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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...

Minister of Finance, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, is reporting an 11 per cent increase in tax revenues for June 2012, over the same period last year. The Finance Minister, who was speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (July 31), attributed the improvement to increased levels of compliance on the part of taxpayers. “The fact is, before the...

Minister of Finance and Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, has affirmed the Government’s intention to have a new agreement in place with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of this year. He was responding to comments made in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (July 31), by Opposition Member of Parliament, Karl Samuda, who stated that...

Minister of Finance, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says that reducing the effects of natural disasters is critical to the country’s economic programme, based on the significant impact of loss and damages on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He said data from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) indicates that damage associated with hurricanes, floods and droughts has cost the...

The Government is moving towards the implementation of a merged structure between the Agricultural Credit Board and the Department of Co-operatives and Friendly Societies. This was announced by Minister of State for Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes-Abrahams on July 18, during her contribution to the 2012/13 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives. She noted that the move...

Last week, I visited Washington D.C. where I had discussions with the staff of the International Monetary Fund and with the Inter-American Development Bank, covering Jamaica’s macroeconomic programme. The objective of the visit was to present the Fund with an update on the macro economic developments in Jamaica, including the recently concluded Budget exercise and more importantly, to settle definitively...

The Public Service Commission has announced the appointments of Mrs. Nicole Foster-Pusey as Solicitor General in the Attorney General’s Chambers; and Mrs. Deirdre A. P. English-Gosse as Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Keeper of the Records in the Registrar General’s Department (RGD). The appointments take effect on August 7, 2012. Mrs. Foster-Pusey previously served in the Attorney General’s Chambers between...

The Jamaica Mortgage Bank (JMB) will be implementing a Home Deposit Financing Programme, in an effort to make home ownership more accessible to Jamaicans.  This was disclosed by Minister with responsibility for Housing, Hon. Dr. Morais Guy, during his contribution to the 2012/13 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on July 10. "It has long been recognised that finding...

The public is being invited to submit nominations for this year’s Public Sector Customer Service Competition, which opens on Monday (July 9). The biennial competition, which is open to all public sector organizations, seeks to promote and encourage commitment to and continuous improvement in the quality of service delivery to the public, by recognizing and rewarding efforts of government agencies to...

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, is anticipating significant accruable benefits to micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) stakeholders, from several measures being pursued for implementation by the government, to enhance growth and productivity within that sector. Speaking at a post-Budget forum hosted by the MSME Alliance, at the University of Technology, St. Andrew, on the theme:...