The following is the statement entitled: IMF Mission and Jamaican Authorities Reach Staff-Level Agreement on Key Elements for EFF-Supported Program: Mr. Jan Kees Martijn, Head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Jamaica, issued the following statement today in Kingston: “The mission has reached a staff-level agreement with the Jamaican authorities on the key elements of an economic program...

Head of the IMF mission to Jamaica, Jan Kees Martijn, issued the following statement on Tuesday, February 12 in Kingston: “Over the last three decades, the Jamaican economy has experienced very low economic growth, declining productivity, and reduced international competitiveness. An important factor behind these problems has been Jamaica’s unsustainable debt burden, which has undermined confidence and elevated risks to...

On assuming office, one of the most urgent priorities of this Administration was to reopen the line of communication with the IMF and negotiate a new agreement that would satisfy the interest of Jamaica's economic recovery as well as the board of the IMF. At the outset, my stated objective was to bring these negotiations to a satisfactory conclusion by...

A meeting of the National Disaster Committee which comprises all the relevant agencies was convened this afternoon as the nation prepares for the threat posed by Tropical Storm Sandy.   Jamaica is now under a tropical storm warning as Tropical Storm Sandy approaches the island. By later this afternoon into tonight, the country will begin to experience deterioration in the...

It is well known that a negotiating mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Jamaica between September 24 and October 5 this year and, as the Fund indicated then; significant progress was made in those discussions. Mutual understandings were established relating to a growth agenda, structural reforms and a preliminary timetable for implementing structural benchmarks to monitor progress. Still...

INTRODUCTION Mr. Speaker, we have come to the end of our budget process which began on May 10th with the presentation of the Estimates of Expenditure. Let me thank all who contributed to the Debate which I opened on May 24th, 2012. This budget process has been predictably difficult coming as it does at this time of crisis. We have...

In opening this debate on the 2012/13 Budget, I am mindful that my presence here is first of all a mandate from my constituents in East Central St Andrew who continue to show their satisfaction with the representation they receive by returning me to Parliament. They remain an invaluable and irreplaceable source of support, love and inspiration. Let me pay...

The 2012/13 Budget Debate begins on May 24, in the House of Representatives, with Minister of Finance, Planning and Public Service, Hon. Dr. Peter Phillips, making his presentation. Dr. Phillips will tell the nation how the $612.4 billion budget for the fiscal year will be funded. On May 10, the Minister tabled the 2012/13 Estimates of Expenditure in the House,...

PRESENTATION TO PARLIAMENT ON THE 1ST SUPPLEMENTARY BUDGET - FY 2011/12 By THE HON. AUDLEY SHAW, M.P. Minister of Finance September 7, 2011 Introduction Mr. Speaker, in March 2010 Parliament approved a most profound amendment to both the Financial Administration and Audit (FAA) and the Public Bodies Management and Accountability (PBMA) Acts - the Fiscal Responsibility Framework (FRF) for Jamaica....

KINGSTON — Minister of Finance and the Public Service, the Hon Audley Shaw, issued a statement on the National Investment Bank of Jamaica’s (NIBJ) approval of an equity investment in a hotel being developed by the Runaway Bay Development Company Limited in February, 1996, Tuesday (May 17). Mr. Shaw, in closing the Budget Debate on Wednesday (May 11), had described...