A budgetary allocation of just over $1.5 billion has been made to complete the Southern Plains Agricultural Development Project in the upcoming fiscal year. The sum is contained in the 2024/25 Estimates of Expenditure now before the House of Representatives. The project, which began in 2019, is slated to end in December 2024. It aims to provide access to irrigation...

The Government has allocated approximately $225 million to increase Jamaica’s resilience to climate change and reduce poverty through the implementation of an Integrated and Sustainable Landscape Management Methodology. Details of the provision are contained in the 2024/25 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled recently in the House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke....

More than $359 million has been earmarked to continue Global Services Skills (GSS) Project implementation during fiscal year 2024/25. The Project aims to promote the Global Services Sector’s (GSS) growth in Jamaica, particularly in higher value-added segments. It specifically intends to provide the sector with better skilled workers and increase Jamaica’s institutional capacity to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and...

The annual Budget Debate is slated to take place in March, and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service is on a mission to get all Jamaicans to pay attention to details of the presentations. The Budget outlines the Government’s planned fiscal year expenditure on projects and services programmed for implementation and delivery. A total of $1.3 trillion is...

The Bank of Jamaica’s (BOJ) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is maintaining heightened surveillance of risks to the inflation outlook. The MPC will, additionally, base its future monetary policy decisions on incoming data related to the strength of potential risks to the projected inflation outturns. This was disclosed by BOJ Governor, Richard Byles, during the Central Bank’s recent Quarterly Monetary Policy...

The Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) FATF today at its February 2024 Plenary meeting in Paris, approved for their America’s Joint Group to conduct an on-site visit to Jamaica to assess the effectiveness and sustainability of the measures the country has implemented to address its strategic AML/CFT deficiencies outlined in the 13-point action plan agreed with the FATF in February...

The Government has allocated $24.5 billion to support new projects under the Public Investment Management System (PIMS). Details of the provision are outlined in the 2024/25 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, on February 15. During the upcoming fiscal year, the contingency allocation will...

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) is reporting that 60 per cent of the notes in circulation are polymer currency. “When we look at the notes in circulation, the number of pieces, it is about 40 per cent that are the old notes. So, it is a 60:40 ratio. We are no longer issuing old notes since last year November,” Deputy...

Bank of Jamaica wishes to advise that on Monday, 26 February 2024, teller services to members of the public will be closed at 11:00 a.m. In this regard, the public will have access to teller services from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. This is to facilitate the relevant staff members getting time off to vote in the Local Government Elections....