A sum of $100 million has been allocated to the Rural Economic Development Initiative II. This is outlined in the 2020/21 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project seeks to enhance access to markets and to climate-resilient approaches for targeted beneficiaries (rural enterprises). For the upcoming fiscal year, the project will rehabilitate the Bethel Town Sorrel...

The Government has earmarked $485.8 million in the upcoming fiscal year to continue activities under the Boosting Innovation, Growth and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems (BIGEE) project. As stated in the 2020/21 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, the funding will go towards increasing the number of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) accessing equity financing and capacity-building training; while...

The Government has allocated $1.6 billion towards implementation of the National Identification System (NIDS) for Economic Growth project. This is outlined in the 2020/21 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The programme aims to provide a secure, reliable and unique method of authenticating an individual's identity. So far, a vendor to develop the NIDS has been engaged,...

The Government has allocated $150 million in the 2020/2021 Budget to establish a United Nations House in downtown Kingston. The United Nations House will be located at Block 11, 14-16 Port Royal Street, based on renovation of the existing space. This project will be implemented by the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and its affiliate, the National Land...

The Government has presented a Budget of $852.7 billion, with $778.4 billion allocated for Recurrent (housekeeping) expenses and $74.2 billion for Capital (development) projects. Details of the projections are outlined in the Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives, today (February 11), by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke. The Ministry of...

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is currently conducting the first ever Global Services Sector (GSS) survey. The study began on January 20 in all parishes and will run until March 2020. GSS, more commonly associated with business process outsourcing (BPO), also includes operations in areas such as information technology-enabled services (ITES), knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), and legal process outsourcing...

The Government is implementing several measures to supply communities with water islandwide during the current period of drought. The Meteorological Service Branch has projected that the country will be experiencing near normal rainfall in some areas and moderately dry conditions up to at least April. Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon....