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KINGSTON — Jamaicans in the Diaspora have been challenged to exploit the country's potential for realising a significant share of the US billion dollar Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. This charge was given at the recent 2nd Annual Awards and Scholarship Gala of the Jamaican American Bar Association, by Senator the Hon. Arthur Williams, Minister with responsibility for Information and...

KINGSTON — Premier of the Cayman Islands, Hon McKeeva Bush, is currently in Jamaica as head of a 6-member team on a study tour, lasting November 28-29. Premier Bush and his team, who are guests of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, will be specifically looking at the Government's procurement systems, inclusive of policies, procedures and legislations, which they have...

MONTEGO BAY — International Monetary Fund (IMF) Senior Resident Representative to Jamaica, Dr. Gene Leon, has said that his organisation is always willing and able to assist the people and Government o Jamaica. He said that Jamaica is one of 187 countries that are members of the IMF and part of the organisation's obligation to its members is to provide...

KINGSTON — Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, says that the PIOJ is satisfied with its method of measuring poverty in Jamaica, as it is based on the Survey of Living Conditions which a very important global standard. Speaking against the background of media reports on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent report of...

KINGSTON — Minister of Finance and Planning, Hon. Audley Shaw, has urged self employed professionals to become tax compliant and file their annual income tax returns. Mr. Shaw made the call on Tuesday November 23, 2011 in an address to the Tax Audit and Revenue Administration (TARA) Post Graduate Diploma Programmegraduation exercise, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston. “Come...

The number of revenue agents serving the tax administration department has been boosted with the graduation of 44 agents from the Tax Audit and Revenue Administration (TARA) Post Graduate Diploma Programme. The ceremony was held on November 23, 2011 at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston. The revenue agents, who successfully completed a 13-month course at the Management Institute...

The Jamaican economy grew by 0.5 per cent for the July to September 2011 quarter, driven by strong performances in agriculture, mining, and utilities. With the increase in economic activity, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to have increased 1.4 per cent for the first nine months of 2011. Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica PIOJ, Dr....

KINGSTON — Mining and quarrying saw the most growth of all sectors in the economy during the July to September quarter of 2011, with an increase of 7.5 per cent. This growth contributed to the economy growing by 0.5 per cent for the quarter under review. It is also projected that the economy will grow by between 1 per cent...

KINGSTON — Minister with responsibility for the Public Service and Information, Senator the Hon. Arthur Williams, is encouraging civil servants to continue being the driving force for national development. In his message, read by Director, Strategic Support Unit, Cabinet Office, Sharona King, at the official launch of Civil Service Week 2011 on November 21, at the Ministry of Finance and...

The classical definition of a Civil Servant is an official who carries out functions of government under the direction and supervision of the head of government (Rahman 1998, 2). Excluded in this definition are employees of state-owned enterprises, the army, teachers, the judiciary and the police who, together with civil servants, collectively constitute the public sector. The Government of Jamaica...

Every year, the third week of November is used to observe and acknowledge the hard work done by civil servants towards nation building. As Minister with portfolio responsibility for the Public Service, I want to commend the men and women working in the service for their professionalism, commitment and dedication to serving the people of this country. This year we...

KINGSTON — The main objective of tax reform in Jamaica should be to stimulate economic activity, to achieve economic growth. The proposition was offered by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI), in its presentation to the third hearing of the Committee on Tax Measures for the 2011/12 session of Parliament, on Wednesday, November 16. The Institute's Research Officer, Anika Kiddoe,...