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Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips left the island on Thursday, April 10 for Washington D.C., to participate in 2014 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (IBRD). The delegation while in Washington will also meet with international development partners, development agencies, and investment banks on the policies that the administration...

Financial analyst, Ralston Hyman says the soon to be enacted fiscal rules, which will dictate how the Government spends and borrows, should boost investor confidence. Mr. Hyman who was speaking on the JIS current affairs programme ‘Issues and Answers’ recently, said the fiscal rules, which are to be introduced this financial year, as a requirement of the four-year Extended Fund Facility...

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) will continue work this year to support implementation of the country’s  Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with an $8.38 million allocation, earmarked in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, currently being reviewed by Parliament’s Standing Financing Committee. The undertaking aims to assist the Government by increasing the effectiveness of development planning towards better monitoring and planning...

Work by Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ), and Jamaica Customs to improve the business environment in order to help facilitate economic growth, should advance significantly this year. This, as an additional $65 million has been earmarked in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives, to complete the work in this area. The...

Phase three of institutional strengthening at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) is slated to be undertaken this year with a $32.6 million allocation in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure. The proposed budget is being reviewed by Standing Finance Committee of the House or Representatives. The exercise, being funded by the European Union (EU), seeks to improve the Institute’s capacity...

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...