Ministry of Finance and the Public Service
Audit Committee Performance Evaluation guideline (ACPE tool)
Kingston, Jamaica: Thursday, May 2, 2024
Today I met with over 50 stakeholders of the horse racing industry inclusive of jockeys, grooms, trainers, owners, breeders, veterinarians, horse care personnel, directors and management of Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited Management, Commissioners from the Jamaica Racing Commission (“JRC”) among other stakeholders from the horse racing industry.
The meeting was very productive.
We agreed as follows:
1. The promoter and other industry stakeholders will make every effort to improve the punctuality of races. Delayed starts pose a health risk to jockeys. Delays also have the potential to adversely affect the health of horses.
2. Abandonment of races as a measure has the effect of collective punishment with unintended consequences. Jockeys, grooms, owners, trainers, punters, fans, the promoter and the GOJ are all impacted. The JRC will review the newly instituted Rule 44(3) which empowers stewards to abandon races and will suspend its application for the time being. In the interim, the JRC will develop a program of dissuasive fines that disincentives late starts with clear rules on the application of such fines.
3. Over the next 30 days, the respective parties will renegotiate the Deed among them that addresses the calculation of amounts allocated to purses and the distribution of such amounts.
4. On the signing of a renegotiated Deed, I will appoint a Task Force to review the horse racing industry and make recommendations for an acceleration of its development.
-end-
For further information contact:
Ministry of Finance and the Public Service
30 National Heroes Circle
Kingston 4
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The Hon. Nigel Clarke, D.Phil., MP
Minister of Finance and the Public Service
30 National Heroes Circle, Kingston 4
Tel: (876) 932-4656 / 4660 / 4655
Eml: opedjamaica@gmail.com
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 Ministry of Finance and the Public Service welcomes Jamaica’s invitation to participate in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “FSRB Jurisdictions Guest Initiative.” This prestigious invitation was extended by FATF President Ms. Elisa de Anda Madrazo and will allow Jamaica to sit at the FATF table under its own flag and contribute to the organisation’s key policy discussions and working groups over the course of one year.
Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, has today advised that the movement of up to three (3) increments in the substantive salary scales for all eligible public sector workers will amount to an increase in basic salary of approximately 7.5% for most public sector workers. She has contrasted this agreement with the norm before the comprehensive salary reform of 2022, in which only one (1) increment would be made in a year, and such a move was also tied to receiving 75% or more on the Performance Management and Appraisal System (PMAS).
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