Jamaica welcomed approximately 4.3 million visitors in 2019, comprising 2.7 million stopover arrivals and 1.6 million cruise passengers, whose combined spending contributed to the destination earning US$3.64 billion. Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2020/21 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 24. He informed that stopover arrivals last year...

The pilot of the technology framework ‘MyGovJM’, which is designed to connect citizens with Government and provide a voice for the people, will be launched soon. Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Hon. Fayval Williams, in making the announcement, said it will focus initially on addressing issues relating to street light maintenance. She noted that this ‘e-participation’ programme, which involves...

The Government will commence a $220-million house-wiring project in select constituencies during this fiscal year. This was disclosed by Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Hon. Fayval Williams, in her contribution to the 2020/21 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (June 17). She said that the wiring project is being managed by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund...

For the 2019/20 fiscal year the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) secured some $27.8 million for aggrieved consumers, resolving some 83.7 per cent of the complaints received. Minister of Industry Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2020/21 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 16. “Of note, too, the CAC...

The country has saved J$376,355,737.57 (more than US$3.2 million) in electricity costs resulting from a reduction in energy consumption in several government entities. These savings were realised over a nine-year period at 28 facilities, which received energy-efficient retrofits and interventions under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Programme (EECP). This was disclosed by Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Hon. Fayval...

The EX-IM Bank will be disbursing at least $8.1 billion in loans to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) this fiscal year. This is an increase over the $6 billion in financing to the MSME sector for 2019/2020. Minister of Industry Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, said that the increased support “is particularly within the context of the...

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries has developed a National Five-Year Manufacturing Growth Strategy for Jamaica, aimed at achieving $81 billion per annum in manufacturing output by 2025. “This translates to an approximate annual average growth rate of three per cent over the five-year period,” said Portfolio Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw. He was making his contribution to the...