分类： politics

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica is grappling with a growing crisis driven by skyrocketing international oil prices spurred by ongoing Middle East geopolitical instability, and Energy Minister Daryl Vaz has issued an urgent call for collective responsibility among all Jamaicans to cut energy use, while warning that the government could soon implement targeted movement restrictions to curb fuel consumption.

Vaz outlined the government’s multi-pronged response to the economic fallout from Middle East tensions during a post-Cabinet press briefing held Wednesday morning, making clear that further price hikes are inevitable as long as the regional conflict continues.

“You’re gonna see increases as long as this conflict in the Middle East continues. We [the Government] will do what we can do, but it is important that you do what you need to do to understand that you need to conserve starting today, today, today,” the minister stressed repeatedly, emphasizing the urgency of immediate action.

Among the policy options under active consideration by the government is a return to COVID-era hybrid work-from-home arrangements, a measure that would cut down on commuting traffic and overall transportation fuel use. Vaz noted that final approval for any new conservation policies will rest with the full Cabinet, but argued that change is unavoidable given current patterns of travel.

“The Government is gonna have to look at policies to limit movements, especially transportation movements. I don’t know whether or not we go back to a COVID-hybrid version of working from home; something has to happen, because the level of traffic that I am seeing on the road doesn’t show me that anybody realises that there’s a war and the price of fuel/oil is going to go up, and up, and up,” Vaz said.

He added that while the government will finalize formal conservation plans following Cabinet deliberations, individual and community action is non-negotiable amid the unprecedented global price crunch. “it is 100 per cent the responsibility of every Jamaican to realise that we are in a major, major crisis as it relates to the price of oil internationally, and therefore, you need to take responsibility for your household, your business, [so] see what you can do,” he stated.

Even as the government confronts soaring costs, Vaz moved quickly to reassure the public that Jamaica’s energy security remains solid. Long-term finished product supply contracts and domestic refining capacity operated by state-owned oil firm Petrojam have kept supply chains stable, meaning there is no risk of fuel shortages, only elevated prices. “So, it’s not a matter of not being able to buy [oil]; it’s the price. So there’s no need to panic,” he declared.

To soften the blow of global price increases for consumers, the government has already implemented a range of mitigation measures through the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Finance, and Petrojam, designed to avoid passing the full weight of global price hikes onto Jamaican households. Petrojam’s pricing committee also maintains continuous monitoring of global market conditions, adjusting ex-refinery prices in line with shifts.

However, Vaz revealed that this existing price-capping mechanism has come at a steep cost: Petrojam has already accumulated between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion in unrecovered losses that have not been passed to consumers. If the current framework remains in place through June 2026, total losses would reach $11.8 billion – an amount equivalent to two-thirds of the current fiscal year’s total revenue measures, which Vaz called “unaffordable, unsustainable.”

Vaz also addressed the broader geopolitical context driving price volatility, noting that stalled talks between Iran and the United States have worsened market uncertainty. While he remains hopeful that a diplomatic resolution can be reached, he acknowledged that discussions have moved “in the wrong direction since Monday.”

To address the dual goals of fiscal stability and consumer protection, the Cabinet has approved a new tiered pricing mechanism that will replace the current flat $4.50 price cap. The new framework will bring domestic fuel prices into closer alignment with global market movements, allow for controlled, predictable weekly adjustments, protect consumers from sudden sharp shocks for smaller price increases, and give Petrojam greater flexibility to respond to large global price swings.

Vaz explained that the revised system will likely include three separate tiers of caps, adjusted weekly in response to global market changes, making it far more agile than the inflexible flat cap currently in place. “This will allow Petrojam to be more agile and respond in a more timely manner to price volatility. What does that mean? It means that the $4.50 cap cannot be sustained, and it means that we’ll have to have several different tiers of caps – probably three – that will speak to what’s happening in the market and, as I said, pricing is weekly. So it means that we can adjust on a weekly basis,” he said.

Closing his remarks, Vaz rejected any suggestion that the government can continue absorbing massive losses to keep prices artificially low, given competing pressing national priorities. “But let me be blatantly and truthfully upfront in your face; the Government of Jamaica cannot stomach an $11.8 billion [loss] with all of what we have to do and all of the contending priorities, and anybody who tell you any different… rubbish! No Government in a situation like this can sustain that,” the minister argued.

