The Government has signed a loan agreement for US$15 million with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to assist with the cost of rolling out the Energy Management and Efficiency Programme (EMEP). The contract was signed at the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service in downtown Kingston on November 10 by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley...

More than 300 officials are expected in the island for the sixth International Monetary Fund (IMF) High Level Caribbean Forum slated for Thursday, November 16 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston. Among these are current and former regional heads of government, finance ministers, central bank governors and private-sector representatives, as well as senior staff of the IMF and...

Managing Director of the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), Milverton Reynolds, continues to underscore the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to the country’s growth, and the entity’s commitment to their ongoing development. Noting MSMEs’ significance in the growth of the global economy, he argues that this is “no less so, here in Jamaica”. He was speaking at...

Ambassador Plenipotentiary for Economic Affairs, Dr. Nigel Clarke, is calling for increased investment in agriculture, as there is great demand that is not being satisfied and which the nation has the ability to supply. “If we focus more on growing our own produce, we would reduce the need to import and satisfy the demands of our markets, which also results...

Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will further strengthen their longstanding collaboration on matters related to the country’s tax system. The concept, which has been adapted from the Canadian Revenue Authority’s model, underpins the establishment of a Consultative Committee that will provide a forum for...

Finance and the Public Service State Minister, Hon. Fayval Williams, has lauded Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) for implementing reforms that have significantly improved the agency’s operations and service delivery and taxpayers’ compliance in filing statutory returns. Notable among these initiatives, she says, are the Revenue Administration Information System (RAiS) e-services platform; the creation of a single payment window for filing...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says Jamaica’s economic climate is so positive that banks are once again lending money for productive enterprises. Delivering the keynote address at the official opening of the GWest Medical Centre in Fairview, Montego Bay, on November 2, Mr. Holness added that it is indeed a good sign for the country’s economic future, and...