Mid-term evaluation of the export development and investment project (EDIP)

The evaluation covers the period 3/90-5/93. Though the project has covered a broad range of activities -- a total of 22 discrete activities -- most of its resources have been focused upon Jamaica Promotions, Ltd. (JAMPRO), and the National Investment Bank of Jamaica (NIBJ). The best results have been attained when professional TA was provided directly to promising private sector enterprises, as in the International Executive Service Corp's (IESC) volunteer program, JAMPRO's TA to garment manufacturers, and the Peace Corps vendors' program. NIBJ's use of local consultants to prepare companies for privatization has also had excellent effects. Another promising activity has been the provision of TA in preparing draft legislation for the Fair Trade Competition Act of 1993 and the Employee Share Ownership Act. Also, planned project support for a new Fiscal Monitoring Unit at the Ministry of Finance (MOF) appears to be an excellent idea. On the negative side, the project has supported a number of activities that do not appear promising. Some of the relatively smaller activities, such as the Tourism Action Plan's (TAP) facade and small projects program, the National Development Foundation (NDF) institutional strengthening activity, and the Small Business Association of Jamaica's (SBAJ) business planning and implementation activity, by diverting USAID resources, have had the effect of diffusing the project's impact. Also, the management information system originally envisioned for the project has proven overly ambitious; it should be abandoned and replaced by a simpler system that can be accommodated in a LOTUS 1-2-3 program and involves simplified data gathering. The project is under consideration for amendment, and the evaluation makes the following recommendations. (1) Given the maturation in the Jamaican economy, the amended project should focus on policy implementation, privatization, securities exchange regulation/stock exchange modernization, and business development. If these activities are approved, USAID should consider changing its counterpart organization from JAMPRO to the MOF, while continuing to provide support to JAMPRO for activities that meet project goals. (2) Activities that do not show promise -- specifically, support to TAP, NDF, and SBAJ -- should be eliminated as soon current obligations are fulfilled.