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Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says the visiting Mission team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has broadly accepted the Medium Term Economic Programme that was signed off on by the Cabinet, as a viable starting point for negotiations. The IMF team has been in the island since September 24 to conduct negotiations towards a new...

The Government has agreed to the establishment of a pension programme for District Constables as a component of the 2010/2012 Heads of Agreement with the island's police groups. Another notable feature of the agreement is that the police groups will forego wage increase for the period. Speaking at the signing of the agreement at the Finance Ministry's Heroes Circle offices...

The Jamaica Customs Department will be introducing a $2 million limit on cash transactions for the payment of duty as of November 2012. Commissioner of Customs, Major Richard Reese, who made the disclosure while addressing the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce's JCC) annual customs seminar on Thursday (Sept. 27), said all cash payments for duty in excess of this amount will...

The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) is embarking on a public education campaign, geared at strengthening consumer protection and awareness in relation to the development of a banking code for Jamaica. Speaking at a JIS 'Think Tank' on September 27, Chairman of the CAC, Lorna Green, said that the campaign is intended to educate consumers about the proposed banking code for...

The World Bank's Jamaica Country Office wishes to salute the work of Faith Innerarity, late Chief Technical Director at the Ministry of Labour & Social Security. In her previous role as Director of Social Security Mrs. Innerarity was highly valued as the driving force behind our partnership with the Government of Jamaica in the rationalisation of Jamaica's Social Safety Net...

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, is appealing to exporters to take advantage of the loan facility being offered by the National Export-Import Bank of Jamaica Limited (EX-IM Bank), to modernise and upgrade their plants. He noted that through the EX-IM loan, business owners can borrow up to the Jamaican equivalent of US$500,000 for the purchase of...

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says the government will be looking to remove more posts from the public sector before the end of the year. This is in addition to 3,100 posts that are to go soon, as part of measures to reduce the public sector wage bill in keeping with the overall debt reduction strategy....

The Government is seeking to encourage overseas companies to establish their head offices in Jamaica, through a Bill that exempts officers of such companies from the payment of income tax. The Bill Income Tax (Amendment) Act was tabled during Tuesday's (Sept. 18) sitting of the House of Representatives. According to the Memorandum of Objects and Reasons, the Bill exempts persons,...

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...