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published: Friday | May 2, 2008
Too many waivers
Discretionary waivers are a matter of great concern. They are granted primarily by the Minister of Finance and, to a lesser extent, the Minister of Agriculture. They come under a lot of pressure from waiver seekers. I don't like it one bit! They don't like it either!
In 2006/07, discretionary waivers by the Minister of Finance alone amounted to $12.5 billion! That represents taxes that were waived. Some of it is justified, for example, imports by Food For the Poor and other charitable organisations. But $12.5 billion is much too much and represents a hole that has to be plugged.
The outrageous value of ministerial waivers has to be reined in. The Minister of Finance will be bringing to Cabinet a submission to define a policy to govern ministerial waivers. We are going to impose restrictions on the types of waivers that ministers can grant and a limit on the amount that can be waived.
Land ownershipmade easier
We are pursuing the proposal we had put forward in our election manifesto for the establishment of Community Land Tribunals to help to affirm ownership of lands by taking oral evidence at the community level where boundaries are clearly established and ownership is not in dispute, but documentation does not exist.
If we can find a way to make it easier for people who have undisputed ownership of land to be able to have the ownership legally certified, we would unleash enormous wealth-creating power. I am determined to drive that process.
Red carpet for business
We are taking steps to improve the country's business friendliness. We want to roll up the red tape and roll out the red carpet!
We are working with the Legs and Regs Committee, with assistance from USAID to reduce bureaucracy, eliminating business procedures that serve no useful purpose and simplify them where they are necessary.
We are overhauling the development approval process to create a single, cross-cutting, one-stop agency to evaluate land use and building projects with a 90-day period for determination.
Supporting small business
In support of the small business sector, the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) will be providing a loan facility of $1 billion to be disbursed through approved financial institutions, including credit unions, PC banks and micro-financing institutions. The loans will be offered for a maximum of seven years, at an interest rate of 10 per cent with a one-year moratorium on principal repayments.
Investment projects
Our focus on small businesses is not to ignore the value of major investments. Indeed, as I have pointed out, the two must complement each other:
The hotel sector will continue to dominate major investments with approximately 7,000 new rooms to be built over the next two years with total expenditure for this year of US$157 million.
Commencement of the Falmouth Cruise Ship Terminal, a collaborative effort between Carnival Cruise Lines and the Port Authority of Jamaica, involving a total investment of US$270 million and an agreement from Carnival to deliver a minimum of 500,000 cruise ship arrivals annually.
Mystic Mountain Rain Forest facility, our latest attraction, financed jointly by Carnival and the DBJ at a cost of US$6.2 million, is to be opened in July
Construction of the Montego Bay Conference Centre with over 200,000 sq ft of convention facilities at a cost of US$45 million financed by way of a loan from the government of China.
We are working on a number of major new projects:
Downtown Kingston/Port Royal redevelopment, including its potential as an international financial centre
Vernamfield cargo trans-shipment airport
Development of the Montego Bay Commercial Centre
Expansion of the Ocho Rios Cruise Ship Terminal
Major free zone complex for the Caymanas/Ft Augusta area
New airport facilities for Duckenfield and the development of Port Antonio as a high-end tourist destination
Divestment of assets
The government is committed to the divestment of state-owned assets and enterprises which (a) do not form part of our critical service obligations to the people; (b) can be more effectively developed and operated with private capital and under private management; (c) constitute an unnecessary burden on taxpayers
We have identified several such assets representing a total estimated value of $36 billion. The list is not yet finalised. The divestment process is being carefully worked out and the Cabinet has approved the appointment of a committee to be chaired by the Hon. Dennis Lalor, to manage the process and make final recommendations to the Cabinet.
Excerpts of Prime Minister Bruce Golding's presentation in the 2008-2009 Budget Debate in Parliament on April 22.