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KINGSTON — Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon Audley Shaw, says his Ministry is taking steps to generate competition among financial institutions, particularly commercial banks, to induce interest rate reductions. This is against the background of “record low’ interest rates of 6.75 per cent currently offered at the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ), Mr. Shaw said, while reiterating his...

KINGSTON — Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the revision of the import tax regime will bring the cost of new motor vehicles within the reach of most Jamaicans. Opening the 2011/12 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives April 28, Mr. Shaw had announced that the Common External Tariff (CET) applicable to motor cars,...

KINGSTON — Finance and Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, has pledged to ensure that all details of the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) are fully disclosed to the public as the works progress. He said that the Government is committed to ensuring absolute transparency in the execution of the project. “This year, 153 roads are going to be constructed,...

KINGSTON — Cabinet is expected to take another look at the issue of the outstanding salaries for public sector workers when it meets on Monday at Jamaica House. In the meantime, Minister of State for Finance and the Public Service, Senator Arthur Williams, says that he will be sending formal copies of the Government’s most recent offers to the unions,...

KINGSTON — Former receiver for Thermo-Plastics Jamaica, Richard Downer, told the FINSAC Commission of Enquiry Tuesday (May 31) that he could not confirm if there was political interference in the disposal of the assets, as well as those of sister company Plas Pak Limited, after the 1990s financial sector meltdown. “It was a matter of opinion,” Mr. Downer told the...

KINGSTON — The Financial Sector Adjustment Company (FINSAC) Commission of Enquiry says it will reconsider a request to subpoena former Prime Minister, Most Hon P.J. Patterson, but has concluded that it will call former Cabinet Minister, Dr. Karl Blythe. Chairman of the Commission, Worrick Bogle, said Tuesday (May 31), that a letter will be sent to Dr. Blythe this week,...

KINGSTON — The Students Loan Bureau (SLB), in an effort to collect some $1 billion owed by delinquent borrowers, has extended its initial three month amnesty, which came to an end yesterday May 31 to August 31.  The additional three-month respite is being offered to SLB beneficiaries whose loans have matured, as well as those whose loans, though not matured,...

KINGSTON — Former PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) partner, Richard Downer, Monday (May 30) denied involvement in “secret profits” or fraud, while operating as receiver for the defunct Thermo-Plastics Jamaica companies, during the 1990s financial meltdown. “I deny that I received, or retained, any secret profits and commissions or committed any fraud in these receivership,” Mr. Downer told the FINSAC Commission of Enquiry,...

MANDEVILLE — Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Senator Arthur Williams, says Jamaica's credit unions have opened doors for many persons who would otherwise have been ineligible to access funds from the financial sector. “Many people would not have been able to afford homes, start businesses, get tertiary education or even attempt saving, without...

KINGSTON — A progress report on the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) is now available on the website of the National Works Agency (NWA) at: www.nwa.gov.jm. The report was posted on Tuesday, May 24. In an interview with JIS News, NWA Communications and Customer Service Manager, Stephen Shaw said the report provides details on all aspects of the JDIP up...

A Policy Logistics Unit has been established at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ),  to monitor, problem-solve and harmonise the government’s plans to implement and adopt elements of the growth inducement strategy across Ministries and agencies. Director General of the PIOJ, Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson made the announcement at the Institute’s quarterly press briefing on May 20. “We have re-assigned, at...

Programme Manager of the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s (PIOJ) Plan Development Unit, Richard Lumsden, has reported significant gains in five key areas pivotal to the success of the National Development Plan, Vision 2030. He cited education status, labour force quality, national security, justice and economic growth as the key areas, and noted that for January to March 2011, progress had...