KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - GOVERNMENT has agreed to a number of preconditions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of a requirement for an extended fund facility with the multinational. Some of the preconditions were announced last night buy the finance minister, Dr Peter Phillips, during a joint national broadcast to the nation with Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller. They include_ Tax waivers to go Minister says concrete steps will be taken to reduce and virtually eliminate discretionary tax waivers. Parliament will be provided with details today.
Jamaica
(Jamaica Gleaner) The man entrusted by the United States (US) to monitor the gamut of its military-related affairs in approximately 31 countries and 15 areas of special sovereignty in the Western Hemisphere is urging the Portia Simpson Miller administration to be unyielding in its efforts to rid Jamaica of corruption. Commander of the US South Command, General John Kelly, last week declared that the Government of Jamaica needs to move decisively to root out the “cancer” of corruption at all levels.
LOS ANGELES, CMC - The 55th Grammy Awards here Sunday night paid tribute to legendary Jamaican reggae superstar Robert Nesta Marley, renowned worldwide as Bob Marley. But, for a moment, it appeared as though there would hardly be any tribute to the late great reggae artist when about two-thirds of a set that was supposed to honour him was used by other performers. Bruno Mars and sting kicked off the tribute by singing not anything from Marley's massive repertoire but their own songs. Mars did reggae-influenced “Locked Out of Heaven,” and Sting sang The Police's “Walking on the Moon”.
LONDON, CMC – More than 800 Jamaicans are in jails in the United Kingdom, according to figures released during a debate in Parliament. The website bernews.com Monday reported that there were approximately, 1007 nationals from the West Indies incarcerated in jails across England and Wales at the end of 2012. It said that Jamaicans made up the bulk of that number, with 821 behind bars. There was no information on what the individuals were jailed for, but the website said, six Bermudians were jailed last year.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government is urging nationals to accept the stringent measures that will accompany a multi-million dollar Stand By Agreement (SBA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would include increases taxes and the launch of a national debt exchange offer on Tuesday. In a joint address to the nation on Monday night, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and her finance minister Dr.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Finance Minister Dr. Peter Phillips says the government will introduce a number of measures aimed at improving the local economy as Jamaica moves into an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it says is necessary to shore up the island’s balance of payments position and provide access to other multilateral sources of funds.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - WHATEVER the prime minister and her finance minister tell the nation later today, we can be very certain that it will require even more sacrifice and hardship. We already know that an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme — deemed by economic experts as absolutely necessary if Jamaica is to stabilise its economy and ultimately achieve sustainable economic growth — will demand more cost cutting.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - THE WHITE Paper for the national workplace policy on HIV/AIDS has been tabled in Parliament, further paving the way for the establishment of enforcement mechanisms to protect the rights of persons infected or affected by the illness. The paper, which was laid on the table of the Senate on Friday, is intended to give legislative expression to an occupational safety and health act, which the Government says will soon be enacted.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - AS the Government prepares to update the nation tonight on the pending International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan agreement, Opposition Leader Andrew Holness has warned the Portia Simpson Miller-led Administration that it must prepare to sacrifice as much as it intends to ask of Jamaicans. "For 50 years we have been asked to sacrifice, and again the people of Jamaica will be asked to sacrifice, but will the sacrifice ever yield any success?" asked Holness.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - THE University of the West Indies (UWI) on Friday awarded its researchers for making last week's 14th staging of the UWI Research Days a success. At least six researchers were awarded for their work that continues to promote the University as the research nucleus of the Caribbean. Among those awarded were Dr Andre Coy, whose book, Emulating Human Speech Recognition; A Scene Analysis Approach to Improving Robustness in Automatic Speech Recognition, was named best research publication from the Faculty of Science and Technology.