Education Minister Ruel Reid yesterday drew the ire of his Opposition colleagues in the Upper House for calling the process of setting up a joint select committee of Parliament "a talk shop". His unflattering tag came when he sought to recant on his...
Published:Thursday | April 6, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Jamaica's disaster management systems yesterday received a significant boost with the Japanese Government providing nearly US$13 million in grant support for a project to improve the country's emergency communication network.Finance and the Public...
Published:Wednesday | April 5, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Minister Without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation Dr Horace Chang signalled yesterday that the Government was taking steps to relocate some squatters in settlements he described as "dense".In his contribution to the...
Contractor General Dirk Harrison has referred three former executives of public bodies to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) following an investigation into procurement related expenditure of the Jamaica 50 celebrations.In a...
Dr Peter Phillips has signalled that the parliamentary Opposition will put up strong resistance to any measure introduced by the Government that is oppressive.In a Gleaner interview after receiving the instrument of office as opposition leader at...
Commissioner of Land Valuation Eric Allen yesterday defended the work of his agency in assigning property values to the estimated 835,000 lots across the country.Finance and Public Service Minister Audley Shaw, who announced the changes inproperty...
The governing Jamaica Labour Party has challenged claims by Clarendon North West Member of Parliament Richard Azan that millions of dollars in public funds, under a contract monitored by the National Works Agency, were used to provide accommodation...
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has said the early retirement scheme to be offered to public-sector workers effective April 1, 2017 over a one-year period is part of the administration's efforts to cut the oversize state wage bill.A projected wage-to-...
Receiving the proverbial baton from his predecessor Portia Simpson Miller, new president of the People's National Party (PNP), Dr Peter Phillips yesterday wasted no time in wooing young Jamaicans to become members of the party...
Published:Wednesday | March 22, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
There was high drama in Gordon House yesterday before members on the Government side alone passed the 2017-2018 Appropriations Bill or the Budget. The parliamentary opposition triggered a sudden uproar, which was followed by an angry walkout as they...
Published:Wednesday | March 22, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Despite objections by some players in the insurance industry to the Government's imposition of general consumption tax (GCT) on group health insurance, Finance and the Public Service Minister Audley Shaw yesterday defended the measure, suggesting...
Published:Tuesday | March 21, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Revealing the Government’s latest strategy to bring rampant criminality under control, Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday tabled legislation that could authorise the security forces to search places, vehicles or persons within specific...
Debate on the Arbitration Act, 2017, was suspended in the Senate yesterday after lawmakers highlighted gaps in the legislation that has been in gestation for some time now.A major criticism levelled against the Government by Senator Mark Golding,...
Members of the Upper House yesterday paid tribute to Joseph McPherson, a former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) senator and trade unionist who died recently.Senator Kavan Gayle described McPherson as a stalwart in both the JLP and the Bustamante...
Published:Wednesday | March 15, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Chairman of the Police Federation Sergeant Raymond Wilson has expressed concern that the Government has started debate on the Pensions (Public Service) Act, 2016, when there remains a number of unresolved issues in relation to the police.Finance and...
Published:Thursday | March 16, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
In what Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller described as a "bittersweet" contribution in her final Budget Debate presentation in Gordon House yesterday, the longest current serving political representative in Parliament said that despite moments...
Published:Wednesday | March 15, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
A crucial amendment has been made to the Pensions (Public Service) Act, 2016, with the Government yielding to a chorus of appeals from public-sector workers to implement the five per cent contribution on a phased basis.President of the Jamaica...
Published:Tuesday | March 14, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Opposition Spokesman on Finance Dr Peter Phillips is of the view that the Jamaican economy will not achieve high rates of economic growth unless the country addresses the problems stemming from social and economic inequality.In his presentation to...
Published:Tuesday | March 14, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Opposition Spokesman on Finance Dr Peter Phillips has described as "pernicious", the new tax on group health insurance premiums.Noting that Jamaica's health system is grossly inadequate to provide proper services to citizens, Phillips argued that no...
Minister of Education, Youth and Information Ruel Reid has rejected a motion moved by Opposition Senator Wensworth Skeffery to create a special fund to allow needy Jamaicans to access financing for tertiary education for their children."I would...
Published:Thursday | March 9, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Motorists will bear a significant weight of the nearly $30 billion in revenue measures announced yesterday by Finance and the Public Service Minister Audley Shaw in Parliament.In opening the 2017-2018 Budget Debate, Shaw announced a 20 per cent hike...
Published:Thursday | March 9, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Opposition Spokesman on Finance Dr Peter Phillips said that the revenue measures announced yesterday by the Government would have a devastating impact on the working poor in Jamaica."Contrary to all that they are claiming, the truth is, what they...
Published:Wednesday | March 8, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Finance and the Public Service Minister Audley Shaw will today unveil revenue measures in the House of Representatives to fund the second phase of the personal income tax reform, which could cost taxpayers approximately $16 billion, or 0.9 per cent...
Scotiabank Jamaica is reporting that while there was no standard bank charge to exchange a $5,000 note, a $385 fee was incorrectly applied to some customers.The bank says instructions have been given to all branches to discontinue the charge.Deputy...
The Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited (JUTC) has spent $140 million in the 2016-2017 financial year to settle third party claims arising from accidents.Transport and Mining Minister Mike Henry said the state-owned bus company has budgeted $96...