A months-long controversy over missing procurement documentation at Jamaica’s University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) took a sharp new turn this Tuesday, when top hospital officials formally dismissed the earlier claim that repeated flooding caused the disappearance of critical records. The development has intensified scrutiny of the public health institution’s governance and accountability frameworks before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The saga first came to light during the PAC’s March 31 sitting, when Ainsworth Buckeridge, UHWI’s senior director of public procurement, suggested multiple flooding events that hit the hospital’s file storage areas could explain the gaps in documentation flagged in a recent audit by the auditor general. At that meeting, Buckeridge told lawmakers the storage zone had been inundated “at least twice or three times”, leaving open the conclusion that water damage had destroyed the missing records.

That narrative fell apart entirely during Tuesday’s follow-up hearing, when Eric Hosin, UHWI’s acting Chief Executive Officer, confirmed to PAC chair Julian Robinson that while minor water damage had occurred during past floods, none of the incidents resulted in the destruction of any procurement files. “Mr Chair, based on our investigation, there was some damage. However, there was no destruction of any files,” Hosin told the committee.

Robinson pressed for clarity, asking whether flooding could even partially account for the absence of the key documents. “In essence then, while there would have been damage, damage would not have prevented you from having access to the file, even if the file got wet. So the flooding could not explain the absence of the files, then,” Robinson said. Hosin confirmed this assessment, invalidating the core of the original explanation and opening the door to deeper investigations into UHWI’s administrative failures.

Previously, the PAC had been informed that three flooding events – dated October 2020, March 2022, and October 2023 – had impacted the procurement document storage area. Tuesday’s testimony clarified that while these events caused minor disruption, they never destroyed files or blocked staff access to stored documentation.

With the flooding explanation ruled out, attention has now shifted to the root causes of the missing records, which UHWI management itself has conceded stem from long-standing systemic problems rather than an unforeseen disaster. In a formal submission to the PAC responding to the auditor general’s findings, hospital leaders acknowledged that documentation gaps originated from “fragmented record-keeping systems across departments” and the “inconsistent application of procurement procedures” – confirming broader weaknesses in institutional governance.

To date, UHWI officials report that 28 of the previously missing files have been recovered, but search efforts for the remaining unaccounted-for documents are still ongoing. Hosin told the committee that the hospital is currently working to reconstruct the missing records by cross-referencing data from the institution’s finance department and other internal units, with a target completion date for the reconstruction process set for the end of this month.

Alongside efforts to resolve the missing records issue, hospital officials have also outlined corrective actions to address the flooding problem that was previously mis-cited as the cause of the disappearance. These interventions include targeted drainage improvements and roof repairs to the storage building, which Hosin said have eliminated further flood risks. “We have actually put in a drain to ensure water does not reach the building… as well as we have repaired the roof of the building. And we have not seen any further problems with any flooding or water damage on that building,” he explained.

Even with these corrective steps in place, PAC members have stressed that serious concerns remain about how critical procurement records could go missing in a major public institution that manages large amounts of taxpayer funds. Robinson confirmed that the committee will continue its investigation into the incident, with a particular focus on evaluating UHWI’s existing systems for document storage, internal accountability, and external oversight to prevent similar gaps from occurring in the future.

Escalating geopolitical tensions between Iran and the United States have entered a new dangerous phase, with Tehran’s top military command issuing a stark warning on Wednesday that it will shut down all commercial shipping activity across three critical global waterways – the Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman, and Red Sea – if Washington’s newly imposed naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in place.

According to an official statement broadcast by Iranian state television, Ali Abdollahi, head of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s military central command center, emphasized that any continued American blockade that threatens the safety and security of Iranian commercial ships and oil tankers would act as a precursor to breaking a previously established ceasefire between the two parties.

“The powerful armed forces of the Islamic republic will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea,” Abdollahi stated in the address. He further clarified that the aggressive response would be rooted in Iran’s constitutional duty to protect its core national sovereignty and strategic interests, leaving no room for compromise on the issue.

The current standoff traces back to failed diplomatic talks held over the weekend in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. Negotiations between US and Iranian delegations aimed at reaching a mutually acceptable agreement to end ongoing hostilities between the two nations ended without any breakthrough. Three days after the collapsed talks, the United States moved to implement a full naval blockade of Iranian maritime ports.

Despite the formal announcement of the blockade, preliminary data from independent maritime tracking services published Tuesday suggested that multiple vessels departing from Iranian ports had successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic chokepoint that connects the Persian Gulf to the open Arabian Sea, without being intercepted by US naval forces.

