Legislation providing for a significant increase in the penalties under the Telecommunications Act for trespassing, meddling, interfering or tampering with any telecommunication facility, was tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (May 20). Making his contribution to the 2025/26 Sectoral Debate, Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Hon. Daryl Vaz, said for years, telecommunications service providers have complained...

Members of Parliament on Tuesday (May 20) condemned the recent acts of violence against women and girls in Jamaica. These include the killing of nine-year-old Kelsey Ferrigon; the University of Technology Jamaica (UTech) student, Anisa Dilworth, who was reported missing and whose body was recently discovered; and the random, brutal attack on a defenceless nurse by a man holding a...

The House of Representatives, on Tuesday (April 29,) approved the Public Procurement Competition Thresholds Order 2025, Resolution. In her remarks, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, said the Public Procurement Act was passed in 2015 and amended in 2018 and in March 2025. She indicated that the amendments were necessary to rectify conceptual or fundamental deficiencies,...

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, says the 2025/26 budget “is for and about the people of Jamaica.”    “The budget identifies the Government’s priorities in terms of the goals and aspirations for the development and upliftment of the Jamaican people. For us, those elements touch every facet of life, every mother and father,...

The Government has taken the decision to remove the General Consumption Tax (GCT) and Special Consumption Tax (SCT) from armoured vehicles and the added cost of armouring a vehicle. Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, said this is in an effort to facilitate investment in assets that are purpose-built for the transportation of cash and other...

Jamaica will return to stable economic growth, despite the temporary setbacks caused by Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Rafael, says Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness. “We will recover and return to growth in short order. We are certain that Jamaica, like any other small developing country, will experience shocks,” the Prime Minister said, while making his contribution...

The Government will, later this year, be establishing the Institute of Higher Apprenticeships in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and industry stakeholders. This was announced by Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, during his 2025/26 Budget Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on Thursday (March 20). “This [institute] will provide advanced vocational certification while participants...