KINGSTON, Jamaica - As much as we are inclined to commend the Government for the Budget it tabled in Parliament last week, we will reserve comment until the finance minister, Peter Phillips, presents the rest of his funding programme, including the allocations for the multilateral financial institutions (MFIs).
For, as they say, the devil's in the detail. Further, as is evidenced by its failure so far to tie up arrangements with the MFIs, this Government does not inspire confidence in its ability to accomplish anything within its promised time frames.
Jamaica
KINGSTON, Jamaica - JAMAICA has signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with Kuwait that will encourage and guide future investments into the Caribbean country.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - IT'S now more than six weeks since it became public knowledge for the governments and people of our Caribbean Community that the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, had conveyed the very shocking decision to the president of Haiti, Michel Martelly, of the world body's rejection of compensation claims affecting some 5,000 Haitian cholera victims.
KINGSTON, Jamaica- IN 1978 Mr Lee Iacocca joined Chrysler as president and chief operating officer for the princely salary of US$1 a year.
At the time, Mr Iacocca was by no means a poor man, having done well for himself at Ford Motor Company from which he was fired by Mr Henry Ford II. But Mr Iacocca, in an effort to get United Auto Workers members at Chrysler to accept cuts to their salaries and benefits, led by example with his own salary.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - When we consider the state of many of the economics in the Eurozone and especially the recent near meltdown in Cyprus at the end of last month, many do contend that politicians are not at all economic managers. Some would insist that politicians - in Europe, the Caribbean and parts of Africa - have been extremely harmful to their countries' economies.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC - Ahead of Thursday’s presentation of the 2013/2013 Budget Debate, a local financial analyst is warning of major challenges on the horizon . With the Budget being tabled against the background of a not yet signed deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), financial analyst, Dennis Chung, believes it will be difficult for the Government to meet its revenue target. “My own feeling is that the country might have gotten to a point where you getting declining returns from new tax measures.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC - The islandwide protest by doctors in the public health sector has stemmed from an impending reclassification exercise to be undertaken during the 2013/2014 financial year.
Health Minister, Dr. Fenton Ferguson who made this disclosure in Parliament on Thursday afternoon said he hopes the Ministry of Finance will deal with the reclassification issue swiftly to bring back normality to the public health service.
Protest action by the doctors has led to large crowds at public hospitals and clinics across the island.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Most government ministries and departments will have to survive with less money this fiscal year as Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips has kept his word and dramatically tightened the Government's spending plans.
Phillips yesterday tabled a spending plan for the 2013-2014 fiscal year which reflects huge savings on interest payments and debt repayment but still leaves ministries and agencies with less to spend when inflation is factored in.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Governor General Sir Patrick Allen says the divestment of Public Sector assets and a major infrastructural project will be some of the areas of focus by the Portia Simpson Miller administration in this legislative year. “Through a managed privatisation process, the Government intends to make a renewed effort to dispose of some Public Sector assets to the Private Sector or the community, where it is determined that these assets would be more productively employed by them on a sustainable basis.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Jamaicans will know today just how much the Government plans to spend during this fiscal year but already some financial analysts are warning the country to brace for a tight budget.
"It is not going to be a budget of goodies," financial analyst Colin Bullock told The Gleaner.