The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and the National Export-Import Bank of Jamaica (EXIM Bank) will be expanding the provision of new financial services to the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector. These services, which are not currently available to them from the commercial financial institutions, include assistance with single-digit interest rates, venture capital, factoring and leasing. “Assistance will...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, has announced that 15,106 new taxpayers were registered during the period April to December 2017, due to a compliance drive conducted by Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ). Mr. Shaw said the Tax Reform Working Group, which began under his leadership, should be praised for this number of new registered taxpayers. The...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw is scheduled to open the 2018/19 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 8, when he will inform the nation how the Budget for the fiscal year will be funded. The Government intends to spend $773.6 billion for 2018/19, with $560 billion allocated for recurrent (housekeeping) expenses and...

As the Government prepares to outline how it intends to finance the $773.6-billion Budget for 2018/19, it is important for citizens to understand the importance of the discussion and how it will impact their lives. Simply put, the Budget proposes how much money the Government will allocate for the services it has to carry out each financial year and how...

A flood control master plan for the town of Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, is to be developed in the upcoming fiscal year. A sum of $47.5 million has been allocated in the 2018/19 Estimates of Expenditure to facilitate this and other activities under the ‘Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Reduction Technology and Strategies to Improve Community Resilience” project. The money will also...

The Government has budgeted $27.9 million to strengthen the climate and disaster risk management capacity of the Portmore Municipal Council. Details of the project are outlined in the 2018/19 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The money will be used for the development of a disaster risk profile (acquisition of data and community vulnerability analysis) of the...

As part of efforts to minimise the impact of climate change on fishing livelihoods, a campaign will be designed and executed in the upcoming fiscal year. A sum of $22.8 million has been set aside in the 2018/19 Estimates of Expenditure to facilitate this undertaking under the Fisheries Ecosystem Adaptation Strategies and Technologies project. The Estimates were tabled recently in...