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The Government has allocated $12.8 million in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure for the Craft Enhancement and Business Planning Training Project. The Estimates were tabled in the House of Representatives on February 19 by Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips. The main objective of the project is to improve and strengthen the capacity and business acumen...

The Government has allocated $20 million for institutional strengthening to combat infectious diseases. Details of the Institutional Strengthening to Improve National Surveillance, Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Project are outlined in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament. The objective of the project is to strengthen Jamaica’s response to the Chikungunya Virus (ChikV)...

The Government has allocated $15 million to protect the livelihoods and food security in vulnerable communities. This will be done by improving land and water management for the agricultural sector, strengthening coastal protection and building institutional and local capacity for climate change adaptation. Details are given in the Estimates of Expenditure for 2015/16, tabled in the House of Representatives on...

The Government has allocated $20 million to continue the construction of three diagnostic and care centres to cater to students with special education needs in rural Jamaica. Details of the allotment are outlined in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project will be financed through the Consolidated Fund and is being implemented by the...

A sum of $25 million is earmarked for the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) to continue work, this year, on the country’s National Policy and Plan of Action on International Migration and Development. The sum, which represents a $10.4 million increase over last year’s allocation, is included in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure, now before Parliament. The project, which commenced...

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) has received $18 million to continue the implementation of the project to enhance the resilience of the agricultural sector and coastal areas. Details are included in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project, which commenced in 2012, aims to protect livelihoods and food security in vulnerable communities by:...

Government will spend $625 million this financial year, for the continuation of the Education System Transformation Programme (ESTP). Details of this allocation are outlined in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The funds will go toward the Ministry of Education’s policy to expand compulsory education from age 16 to 18 years by providing approximately 2,100...

More than $1.3 billion will be spent in the new fiscal year to  improve and upgrade the operations of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF). The money has been set aside in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives. It will be shared among the Military Services, Air Wing, Coast Guard and Engineering Services. Of the figure,...

The Government of Jamaica has made arrangements with Carleton University in Canada and Quadrangle Architects Limited, one of Canada’s leading architectural firms, to visit Jamaica with a view to developing plans to make the nation’s parliament, Gordon House, accessible to persons with disabilities.  The team from Canada, in undertaking this task on a voluntary basis, collaborated with the University of...

A sum of $51 million has been allocated in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure, now before Parliament, to continue development of the Electronic Government Procurement system. The project, which commenced in 2011, is intended to strengthen the efficiency and quality of Jamaica’s public procurement process. This, through development of an electronic  system for government procuring and tendering agencies and suppliers,...

An allocation of $8.6 million has been earmarked in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before Parliament, to commence development of the institutional and regulatory framework for Jamaica’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT)/Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. The initiative aims to improve the sector’s competitiveness, and sustained growth. Envisaged targets include: development of a national ICT/BPO Policy; establishing an information...

The Ministry of Finance and Planning will continue implementation of the Caribbean Criminal Asset Recovery Programme (CCARP), for which just over $35 million has been allocated in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House. The programme, which commenced in January 2013, is designed to support strengthening of the Financial Investigations Division (FID) by providing technical assistance to build...