On Wednesday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reinforced this observation, citing unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the country’s maritime operations. The agency confirmed that commercial shipping activities from Iran’s southern coastal ports have continued uninterrupted following the US blockade announcement, noting that multiple Iranian commercial cargo vessels had set sail for destinations across the globe in the 24-hour period leading up to the report.

Calls for transparency grew louder on Tuesday during a public accounts committee (PAC) hearing, as a ruling-party Jamaican MP pressed senior leaders of the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) for clear answers about a $10.8 million customs duty payment made by a private company for imports declared under the public hospital’s tax-exempt name — answers that hospital officials were unable to provide.

The growing controversy revolves around the transaction attributed to JACDEN, a private firm where opposition Member of Parliament Dennis Gordon, representative for St Andrew East Central, holds a principal leadership role. The payment was made to Jamaica Customs for goods imported under UHWI’s name, tying the case to a broader investigation into misuse of the major public hospital’s tax-exempt import status.

This probe is part of an ongoing PAC review of damning findings from Jamaica’s Auditor General, which uncovered repeated misuse of UHWI’s tax-exempt privileges to allow private companies to import goods duty-free. The practice has resulted in millions of dollars in lost government revenue from unpaid customs duties, prompting wide-ranging scrutiny of regulatory and institutional oversight.

During Tuesday’s committee sitting, Government MP Heroy Clarke questioned the legal and procedural foundation for any private entity to pay customs duties on behalf of a public medical institution, especially when the hospital is formally listed as the official importer of record. He repeatedly pressed acting UHWI CEO Eric Hosin for clarity on what authority allowed a third-party private firm to cover duties for goods imported in the hospital’s name, asking “On what ground, what condition, what authority, that some goods that were brought in the name of UHWI, that a third party, a private entity, would have gotten the authority to pay duty on behalf of UHWI.”

In response to the committee’s questions, Hosin stated that no such private payment arrangement had been approved by the hospital during his tenure as acting chief executive. However, Clarke pushed back, pointing to official documentation submitted to the committee that confirms the payment was processed by Jamaica Customs despite UHWI being named as the importer. He continued to press for clarity, asking “On what grounds did this company, JACDEN, pay over $10 million to Customs, Customs accepting that money in the name of UHWI — because the goods belong to UHWI?”

Ultimately, Hosin conceded that he could not explain how the unusual transaction was approved or processed, telling the committee “I don’t know. You’d have to speak to Customs.”

This unresolved exchange has amplified longstanding concerns about critical gaps in regulatory oversight, particularly around how public institutions’ tax-exempt status can be exploited by private actors for unauthorized financial gain. Clarke also flagged a documented violation of Jamaica’s Customs Act, noting that UHWI has been officially cited for making a false import declaration in breach of Section 209 of the legislation. Customs has notified the hospital that it may file an objection to the citation, but requires a deposit to process the appeal. Clarke asked UHWI officials whether the institution had drafted an objection and paid the required deposit, and Hosin confirmed no action has been taken on the citation to date.

The case has gained heightened political attention due to Gordon’s direct ties to JACDEN, placing the opposition MP at the center of the unfolding scandal. The controversy has already expanded beyond the PAC, with Parliament’s Ethics Committee launching a review to re-examine previous disclosures Gordon made about his business interests. As the PAC’s investigation moves forward, Clarke has made clear that full public clarity will be required not just from UHWI leadership, but also from Jamaica Customs, particularly around the agency’s protocols for accepting third-party payments in import transactions involving public institutions.

A major financial and compliance crisis has emerged at Jamaica’s leading public healthcare institution, the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), with lawmakers on Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) learning Tuesday that the facility carries more than JMD $40 billion in unpaid tax obligations — and has no formal structured plan to repay the massive debt, all while operating on an expiring temporary Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC).

The stunning disclosure was made during the PAC’s ongoing review of a damning auditor general’s report into questionable procurement practices at the hospital, opening a new front of scrutiny over the institution’s long-term financial management and failure to meet core statutory requirements.

Appearing before the committee to answer questions from PAC Chair Julian Robinson, UHWI Acting Chief Executive Officer Eric Hosin confirmed the staggering scale of the outstanding arrears. Hosin clarified that the full $40 billion sum includes years of accumulated compound interest and late payment penalties, with the underlying pre-penalty principal amount of the debt sitting at approximately $18 billion.

The revelation immediately sparked urgent concern among committee members, who zeroed in on whether statutory payroll deductions taken directly from UHWI employees’ salaries — including contributions to the National Housing Trust (NHT) and National Insurance Scheme (NIS) — had actually been remitted to the relevant government agencies as required by law. Robinson highlighted the direct, tangible harm this could inflict on ordinary hospital workers if the funds had been withheld.

