In the upcoming financial year, the Government, through the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), will provide 340 new loan guarantees for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). A loan guarantee is a pledge by one party (the guarantor) to assume the debt obligation if the borrower defaults. This arrangement is to be facilitated under the Access to Finance for MSMEs...

Bank of Jamaica's Monetary Policy Committee ("MPC/the Committee") sets monetary policy to meet the inflation target of 4.0 per cent — 6.0 per cent, as outlined by the Minister of Finance in April 2021. At its meetings on 16 and 17 February 2022, the MPC noted the following: Inflation has accelerated and is significantly above target. Inflation at January 2022...

The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) is anticipating the provision of $9.5 billion in loans to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) during the new financial year. This is in addition to $6.24 billion in credit guarantees, US$24.4 million in equity financing, and capacity-building support to 440 entities. As contained in the Public Bodies Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for...

Construction of the new Westmoreland police divisional headquarters is slated to commence in the 2022/23 financial year. A sum of $700 million has been allocated in the 2022/23 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. For the upcoming fiscal year, it is anticipated that 50 per cent of construction activities will be completed. The project, which is being...

The ability of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) to monitor and safeguard the country’s borders will be strengthened in the new financial year. The Government has allocated $2.7 billion in the 2022/23 Estimates of Expenditure to facilitate the procurement of radar, marine offshore patrol vessels, cameras, software, hardware, and other equipment. This will be done under the Purchase and Overhaul...

Approximately $83 million has been allocated to continue work on the construction of the Western Children and Adolescent Hospital in Montego Bay, St. James, during the new financial year. Details are outlined in the 2022/2023 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project is aimed at building a 220-bed facility on the compound of the Cornwall Regional...

Approximately $99.6 million has been allocated to enhance resilience to climate change among targeted fishing and aquaculture communities in Jamaica, under the Promoting Community-Based Climate Resilience and the Fisheries Sector Project. Details of the provision are outlined in the 2022/2023 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. Anticipated Physical Targets for 2022/2023 are the commencement of a final...