qualify they have access to this Grant,” he said.

To carry out its mandate effectively, Frith added, the SDC must ensure that its staff are adequately trained and aligned with the needs of communities.

“So we have been looking at repurposing our staff to ensure that is purposeful to the times we are in, we want to ensure that we are leading by example, we are not just talking about community development we are living it,” he argued.

Earlier, in addressing stakeholders, staff and volunteers, Frith underscored the importance of volunteerism, commending volunteers for their continued service and urging them to give freely of themselves, which he described as the essence of volunteerism.

Meanwhile, the SDC’s director of governance, Sherine Walker, said the conference had met its objectives.

“Its a success, because our target is to have the stakeholders and they were represented, not only been here but they are engaging and putting ideas on the table which we can go back and look at their viewpoints so we can reset,” she told The Gleaner.

Walker added that discussions had reaffirmed participants’ interest in participatory governance.

The conference aimed to deepen understanding of local governance processes, operationalise the parish participatory governance framework, examine the role of volunteerism and state – civil society collaboration, and strengthen community-development outcomes.

ruddy.mathison@gleanerjm.com