policy

Hurricane Melissa forced Jamaica’s first major building code rewrite since 1908. The legislation was rarely the weak point, enforcement was.

Bauxite companies paid $350 million in compensation since 2020, but theres no centralised system tracking whether it’s adequate. An MP says the bigger problem is how residents are treated, not just what they’re paid.

Jamaica will tax Airbnb-style rentals under GCT from 2027, after a licensing bill stalled the year before. Hoteliers are pleased; some short-term rental operators call the process an ambush.

It takes 14 months to approve a single telecom site in Jamaica, utility executives say, and the same fragmented approval process is slowing construction and infrastructure projects across sectors.

Jamaica will tax Airbnb-style rentals under GCT from 2027, after a licensing bill stalled the year before. Hoteliers are pleased; some short-term rental operators call the process an ambush.

It takes 14 months to approve a single telecom site in Jamaica, utility executives say, and the same fragmented approval process is slowing construction and infrastructure projects across sectors.

Holness cut NHT mortgage rates for teachers, nurses and security forces. A union leader says the real problem isnt the cut, its a pattern of governments using NHT benefits to court whichever group they need that cycle.

Jamaican governments have extracted a combined $146.4 billion from the NHT over the past decade, with the current administration alone taking $11.4 billion annually for ten straight years. A critic says the practice has become institutionalised.

NHT contributions from 2018 are now refundable, earning roughly 14 percent interest over the seven-year hold. Eligibility for cash refunds has also widened to all mortgage holders in good standing, not just public sector workers.

Kingston, Jamaica — 15 January 2026 The recent pause in certain United States immigrant visa processing affecting Jamaicans is prompting…

At a parliamentary committee, MP Everald Warmington asked why the NHT gives concessional loans to churches that do not contribute to it. NHT boss Martin Miller said the help was limited to hurricane damage, mainly church roofs.

England just overhauled tenant protections. Jamaica already has one of the more interventionist rental frameworks in the Commonwealth on paper, the real question is enforcement.

England just overhauled tenant protections. Jamaica already has one of the more interventionist rental frameworks in the Commonwealth on paper, the real question is enforcement.

A $75 million government fund for storm-damaged churches sparked a real fight over taxpayer money and religious institutions. The government’s clean-up-not-reconstruction clarification sidesteps the harder question rather than resolving it.

JPS says a 7 percent post-Hurricane Melissa rate hike was a compromise, not the full cost. Heres what changed on your bill and why.