Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will dispatch US$213 million to Jamaica immediately after its board approves the new bailout programme expected by month end, according to central bank Governor Brian Wynter.

Those funds, along with future distributions, will immediately shore up the country's depleted reserves.
The gross reserves fell to US$1.7 billion at the end of March, while the net reserves, the NIR, slumped to US$884 million, below the benchmark equivalent of 12 weeks of goods and services imports.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - CARIBBEAN Airlines' decision to cut back on the number of flights to Jamaica is being seen by the Jamaican Airline Pilots' Association (JALPA) as a first step towards pulling out of Jamaica.
For several weeks it was rumoured that Caribbean Airlines (CAL) had planned to reduce flights to Jamaica, and on Tuesday, during a sitting of Parliament's Standing Finance Committee, Transport Minister Dr Omar Davies said that no information was forthcoming from CAL.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government has denied a newspaper report of a Cabinet re-shuffle.

In a brief one paragraph statement, the Portia Simpson Miller government dismissed as “false” the report by the Gleaner newspaper on its website.

“The Prime Minister and her team remain focused on the national growth and the development agenda and will not be distracted by such reports,” the government statement said.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC - Head of Communications at Caribbean Airlines, Clint Williams has confirmed reports that the airline will be cutting back on the number of flights to Jamaica.

For several weeks it was rumored that flights to Jamaica would be reduced and on Tuesday during a sitting of Parliament's Standing Finance Committee, Transport Minister Dr. Omar Davies, told the committee that no information was forthcoming from Caribbean Airlines.

KINGSTON, JAMAICA, Gleaner- The Guyana government says it will hold a national mining lottery later this month that will target small miners due to the increased demand for mining properties.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - OPPOSITION Leader Andrew Holness has warned Jamaicans to be cautiously optimistic as news emerges that an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) nears. Holness said yesterday that while the IMF agreement is likely to be approved by the end of April, the sentiment in some quarters that Jamaica’s problems were solved has been misguided. "We take note that the originally planned loan sum has increased by US$200-million.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - IN a press briefing yesterday, Governor Brian Wynter expanded on Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) statement released that morning on the foreign exchange market. In the BOJ's press statement, they had noted that the fall in the exchange rate "had occurred in the context of extended negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new borrowing programme, and some uncertainty regarding the extent of the financial support".

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - THE GOVERNMENT is beginning to get its critical economic pieces in their place. Last week, Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips tabled an expenditure budget that, taking into the account the effects of inflation, projects spending at more than a fifth less than the previous fiscal year.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - The Business Processing Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) is among several interest groups scheduled to meet with tax administrators at the Ministry of Finance and Planning today to discuss the likely impact the removal of tax incentives could have on their members.

"Yes, we have been invited to a meeting in Kingston," Yoni Epstein, chairman of BPIAJ, told The Gleaner yesterday. "We are working assiduously to prepare our presentation and would prefer not to comment on the matter until we hear what they (the Ministry of Finance) have to say."

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - Some $15 million has been set aside in the 2013-14 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, to improve the competitiveness of small and medium-size hotels through the use of renewable energy.