The government of Jamaica still has plans to sell its shares in the Jamaica Public Service Company, among other divestments that were stalled in 2020 due to the pandemic but are expected to get back on track this fiscal year.

Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke made the disclosure while speaking at the Mayberry Investors forum where he reiterated the government’s commitment to continuing its robust divestment programme.

Clarke said that while the government still had plans to continue its divestment programme, timelines had been shifted due to the pandemic, however the initiatives remain in the pipeline.  

“We had previously announced the divestment of the government’s interest in JPS. As well as, the privatisation of the Jamaica Mortgage Bank. And there are a number of other initiatives such as the Soapberry Waste Management Plant. There are a number of infrastructure opportunities that are going to come down the pipeline, but for those the timeline has just been shifted,” said Clarke.

“But the government of Jamaica remains firmly committed to continuing its divestment programme,” added Clarke, who pointed to the privatisation of the Norman Manley International Airport, Petcom and the Kingston Container Terminal, past projects which serve as indicators of the government’s level of commitment.

Clarke also used the occasion to share that the pandemic had also shifted the timeline for the abolition of the asset tax.

The finance minister reiterated the government’s view that the tax is counter productive but noted that due to the economic realities created by the pandemic the administration didn’t have the fiscal space to remove it.

“I’m on record for saying that asset tax for financial institutions is not a sensible tax. It has the impact of increasing the cost of capital to businesses and to individuals. And therefore, it works against the public interest,” said Clarke.

“In order to reduce it, we have to have the fiscal space. And time will tell when we can have that fiscal space in order to reduce it. But the government of Jamaica, is of the firm view that that tax needs to go as soon as we can find the space,” added Clarke.