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The total cost of debt servicing (interest and amortization) during 2009/10 is 103% of the Government's total revenue and grants, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, the Hon. Audley Shaw, told the House of Representatives, Thursday (December 17). "It is a prescription for persistent poverty and social and economic chaos. We cannot continue to live in a fool's paradise...

Government will have to impose new taxes upon signing of the IMF agreement as a part of the measures to contain expenditure and increase revenue. Speaking on a radio and television discussion programme yesterday (Dec 13) Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding said the new taxes will have to be imposed almost immediately. "Up to the end of October our...

Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, has said that the pending International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement, will not be a panacea for Jamaica's economic problems. Giving the main address at the 10th anniversary celebrations of Mega Mart Stores, held at Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, St. James, on December 12, Mr. Golding explained that there is at present a shortfall in...

Cabinet has instructed the Chief Parliamentary Counsel to develop new regulations under the Financial Administration and Audit (FAA) Act, to replace the existing Financial Management Regulations of 1996. Minister with responsibility for Information, Telecommunications and Special Projects in the Office of the Prime Minister, Hon Daryl Vaz, made the announcement at Wednesday's (December 9) post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House....

Fifty eight civil servants have completed training in Results-Based Management (RBM), following two one-week training workshops hosted by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), at its Oxford Road office, New Kingston. The workshops, hosted November 30 - December 11, were intended to strengthen the capacity of the public sector, and its partners, to implement, monitor and evaluate the Vision 2030...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon Audley Shaw, has said that his Ministry is widening the Development Bank of Jamaica's (DBJ) credit window to facilitate lending to farmers through credit unions. "What we have done is to suggest to the Development Bank of Jamaica that some of the money that is to on lend, should not just go...

Minister of State for Finance and the Public Service, Senator the Hon. Arthur Williams, has announced that increases in Government pension will be paid in January 2010. He made this disclosure at the Jamaica Government Pensioners Association Christmas luncheon held yesterday (Dec. 9) at the Knutsford Court Hotel. An amount of $500 million was allocated in the 2009/10 budget to...

A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled to arrive in the island today (December 10) to continue talks with the Government towards the US$1.2 billion standby facility being negotiated for Jamaica. Speaking at Wednesday's (December 9) post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House, Minister with Responsibility for Information, Telecommunications and Special Projects in the Office of the Prime...

The Government notes the recent press statement from the Opposition spokesman on Justice concerning issues relating to the absence of lawyers from the Attorney General's office as advisors to the Commission of Enquiry and marshalling the evidence in the Finsac enquiry. The fact of the matter is that the Attorney General's Department would be placed in an invidious position if...

Head of Delegation of the European Commission in Jamaica, Ambassador Marco Mazzoccchi-Alemanni has commended the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) for being proactive in providing a better business environment for the private sector. Such an initiative, he said, is significant and complementary to the facilities and opportunities being provided to the private sector, under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the...

Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government will ensure the Student Loan Bureau (SLB) has sufficient funds to provide loans next year. He says the Government is not aware of any extraordinary cash problems at the Bureau that would prevent students from getting loans. The Education Minister was responding to concerns raised by his Opposition counterpart, Senator Basil...

The Jamaica Customs Department is gearing up for the anticipated influx of barrels, parcels, and commercial imports into the island for the 2009 Christmas season. The department has introduced a flat rate for the clearance of barrels, which took effect on December 1. Persons clearing barrels containing personal effects will pay a standard Customs fee of $5,000 per barrel. Speaking...