
State Minister in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service
STATE MINISTER CALLS FOR JAMAICANS TO ADOPT/FOSTER A CHILD
Kingston, Jamaica: Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Hon. Marsha Smith, MP, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service is calling for Jamaicans to foster or adopt a child as the new public sector leave becomes effective. She urged civil servants to make use of the opportunity once it takes effect.
“This [public sector leave] is an opportunity for other Jamaicans who have the capacity and the ability to take and foster a child. If you are a public servant you’re going to be given an opportunity to get those weeks to settle that child in before you go back to work fully.”
She was speaking during the Civil Service Week Public Forum at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
The Government of Jamaica (GOJ) is set to modernise the public sector through a series of transformations to meet the needs of public servants as well as to compete with local private and international markets. Maternity Leave has been increased from 40 working days to 60 working days. The GOJ has also introduced Paternity Leave for fathers of newborns and Family Leave for adoptive parents who are bringing a new child into the home.
Meanwhile, keynote speaker at the event, Zachary Harding, Executive Chairman, Delta Capital Partners Limited applauds the Government for acknowledging civil servants and described the signing of the compensation agreement by the trade unions as a massive step in the right direction.
“I’ve been watching the week of activities and I think it’s important because far too often we don’t recognise and celebrate the people who are doing the work. So I think it’s a wonderful initiative to have this Civil Service Week… The new compensation package reflects the respect that the government shows for the civil servants and will certainly put them in a better position in terms of them being able to live a better life and encourage other people to join the civil service.”
Hon. Audrey Sewell, OJ, CD, JP, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister and Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation during her presentation encouraged public servants to be accountable because it allows them to improve behaviour, productivity and output.
Meanwhile, O’Neil Grant, President of the Civil Service Association commended the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service for prioritising the people during the public transformation exercise.
Civil Service Week 2022 is being celebrated during the week of November 20-26, 2022 under the theme, ‘The Public Sector: Forging Ahead with Determination’.
Among the remaining activities are a Jamaica Civil Service Long Service Awards Ceremony, Domino Knockout Session, Vintage Night After-Work Lyme and an island-wide church service across all chapters.
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For further information contact:
Corporate Communication & Public Relations Branch
Ministry of Finance and the Public Service
30 National Heroes Circle
Kingston 4
Tel: (876) 932-4656/4660/4655
Email: Shelly-Ann.Weeks@mof.gov.jm; Shakiel.Rochester-Shorter@mof.gov.jm
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
Officers of the Revenue Protection Department (RPD), with assistance from the MajorOrganised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), last week, arrested and charged Rhemalee Wint-Lewis, Tax Auditor of the Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) for breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act.
Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke has announced that it is no longer necessary for the Government of Jamaica to provide support for the salaries of SSL staff members; an insurance claim made by the Temporary Manager of SSL in April of this year, to SSL’s insurers in England, has now been settled. SSL received the insurance payout of US$1 million on Thursday, September 7th, enabling SSL to settle the remainder of their August staff salary bill last week Monday, September 11.
Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings, today, September 13, 2023, upgraded the Government of Jamaica’s Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) from ‘B+’ to ‘BB-’ with a stable
outlook.
The Financial Investigations Division (“FID”), is using the proceeds of assets confiscated under Jamaica’s proceeds of crime legislation to fund the extraordinary expenses it incurs in the SSL fraud investigation. These funds do not constitute tax revenue. These funds arise from the FID’s work in identifying, restraining, forfeiting and monetising the proceeds of crime. That is, these funds arise from the confiscation of ill-gotten gains.
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