“It would be important for us to know, particularly on the employee side, because this would impact people who might go to NHT seeking a benefit, people who are retired and would go to the NIS office and can’t get a benefit,” Robinson told the hearing.

Hosin moved quickly to reassure the committee that no current UHWI employees have faced negative consequences from the debt crisis, confirming that the hospital is now fully up to date on all monthly NHT and NIS contribution remittances. He explained that the facility’s ongoing cash flow crisis only affects older outstanding tax obligations, noting “we don’t have enough money to pay the other tax obligations.” Those unpaid older obligations include outstanding income tax and education tax payments, Hosin added.

Lawmakers continued to press for answers on how such a massive debt could build up largely unchecked over time. Hosin acknowledged the arrears stretch back multiple years, but he was unable to provide the committee with a precise timeline for when the debt began to accumulate during Tuesday’s sitting.

Adding to lawmakers’ alarm is the hospital’s shaky tax compliance status. Despite owing tens of billions in unpaid taxes, Hosin confirmed UHWI is currently operating on a temporary TCC that is set to expire on May 6. Most worryingly for the committee, Hosin admitted the hospital has not negotiated any formal repayment agreement with Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) to resolve the outstanding debt — a requirement for most entities with large tax arrears seeking to retain compliance status.

Robinson questioned how the hospital could be granted any form of compliant status without a structured repayment plan in place, noting that standard regulatory protocols would require such an arrangement for any organization carrying major unpaid tax obligations.

In response, Hosin explained that negotiations to resolve the debt are still in their very early stages. He outlined that UHWI’s leadership plans to first consult with the Ministry of Health and Wellness before approaching the Ministry of Finance to discuss potential pathways forward, including possible relief for the accumulated interest and penalties tied to the original debt.

Hosin also revealed that UHWI operated for an extended period without any valid TCC at all, though he again could not provide a clear timeline for how long that status lasted. That additional revelation raised fresh questions about the hospital’s ability to legally import critical medical supplies independently, and ties back to earlier audit findings that the facility’s tax-exempt status was misused for private business transactions involving third-party entities.

Chairman Robinson stressed that pinning down how long UHWI has operated without full tax compliance is a critical part of the PAC’s ongoing investigation, particularly as the committee probes whether the failure to meet statutory obligations is connected to the procurement irregularities already under review.

Robinson also called for a full, itemized breakdown of the $40 billion debt, so lawmakers can clearly distinguish what portion of the liability stems from unpaid employee payroll deductions like NHT and NIS versus other unpaid tax types.

While Hosin repeatedly reiterated that current employees have not been impacted by the backlog, noting the hospital is current on monthly contributions and has put safeguards in place to ensure no worker is denied rightful benefits, Robinson remained firm that the committee will not move forward without a full comprehensive ageing report that details when each portion of the debt was accumulated and breaks down every component of the total liability. The PAC’s investigation into both the procurement irregularities and the broader tax debt crisis is ongoing.

In the escalating Middle East tensions that have roiled regional shipping and diplomatic relations, the United States military made a key announcement Wednesday regarding its newly imposed naval blockade around Iranian ports: over the first 48 hours of the operation, US forces successfully intercepted and turned back nine vessels attempting to depart Iranian territorial waters.

US Central Command (CENTCOM), the military wing overseeing all American deployments across the Middle East, shared the update officially via a public post on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter. In its statement, the command emphasized that zero vessels had managed to break through the US naval cordon established as part of the blockade. “Nine vessels have complied with direction from US forces to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or coastal area,” the post read, adding that “No vessels have made it past US forces.”

This official claim, however, runs directly counter to independent maritime tracking data collected and analyzed by global shipping analysts. According to data from Kpler, a prominent provider of maritime logistics and tracking data, at least seven vessels connected to Iran passed through the Strait of Hormuz after the US blockade officially went into effect at 14:00 GMT this past Monday. Of those seven, at least three ships that departed Iranian ports successfully crossed the key global shipping chokepoint on Tuesday, though some other vessels on the route ultimately reversed course.

The naval blockade is the latest escalation in a rapidly unfolding conflict that has upended regional security. After the US-Israeli joint air campaign against Iran launched on February 28, Iranian forces moved to close the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which roughly 20% of the world’s global oil supplies pass. Following the collapse of regional peace talks over the weekend, the US officially announced its full naval blockade of Iranian ports on Sunday, marking a sharp escalation of American military involvement in the conflict.