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Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. The Hon. Peter Phillips, has emphasised that the country cannot persist with spending 80 per cent of the budget on wages and debt payments. "This is what we mean when we say the debt stifles the country's potential for development, because it is the 20 cents that remain out of each dollar that is...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says there is no delay in the drafting of a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), noting that the timetable for discussion remains on track. He was responding to questions posed by Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Holness, during the sitting of the House of Representatives on September...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says despite the challenges, the Government expects real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the July to September 2012 quarter. "This growth will be supported by a tempering in the rate of decline for transport and communication, as the impact of the sale of Air Jamaica cycles out," Dr. Phillips...

Lecturer in the Department of Economics, University of the West Indies, Collin Bullock, is suggesting that the Government target wealthy tax evaders as it embarks on tax reform measures. “We need to go after some of the large delinquents (and) make examples of them to show that nobody is above the law,” Mr. Bullock stated during a recent interview with...

Lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Collin Bullock, says it is important that the country secures a “seal of approval” from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to ensure it continues to receive financial support from the international community. "The Finance and Planning Minister (Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips) said recently that...

Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) Governor, Brian Wynter, says Jamaica’s reserves remain comfortably above the international benchmark of 12 weeks of imports of goods and services. This, he said, is despite the Bank’s intervention in the local foreign exchange market to cover higher net demand for current account transactions, which net private capital inflows were insufficient to meet. He was speaking...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Hon. Horace Dalley, says that while the Government is fully committed to the divestment of Caymanas Park, it is not prepared to “give it away." Addressing stakeholders at a Horse racing Summit at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston on August 23, Mr. Dalley said that “the most challenging and...

Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) Governor, Bryan Wynter, is reporting that the inflation rate recorded for the April to June quarter averaged approximately 1.5 per cent. This figure, he notes, is significantly lower than the revised forecast range of  between three and five per cent which the BoJ announced in June, subsequent to implementation of the revenue measures outlined by Finance...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says that as Jamaica embarks on the next phase of its journey as an independent state, the fundamental challenge will be to lay the foundation for a new economic architecture to advance sustained development. The Finance Minister was addressing scholars, government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, the business community...

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, is reporting flat growth of 0.1 per cent for the April to June 2012 quarter. He informed that the modest gross domestic product (GDP) outturn occurred against the background of a relatively stable macroeconomic environment, with better than expected fiscal deficit and continued moderate inflation. “For April to...

The Government has identified several investment opportunities arising from its promotional activities during the recent London Olympics that it will be pursuing. Addressing a post-Olympics press briefing on August 8 at Jamaica House,  Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, said that over the 10-day period, when the country staged ‘Jamaica House 2012’ in London, a total of...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, said that the operations of all agencies under the Ministry that deal with enforcement and compliance, will need to be streamlined in order to ensure greater efficiency. "In the area of enforcement and compliance, we need to rationalise our operations," Minister Phillips said today (Aug. 10), during a meeting with...