Jamaica is on course to pass its fourth International Monetary Fund (IMF) quarterly review, for the January to March 2014 period, to secure a fifth drawdown of US$71 million, under the country’s US$958 million four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement. Head of the IMF Staff Mission Team to Jamaica which conducted the review, Dr. Jan Kees Martijn, says the continued...

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting that inflation declined by 0.3 per cent in April 2014, the lowest since July 2012. The figure was captured by STATIN’s All Jamaica ‘All Divisions’ Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI is a gauge for assessing the performance of the economy, and measures changes in the general level of prices of consumer...

Registrar of the Department of Cooperatives and Friendly Societies (DCFS), Errol Gallimore, is reassuring private individuals engaged in charitable activities that the new regime will continue to facilitate their goodwill. Formerly, individuals who operate charities outside of Jamaica would request waiver letters from the Ministry of Finance and Planning in order to clear items donated to children’s homes, communities or...

Jamaica recorded an estimated growth of 1.6 per cent between January and March 2014, relative to the corresponding period of 2013. The sectors of agriculture and mining and quarrying recorded the highest growth during the period. Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Colin Bullock, made the disclosure at the institute’s quarterly media briefing on May 15, at...

Jamaica is to push even harder to further penetrate the European Union (EU) markets, as it seeks to take full advantage of economic advancements in that trading bloc. “It (EU) represents a tremendous trading opportunity for Jamaica, which we hope to take increasing advantage of, as we complete our own economic reform agenda,” said Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr....

Twenty-five procurement specialists and lawyers across the public sector are set to benefit from five days of training in procurement law and practice. The training is being held from May 12 to16 at the offices of the Management Institute for National Development (MIND), Old Hope Road. It is intended to equip procurement specialists and lawyers across the sector with invaluable...

The Government has signed six support agreements with the European Union (EU), which provide $11.5 billion of grant-funding to crucial areas of the society. The agreements expand several programmes that are already being supported by the EU in the sugar industry, justice, governance projects, community development initiatives, poverty reduction and income generating projects, and support in technical capacity building. Speaking...