Jamaica has received some US$50 million ($6.41 billion) in loan funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), under its Fiscal Structural Programme for Economic Growth (FISPEG) III. The loan will boost tax revenues, enhance control over budgetary expenditure and reinforce customs administration effectiveness. Speaking at the signing ceremony, held today (December 19), at the  Ministry of Finance and the Public...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, says the Government remains committed to providing affordable housing solutions for Jamaicans in order to eliminate squatting. He said there are some 750 informal settlements across the island, with a population of just over one million. “We have to begin the development of communities...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, says the Housing Agency of Jamaica, (HAJ)  is to be restructured. Addressing the launch of  The Vistas housing development at Runaway Bay, in St. Ann on December 19, Dr. Chang said the restructuring exercise is aimed at getting the HAJ back to being a...

Local policymakers are benefiting from the expertise of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to better understand the risks and implications of the weather-related phenomenon in order to more effectively mitigate its effects. Set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the IPCC provides governments with regular assessments of the scientific...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Karl Samuda, has charged members of the Trade Facilitation Task Force to explore strategies that will enable the country to become more competitive within the Caribbean region and globally. “We must collectively… concentrate immediately without delay on ways of reducing our charges at the port of entry… to remove bureaucracy from the...

The Paediatric Unit at the Black River Hospital in St. Elizabeth has been refurbished, with a lounge for mothers added, which will enable the facility to be certified as a baby-friendly institution. The project was carried out through a donation of $4 million from the Sagicor Foundation and included adding more beds and chairs, a refrigerator, and painting of the...

Executive Director of the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), Christine Hendricks, is calling for an end to all forms of discrimination against persons with disabilities (PWD), noting that this is the greatest barrier to their development and full participation in society. “The attitude of people, who say you do not belong, poses the greatest hindrance to the development...