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The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service has been allotted $3.5 billion for the repayment of institutional loans this fiscal year. The provision has been made in the 2009/10 Estimates of Expenditure. As stated in the document, the bulk of the sum, $3.4 billion, will go towards the repayment of loans raised from local commercial banks to finance water...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, has assured Members of Parliament that provisions are in the budget to buy emergency food supplies in the event of a natural disaster. He was answering questions of the Standing Finance Committee of the House yesterday (April 14). Noting that food could only be ordered just ahead of an impending hurricane, the Prime Minister said that...

The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce(MIIC) has received $31.4 million, to assist micro, small and medium sized enterprises(MSMEs) increase their competitiveness in the agro-processing and craft sub-sectors. Under the Productive Integration of Micro-Enterprises in Jamaica/Industry Modernisation project 2009, there will be continued management and administration of the programme, with the completion of baseline studies of eight newly organised micro-enterprise...

Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, has declared that the Government will not be going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance as the country does not have a balance of payment problem. "You seek IMF intervention when you have a balance of payment problem. We have not had a balance of payment problem for a long time," the Prime...

The National Irrigation Development Project has been given $21.5 million in budgetary support this fiscal year, as the Government strengthens efforts to increase agricultural production. As stated in the 2009/10 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, the funds will go towards the procurement of irrigation equipment for farmers in Beacon/Little Park and Seven Rivers, St. James and...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Senator Don Wehby, attributes Jamaica's mounting public debt to a lack of "fiscal discipline" over the years. Speaking at the launch of the Jamaica Stock Exchange's (JSE) Junior Market, at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston, on Thursday (April 2), Senator Wehby noted that Jamaica's economy had been...

A new energy strategy will be presented during the current fiscal year, as Government moves to transform the sector to improve the country's competitiveness. Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Dr. Patrick Allen, delivering the Throne Speech to open the 2009/10 Parliamentary Year in Gordon House on April 7, said that work carried out last year in assessing the feasibility...

The Early Childhood Commission has received $59 million for its Early Childhood Development Project in the 2009/10 Estimates of Expenditure. The project is geared towards improving the monitoring of children's development, screening of household-level risks affecting such development, and implementation of early intervention systems. The project also aims to strengthen and enhance the quality of early childhood schools and care...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding will deliver a National Broadcast on Sunday, April 5, on both radio and television. In his presentation, the Prime Minister will address matters relating to the 2009/10 Budget, particularly what Jamaicans can expect, especially in the current global financial meltdown. Mr. Golding's address will be aired on Television Jamaica (TVJ), at 9:00 p.m.; CVM-TV at 9:00...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, the Hon. Audley Shaw, has warned Jamaicans deliberately avoiding tax obligations, that more stringent measures are going to taken to ensure the highest level of compliance. Speaking at the official launch of the Tax Administration Costumer Care Centre, at the May Pen Revenue Department, Clarendon, Thursday(April 2), Mr. Shaw said a more equitable...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Senator Dwight Nelson, has said that the Government cannot afford the wage bill which it will be saddled with in 2009/2010. "The Government cannot pay a wage bill of $149 billion," Senator Nelson said Friday(April 3). He explained that the Government is grappling with an increasing wage bill....

The management of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) wants insurance professionals to sensitise their clients about the products offered by the scheme. Director of the NIS, Denzil Thorpe, encouraged insurance agents, attending today's (April 1) quarterly meeting and induction ceremony of the Jamaica Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (JAIFA), to introduce current and potential clients to the range of...