The House of Representatives, on Tuesday (October 13), approved the Second Supplementary Estimates for the 2020/21 fiscal year. The revised budget proposes an overall additional expenditure of $15.7 billion to generate a total expenditure budget of $853.7 billion. Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, explained that the continued impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,...

The Government will continue the removal of zinc fences from communities, with a sum of $345 million set aside in the 2020/21 Budget for the undertaking. This was disclosed by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, during the debate on the First Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure for 2020/21 in the House of Representatives on...

The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) has targeted loans of $7.39 billion to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) during the 2020/21 fiscal year. As stated in the Public Bodies Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year ending March 2021, the sum is approximately $2.71 billion more than the $4.07 billion for 2019/20. The document indicates that the sum...

The HEART/National Service Training Agency (HEART/NSTA) Trust is projecting an increase in the number of students taking part in the institution’s approximately 160 training programmes to 152,735, during the 2020/21 fiscal year. Additionally, the agency expects that some 87,144 trainees will be certified this year, with 32,252 being targeted for job placements over the period. This is according to the...

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited (JUTC) will continue to pursue a number of activities aimed at increasing operational efficiencies that should enhance the service to commuters and contribute to reduction in operating costs. The activities that are being pursued include implementation of an Oil Filtration System in 300 buses geared at improving the efficiency and operational life of the...

The Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) is looking to complete a number of projects to facilitate the delivery of some 1,585 housing solutions during the new financial year. As stated in the 2020/21 Public Bodies Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, these are approximately 1,465 more than the 120 solutions for 2019/20, and include serviced lots, housing starts and/or completed houses....

The National Health Fund (NHF) is projecting expenditure of more than $6 billion during the 2020/21 fiscal year to provide clients with subsidised drugs for chronic illnesses. These provisions are facilitated under the NHF and Jamaica Drug for the Elderly Programmes (JADEP), which sees beneficiaries being issued with health cards. According to the Jamaica Public Bodies Estimates of Revenue and...