More

Budgetary support, in the sum of $14.5 million, has been provided in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure currently before Parliament, for the development of a National Statistics System by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). The undertaking, which started in October 2009, aims to support the development of an effective system that will enhance data management in the private and...

Arterial roads will receive some attention in the new fiscal year, through the provision of $106 million to the Ministry of Transport and Works, to improve the road network linking major towns. As set out in the Estimates of Expenditure tabled in the House of Representatives on March 25, the bulk of the money - $97.5 million - will go...

The Government has allocated some $31 million to Mitigate the Threat of Invasive Alien Species (AIS) in the Insular Caribbean, in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditures now before the House of Representatives. Invasive alien species are plants, animals, pathogens and other organisms that are non-native to an ecosystem, and which may cause economic or environmental harm or adversely affect human...

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...