Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA), Velma Ricketts Walker, says the JCA has instituted several mechanisms and implemented several strategic initiatives that have further heralded the entity’s modernisation and transformation agenda. This, she said, is underpinned by the World Customs Organization (WCO) Revised Arusha Declaration, the leading guiding principles for integrity development within customs administrations. Mrs....

Several persons in St. Elizabeth, whose homes were affected by the recent passage of Hurricane Beryl, have received grants through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s Rebuild Jamaica Initiative. As part of the initiative, emergency grants are being provided to homeowners based on the level of damage sustained. Homeowners whose properties suffered minor damage will receive grants of up...

Public-sector workers who wish to apply for tertiary grants for their children have until 5:00 p.m. on August 30 to do so. The grants, which cover tuition only up to $150,000 for the current academic year, are made available to public-sector workers who are permanently appointed or temporarily employed with at least two years’ continuous service and contract workers with...

Applications for the Ambassador’s Scholarship Scheme to study in India will close on August 31. The scheme offers up to 100 per cent scholarship on tuition for 10 eligible Jamaican nationals to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at a university. The application, which can be made through the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service via its website, is offered...

Today, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) announced to the IMF’s Executive Board, her proposal to appoint Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, to the position of Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, effective October 31, 2024. This is a historic and important development in which I take immense pride. The...

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has signalled to commercial banks and other deposit-taking institutions (DTIs) that interest rates are on a downward path. For the first time since October 2022, the BOJ’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to cautiously ease its monetary policy stance. Effective Wednesday (August 21), the Central Bank’s indicative policy interest rate was reduced by 25...

Bank of Jamaica’s (BOJ’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), at its meetings on 16 and 19 August 2024, assessed that the prevailing economic environment is conducive to a further cautious easing of its monetary policy stance and unanimously agreed to: (i) reduce the policy rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 6.75 per cent per annum, effective Wednesday, 21 August 2024;...