The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) has provided a $6.9 million grant to the Environment Health Foundation (EHF) for the implementation of a social development project in the community of Parade Gardens in South Central Kingston. The parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish their partnership, during a press briefing held on June 4, at the DBJ’s offices...

The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, June 2, started debate on the Joint Select Committee Report on the Public Procurement Act. The legislation is aimed at modernising Jamaica’s public procurement laws and will reflect new policy thinking and international best practices in the area. Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Hon. Horace Dalley, who chaired the...

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, has commended the Credit Union Movement for being “one of the fundamental building blocks of modern Jamaican society.” Addressing the 2015 Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League Limited Convention and 74th Annual General Meeting at the Hilton Rose Hall Hotel in Montego Bay, St. James, on May 29, Dr. Phillips said the...

Financial Secretary, Devon Rowe, says negotiations for wages must be handled with great care to protect jobs in the public sector. “In the face of growth of 0.4 per cent (in 2014) we have to be careful in terms of how we agree to wages because they may not be sustainable. I think we need to engage in discussions that...

The Ministry of Finance and Planning (MOFP) is advising that the implementation of withholding tax on specified services is postponed, until further notice. The Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Honourable Peter Phillips and the Commissioner General, Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ), Mr. Ainsley Powell recently met with stakeholders from various private sector groups and have agreed to delay implementation...

Clients of Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) can expect continued improvement in customer service, and the handling of their assessments, as emphasis is being placed on the training of Revenue Administrators by the agency. This was in evidence recently, as more Revenue Administrators participated in a Tax Audit and Revenue Administration (TARA) Post Graduate Diploma Programme, administered by the Management Institute...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says the Government is committed to creating an environment that will enable the further lowering of interest rates in the banking sector. “Those interest rates are trending down and they are trending down for a variety of reasons, but a main one is that the Government has restrained itself from...