Radio Jamaica Limited (RJR), the holding company for RJRGLEANER Communications Group, hereby announce that Mrs. Karla Stephens-Hall assumed duties as Chief Financial Officer of the Group, effective Friday, November 1, 2024.

The Board of Directors One on One Educational Services Ltd advise you of the resignation of Ms. Nicole Foga as Company Secretary of the Board, effective August 31, 2024. Additionally, we are pleased to announce that Mrs. Donnisha Brooks has been appointed as the new Company Secretary effective August 31, 2024.

TransJamaican Highway Limited announces the appointment of Directors John Bell and Steven Gooden to the Corporate Governance Committee, effective November 7, 2024.

Carreras Limited (CAR) wishes to advise of the resignation of Mr. Raoul Glynn from the Board of Carreras Limited effective Friday, November 1, 2024.

We wish to formally notify you of the resignation of Mr. Chadwick Bennett as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of iCreate Limited, effective September 30, 2024. During his time with us, Mr. Bennett played a pivotal role in helping the business navigate through some of its toughest times. His dedication and expertise were invaluable, and we are beyond grateful for his support. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors. We are also pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Andrew Wildish as the new CFO of iCreate Limited, soon to be Kintyre Holdings (JA) Limited, effective October 2, 2024. Mr. Wildish brings a wealth of experience in corporate finance, accounting, commercial banking, and investment management, having worked across the United States, Panama, and Jamaica.

Questions that are food for thought.
1. Is the Jamaica Gleaner too big and important to fail?
2. Will the Government step in and inject public funds to “save” what many consider a national treasure.
3. Given market trends and developments those in the know say, what is currently been done to stop the bleeding is too little to late.

“Stephens-Hall said as much as the company would love it, advertisers have not come back to their pre-pandemic spending levels. She reported that revenues had a marginal increase of roughly $54 million or about one per cent for financial year ended March 2024. She said most segments showed improvements, with audio-visual showing an improvement of $55 million and the audio segment showing an increase of $44 million but that this was offset by a reduction in the print segment, which had a loss of $44 million.”

The Caribbean Media Crisis: Can Digital Transformation Save Regional News?

Members of the Senate in Jamaica recently approved the Trade (Amendment) Act, 2024, which was piloted by Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill.

He explained that insertion of new subsections in Clause Two of the legislation allows the Minister to facilitate importers who ordered or purchased consignments prior to the effective date of the prohibition Order – the Trade Plastics Packaging Materials Amendment Order 2024 – to import these goods without consequences.

“It should be noted that the Trade Plastic Materials Prohibition Amendment Order 2024 also provides that the distribution of plastic food containers should terminate on the 9th day of January 2025. As such, in the exercise of this discretion, the Minister will be guided by this timeline,” Senator Hill said.

The Trade Plastics Packaging Materials Amendment Order 2024 was promulgated on July 11, 2024.

The Minister further informed that Clause Two of the Act provides for the insertion of new Subsections Four, Five and Six.

Senator Hill explained that Subsection Four provides that, where an Order was made providing for an absolute prohibition on the importation of goods pursuant to Subsection 1A, the Minister may, by Order, specify that the consignments be treated in the same manner as goods imported prior to the effective date of such prohibition, if the Minister is satisfied of the matter in Subsection 5.

“Subsection 5 provides that the matter to which the Minister must be satisfied is that the relevant prohibited goods were ordered or purchased prior to the effective date of the prohibition. Subsection 6 provides that no criminal liability shall be imputed in respect of goods that are subject to an Order made under Subsection 4,” he said.

Senator Hill explained that the Bill seeks to amend Section 8 of the Act to provide for such Orders to remove consequences of the prescribed absolute prohibition for imported consignments of goods ordered or purchased prior to the effective date of the prescribed prohibition under Section 8 (1a) of the Act, which arrived in Jamaica on or after the effective date of the prohibition.

He further indicated that in 2018, the Government announced the implementation of a ban on the importation, manufacture and distribution of specific types of single use plastic products with the objective of safeguarding human health and the environment from the adverse impacts of plastics, in accordance with World Trade Organization Agreement obligations.

The Minister informed that on December 24, 2018, the Trade Plastics Packaging Materials Prohibition Order 2018 was published, prohibiting the importation of classes of plastic goods on a phased basis.

Senator Hill added that the Order was subsequently amended in 2022/23/24. He noted that these Orders were initiated by the Portfolio Ministry with responsibility for the environment, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce.

“In January 2024, the Government of Jamaica announced the implementation of the fourth phase of the ban on single use plastics, which would eliminate from the domestic market single use plastic food containers and replace Styrofoam containers as well as cosmetic care or personal care products for which microbeads or microplastics have been intentionally added,” the Minister said.

