Jamaica is among four Caribbean countries that will benefit from the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) implementation of a J$348.9-million (¥300-million/US$2.7-million) grant-funded energy efficiency project in the region. The three-year technical cooperation project will bolster the Government’s efforts to boost the country’s renewable energy generation capacity while enhancing energy efficiency. Similar support is also being provided to Barbados, St. Kitts...

The Government is in the process of rolling out the Human Capital Enterprise Management System to enable the automation of the administrative functions of human resource (HR) management. State Minister in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, gave details of the move in his contribution to the 2017/18 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, says the Ministry is far advanced in its work to review current practices regarding public-sector compensation and develop a Compensation Policy. Mr. Spencer, who was making his Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on April 11, said the process will be instrumental in...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, has announced a reduction in the property tax rates. Speaking in the House of Representatives, today (April 11), Mr. Shaw said the Government has listened to the concerns expressed by some quarters in the society who felt that the additional taxes were too much over a short time. The Government...

Newly appointed World Bank Caribbean Country Director, Tahseen Sayed, has cited three areas which she says are pivotal to Jamaica’s attainment of developed country status, in keeping with the Vision 2030 National Development Plan. These are maintaining macroeconomic stability; public-sector modernisation; and repositioning of the private sector as the key driver of economic growth. She was speaking with journalists during...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Hon. Fayval Williams, has invited a delegation of pharmacists to discuss pressing concerns with Ministry personnel. This, she said, would allow the Government to have a better understanding of the challenges industry players are facing. “It’s incumbent on Government to listen to persons, listen to the issues and try to do the...

A World Bank technical team is coming to Jamaica for discussions with the Government on the extent of assistance which the multilateral institution can provide in developing the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) initiative that was recently announced by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness. This was disclosed by the Bank’s newly appointed Caribbean Country Director, Tahseen Sayed,...