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Commissioner of Customs, Major Richard Reese, says the Customs Department has seized over $1 billion worth of illicit items, at the island’s air and sea ports, since the start of the year. The seizures include significant quantities of narcotics, guns and ammunition, counterfeit cigarettes, and various articles associated with the lottery scam, including debit and credit cards. Outlining details of...

A team of officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled to arrive in Jamaica this weekend for further negotiations with the government towards drafting a new agreement. Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, informed that talks will commence on Monday (September 24) and the team will be in the island until October 5 for...

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips says the implementation of pension reform will have to begin this fiscal year. Dr. Phillips, who was speaking to JIS News in an interview on September 14, said the reform, which is an essential element of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement, now under consideration, will likely begin early in the...

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...