Prime Minister P.J. Patterson (left) and Ralph Anglin, President of ALGA at the Conference Centre. ­ Norman Grindley

GOVERNMENT WILL be spending $100 million on a general clean-up project across the island in the next two months under the "Lift Up Jamaica" programme, described by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson as one of four major initiatives to improve community and parish infrastructure.

The funds will be spent on the clean-up exercise between December 1999 and January 2000, the Prime Minister told the audience at the National Consultation on Local Governance at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston yesterday. Money is also to be spent repairing roads damaged by the recent flood rains.

Mr. Patterson said that during his travels around the island, he had noticed an excessive amount of litter and noted that the situation had worsened with the recent heavy rains.

He emphasised that the "Lift Up Jamaica" programme was intended, among other things, to change the face of Jamaica for the better so that the country did not become subject to the process of "uglification".

The Prime Minister also said that improvement work would be carried out on markets across the island at an estimated cost of J$560 million. He also said the administrative offices of Parish Councils must be refurbished to enable them to better serve both staff and members of the public.

Just over $2.5 billion is being spent over two years to employ young people between the ages of 18 and 30 under the "Lift Up Jamaica" programme which was announced earlier this year. Persons employed will be required to implement projects determined by the community for the community, the Prime Minister said.

The other three initiatives which the Prime Minister said were intended to improve infrastructure at the community and parish levels were: the Social Investment Fund, the Parochial Revenue Fund and the Parish Infrastructure Development Programme and National Solid Waste Management Strategy.