Author: Suzell Wray

Reference is made to Ministry of Finance and the Public Service Press Release of November 6, 2025 regarding the relief of customs duty and general consumption tax (GCT) on a specified list of items.

The Government of Jamaica (GOJ) has introduced a new requirement for procuring entities to publicly disclose contracts awarded in situations of emergency or extreme urgency on the Government of Jamaica Electronic Procurement System (GOJEP) at www.gojep.gov.jm. This new requirement reinforces the GOJ’s commitment to transparency, accountability and public oversight.

The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MOFPS) wishes to advise the public that approval has been granted for an extension in the relief of Import Duty and General Consumption Tax on imported donations and relief supplies to assist in recovery efforts following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MOFPS) wishes to advise the public that approval has been granted for an extension in the relief of Import Duty and General Consumption Tax on imported donations and relief supplies to assist in recovery efforts following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

Standard and Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings, today, September 25, 2025, upgraded Jamaica’s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings from ‘BB-‘ to BB,’ while its outlook remains “Positive”.

I note with much regret the pre-dated media release of August 14, 2025 shared by the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) today (August 15, 2025). While it is disappointing that the members of the JTA’s leadership choose not to continue the discussions at today’s meeting that they demanded, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MoFPS) remains committed to the matter of Wage and Fringe Benefits negotiations.

The Minister of Finance and the Public Service is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Dennis Chung as Chief Technical Director of the Financial Investigations Division (FID), effective June 2, 2025.

A Jamaica Teachers Association Memorandum dated April 23, 2025 to its membership from the Secretary General, Mark Nicely, stated that the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service had outlined that payments for the increments should be made during the first quarter of the 2025-2026 Financial Year.

The third staging of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service’s (MOFPS) National Budget Secondary School Tour is set to engage several schools in the parish of Clarendon. The Ministry rolled out this leg of the school tour with a launch at Glenmuir High School which included students from Denbigh High School on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.

The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) signed a Supplementary Agreement on September 12, 2024. Among the matters agreed in this Agreement is the movement of specific public sector employees along their substantive salary bands effective April 1, 2025.