Just over $1 billion has been earmarked in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure to continue implementation of the Government’s Fiscal Administration Modernization Programme. The five-year Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded project, which commenced in December 2011, aims to support the administration’s focus on attaining sustainable fiscal consolidation. This will be done by strengthening the institutional capacity of the implementing agency, the...

Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) and the Revenue Appeals Division (RAD) are set to commence implementation of the Jamaica Business Taxation Reform (JAMTAX) programme this year. Forty million dollars has been earmarked for the undertaking in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives on April 3. The project aims to assist in improving the regulatory, institutional, and...

Implementation of the Government’s electronic procurement process will continue this year, with a $102.6 million allocation from the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives on April 3. For this year, the project, being implemented by the Ministry of Finance and Planning, is expected to entail acquisition of an electronic procurement system, deemed appropriate and suitable for...

The Government’s Strategic Public Sector Transformation Project is slated for implementation over the next 12 months. A total of $10 million has been earmarked for the undertaking in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives on April 3. The programme, being implemented by the Ministry of Finance and Planning, aims to strengthen public resource management, and...

The Government has set aside $278.9 million in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, which have been tabled in the House of Representatives, to continue the Public Sector Modernisation Programme, this year. Under the Public Sector Moderation Programme III, which is funded by the European Union (EU), Inter-American Bank (IDB), China Co-Financing Fund, and the Government of Jamaica, Ministries, Departments, and...

An allocation of just over $18 million has been set aside in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, to further undertake activities under the Water Sector Policy, and Rural Master Plan. The project, which began in April 2011, is intended to provide access by some 85 per cent of rural households to safe potable water....

The Major Infrastructure for Development Programme has received an allocation of $4 billion in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, which are now before Parliament’s Standing Finance Committee. The project seeks to continue improvement of the island’s road network in order to stimulate economic development and enhance the welfare of Jamaica’s citizens. Achievements, to date, include: completion of an engineering feasibility...

Amendments to the General Consumption Tax (GCT) Act are expected to be tabled in the House by June 2014. The main objectives of the reform of the GCT Act are to broaden the tax base and improve its administration. This is contained in the Supplementary Memorandum of Economic and Fiscal Policies, submitted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The document...