“The Government further indicated to the public that consignments ordered prior to the effected date of the prohibition would be allowed to be landed. In keeping with the main objective, the Trade Plastics Packaging Materials Amendment Order 2024 was promulgated on July 11, 2024, which effected an absolute prohibition on the importation of plastic food containers, effective as of that date,” he said.

Senator Hill noted that the prohibition has adversely affected importers who previously ordered or purchased consignments, which arrived or will arrive in Jamaica after the prohibition was in effect.

“The Government recognises the need to facilitate trade within Jamaica while, at the same time, safeguarding human health and the environment from adverse impacts of plastics. To address this issue, it was proposed that Section 8 of the Act be amended to empower the Minister to make Orders having retroactive effect,” he said.

The Trade Act provides for, among other things, the regulation of trade in goods, including the conditions of distribution, purchase and sale, and the importation and exportation, except under licence, of goods of any class or description.

By: Chris Patterson, JIS

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, says auditors will be using more artificial intelligence (AI) tools to carry out their duties.

“The Government will accelerate its deployment of technology in auditing by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency, accuracy and insights into the organisational, financial and operational landscape,” Mrs. Williams said.

She was speaking during the annual Audit Committees’ Conference at The Summit in Kingston, on Thursday (November 7).

Minister Williams shared some of the ways in which she expects the technology to be used.

“It can be used to be predictive; it can identify trends and patterns in financial data that may signal potential risks or fraud. AI can be used to identify unusual transactions or deviations from established financial patterns, flagging them for review before they lead to significant issues. It can be used to automate the analysis of large volumes of financial and operational data, thus allowing you to perform deeper reviews without requiring intensive manual work,” she said.

Mrs. Wiliams added that, “AI tools can help to model various financial scenarios based on historical data and market trends, allowing Audit Committees to better understand the potential risks and impact on future financial health.”

The Minister emphasised that in a rapidly changing technological landscape, the Government must ensure that all the Audit Committees stay at the forefront of innovation, so that they can better anticipate and help to mitigate emerging threats, while enhancing the efficiency and transparency of the public purse.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Williams mandated the Audit Committees to include an environmental, social and governance (ESG) component in their reports.

She highlighted that reporting on ESG is the global trend, noting that it serves as an indicator that the Government is taking a wholistic approach to development.

“I’ve seen audit and financial reports from private sector companies, and they have a couple of pages talking about their environmental, social and governance audit that has been done, and it’s going to become real for us in the years ahead. So, I want to alert you to it,” Mrs. Williams stated.

An ESG Audit is a comprehensive evaluation of a company’s practices in relation to environmental, social and governance criteria.

It evaluates how a business manages and reports on sustainability and impact across the three key areas.

By: Andrew Laidley, JIS

Jamaica’s import expenditure for the first six months of 2024, between January and June, totalled US$3.68 billion.

This represents a 1.5 per cent decline over the US$3.74-billion spend for the corresponding period in 2023.

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) indicated in a bulletin on Wednesday (October 30) that the decrease was largely attributable to lower imports of ‘Raw Materials/Intermediate Goods’ and ‘Fuels and Lubricants’, which fell by 13.9 and 1.6 per cent, respectively.

The five main countries from which Jamaica imported goods were the United States of America (USA), the People’s Republic of China, Brazil, Japan, and Trinidad and Tobago.

STATIN reported that expenditure on imports from these countries fell by 6.3 per cent to US$2.19 billion during the review period, relative to US$2.34 billion recorded for the same period in 2023.

The decrease largely resulted from a 19 per cent decline in ‘Mineral Fuels’ imports from the USA and Trinidad and Tobago.

Meanwhile, Jamaica’s export earnings decreased by 8.4 per cent over the review period to US$944.8 million, down from US$1.03 billion recorded between January and June 2023.

The falloff, according to STATIN, was primarily due to a 64.8 per cent decline in the value of re-exports of ‘Mineral Fuels’. Earnings from re-exports dropped to US$114.7 million between January and June 2024.

Domestic exports, however, rose by 9.4 per cent to US$830.1 million, consequent on a two-percentage point spike in outflows from the manufacturing industry. Domestic export earnings accounted for 87.9 per cent of total exports.

Jamaica’s top-five export trading partners were the USA, Iceland, the Russian Federation, Netherlands and Canada.

STATIN reported that earnings generated from exports to these countries climbed by 23.7 per cent to US$657 million.

The Institute attributed this to higher expenditure on exports of ‘Crude Materials’, which rose in value by 76.3 per cent.

By: Douglas McIntosh JIS