The Government has allocated $1 billion to the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation to support the implementation of an islandwide social housing programme across all 63 constituencies. Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, said the programme will comprise three modalities – the provision of indigent housing; relocation of vulnerable communities; and the...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says establishment of the Fiscal Council will seek to further institutionalise economic independence by strengthening Jamaica’s Fiscal Responsibility Framework. He points out that the Fiscal Council will be the guardian and interpreter of those fiscal rules which already exist and will help to maintain a path of fiscal...

The 2019/20 capital expenditure budget for the 56 Self-Financing Public Bodies (SFPB) is projected at $71.9 billion. The sum is $13.5 billion more than the figure for 2018/19, which totalled approximately $58.4 billion, and is expected to result in the entities attaining an overall balance deficit of $3.2 billion over the period. This is according to the Government’s 2019/20 Fiscal...

General Manager of the Jamaica Mortgage Bank (JMB), Courtney Wynter, says that effective immediately, the Bank will be implementing four changes to the Mortgage Indemnity Insurance (MII) plan. Mr. Wynter told JIS News that a letter has been sent to inform Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for Water, Works and Housing,...

Each year, the Government outlines its plans for the economic and social development of the country, through its Budget. This is a projection of what Jamaica expects to receive in terms of revenue and what it expects to spend for the coming financial year. The Budget is funded primarily through taxation and fees. These include property tax, income tax, general...

The Government is to spend approximately $27 million on the ‘Implementation Support for Skills Development for Global Services’ project, during the fiscal year 2019/20. Details about the project are provided in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The main objective of the project is to promote the growth of the Global Services Sector in Jamaica,...

The Microcredit Act (2019) was tabled in the House of Representatives on February 26 by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke. The Bill seeks to regulate the persons who provide microcredit services, ensuring that such persons are licensed by the Regulatory Authority. They will also be required to keep proper accounting and other records...