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The Government will spend $15 million this year on the National Irrigation Development Project, as it seeks to improve crop production and diversity, thereby increasing farm incomes and rural employment in the long term. This is contained in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the House of Representatives. The National Irrigation Development Plan has three pilot projects...

The Government has provided $86.5 million in the 2010/11 Budget to improve fire protection services provided by the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB). Of the total sum, $35 million will be spent on spare parts to repair five vehicles, while $30.7 million will be used for the procurement of equipment, such as standby generators, gas warning devices, breathing apparatus and protective...

Governor of the Bank of Jamaica, Bryan Wynter, has challenged regional financial regulators and policy makers to seek to resolve problems related to cooperation on a response to issues related to banking enterprises operating in more than one jurisdiction. The Governor, who was addressing the recently concluded 3-day Regional Technical Assistance Conference on Bank Insolvency in the Caribbean: Law and...

The Tax Administration has announced that it will be taking strong action against business persons who had failed to file their income tax returns or pay their taxes to meet the March 15 deadline. This measure is being taken by the tax authority to send a strong message to delinquent taxpayers that they have an obligation to file and pay...

An allocation of $69.83 billion has been made to the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to repay debts, as outlined in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, which was tabled in the House on March 25. About half of that figure, or $34.87 billion, will go towards repayment of Jamaica Dollar Benchmark Notes issued under the Jamaica Debt Exchange...

Activities under Jamaica's Competitiveness Enhancement Programme should be significantly boosted this year through a $15.3 million provision in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, which were tabled in the House of Representatives on Thursday (March 25). The project, being implemented by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), aims to improve competitiveness in Jamaica through the promotion of specific reforms to reduce...

Just over $129 million has been earmarked for the reintegration of deportees from the United Kingdom (UK), and the rehabilitation of persons incarcerated by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) in the 2010/11 Budget. The project, the Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Local Offenders and Deported Persons programme, is designed to significantly improve the reintegration of Jamaican nationals who have been...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, on Tuesday (March 25), tabled the first copy of the Public Sector Consolidated Estimates of Expenditure (2010/11), consistent with Government's decision to establish a fiscal responsibility framework for the public sector. In late February, the House of Representatives passed amendments to the Financial Administration and Audit (FAA) Act and the...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, the Hon Audley Shaw, tabled the Estimates of Expenditure totalling approximately $500 billion in the House of Representatives, Thursday (March 25). Fulfilling a promise he made while tabling the Second Supplementary Estimates at Gordon House a week ago, that the new budget would be some $100 billion less than last year's, the Minister...

As the Tax Administration steps up its compliance activities against delinquent taxpayers to collect outstanding taxes, several strategies have been employed. The compliance programme will be further intensified in the new fiscal year, which begins April 1, 2010. To date, for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the increased enforcement actions have seen 3,184 taxpayers being brought before the court for various...

Acting Senior Director for the Debt Management Unit in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Pamela McLaren, has been honoured with a citation by the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) for her contribution to the success of the Government's debt management regime, on Tuesday (March 23). The citation, read by PSOJ President, Joseph M. Matalon, hailed her...

Human Resource (HR) Managers across the public sector were on March 23, introduced to the Change Management Guidelines to be adhered to, during the public sector transformation process. More than 200 HR specialists from the various ministries, departments and agencies of government met with members of the Public Sector Transformation Unit (PSTU), at the Ministry of Finance and the Public...