The Government has received additional funding support for its Energy Management and Efficiency Programme (EMEP) through a €9.17-million (US$10-million) grant from the European Union (EU). This is being allocated through the European Union-Caribbean Investment Fund Facility (EU-CIF) and will serve to promote more efficient use of energy resources by the State that would free up public funds through the reduction...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the country’s rating has been upgraded from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’ by international rating agency, Fitch, as a result of macroeconomic improvements. He said these include further reduction in unemployment to a 10-year low at 10.3 per cent; stabilisation of the Jamaican dollar, which revalued to $125.50 against the US dollar...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Audley Shaw, says the Government is undertaking measures to combat acquisitive crimes, where the offender derives material gain from the criminal activity. The measures include revisions to the Companies Act to incorporate the retention of beneficial ownership information; the designation of certain professions as reporting entities under the Terrorism Prevention Act; passage of the...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, has announced that the Financial Investigations Division (FID), which falls under his Ministry, is to become an independent government department. He said the decision will afford the FID greater autonomy and independence, similar to what is contemplated for the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA). The Minister was speaking during...

The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) plans to further deepen its engagements with clients and stakeholders through a special traders forum that will be held annually, beginning in the 2018/19 fiscal year. It will bring together interests involved in the wide spectrum of trade, inclusive of export, import, logistics, warehousing and haulage to educate, sensitize and heighten their awareness of the...

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been inked between the Office of the Cabinet and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) to promote service excellence within the public and private sectors under a Service Excellence Programme. Under the initiative, the Public Sector Transformation and Modernisation Division (PSTMD) will be working to build the capacity of ministries, departments and agencies...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the Government plans to build on Jamaica’s good standing with its international creditors, as a result of notable improvements in several areas of the economy. Among these are stabilisation of the macroeconomic environment, debt reduction, fiscal discipline, and maintaining inflation within the four to six per cent range, all of...