标签： Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Leader Mark Golding has launched a vehement critique against the Jamaican government’s financial practices regarding the National Housing Trust (NHT), condemning the systematic withdrawal of billions from the housing fund for non-tax revenue purposes.

During his presentation in the House of Representatives for the 2026/27 Budget Debate, Golding revealed that the government has extracted approximately $114 billion from the NHT over the past decade, with projections indicating an additional $57 billion withdrawal planned over the next five years until March 2031.

The opposition leader emphasized the particular irony of these actions given the current administration’s previous stance. Golding recalled that Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his party had fiercely criticized the initial withdrawal implemented in 2013 by the then People’s National Party administration. At that time, the measure was introduced as a temporary four-year strategy to meet International Monetary Fund requirements during Jamaica’s severe debt crisis.

Golding highlighted the government’s hypocrisy, noting that despite previous promises to ‘ring-fence the NHT’ and prevent its resources from being appropriated, the current administration has twice passed legislation to extend the withdrawal practice throughout its ten-year tenure.

The timing of these withdrawals is particularly concerning, Golding argued, given Jamaica’s critical housing shortage. The country requires approximately 15,000 additional houses annually to address unmet demand—a need exacerbated by the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa in western parishes.

The opposition leader questioned the government’s budgetary priorities, pointing out that a mere $30 billion (less than one percent of GDP) has been allocated for Melissa recovery efforts in the upcoming fiscal year. Instead of depleting the NHT’s resources, Golding advocated for empowering the institution to play a more substantial role in rebuilding resilient housing infrastructure across affected regions.

Golding concluded that utilizing housing funds to balance governmental fiscal accounts represents poor judgment, particularly when Jamaica’s most vulnerable communities face urgent shelter challenges following natural disasters.

JERUSALEM — Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared on Tuesday that Iran’s influential National Security Chief Ali Larijani and Basij paramilitary force commander Gholamreza Soleimani had been successfully eliminated in targeted operations. The announcement marks what would constitute the most significant assassination within Iranian leadership circles since the wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes initiated the conflict on February 28, which previously claimed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other high-ranking officials.

In a televised address, Katz revealed he had received confirmation from Israel’s military chief regarding the operations. “Larijani and Soleimani have joined Khamenei, the architect of annihilation programs, along with all eliminated members of the axis of evil in the depths of hell,” Katz stated, employing stark rhetoric to characterize the outcomes.

Concurrent with these developments, Israeli military officials confirmed targeting Akram al-Ajouri, a senior military commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and head of its al-Quds Brigades, in a separate strike within Iran. Al-Ajouri, operational in both the West Bank and Gaza, participated in Hamas’ October 7, 2023 assault on Israel. Israeli authorities described Larijani as Tehran’s de facto decision-maker, asserting he had been “calling the shots and moving the pieces around” both recently and historically.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office disseminated an image of Benjamin Netanyahu on a telephone call with the caption: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders the elimination of senior figures in the Iranian regime.” Earlier military communications detailed that Soleimani’s elimination occurred through “a precise strike in Tehran” based on IDF intelligence. The Basij force, operating under Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, was identified as having led repression operations during recent mass protests against the clerical establishment.

According to Israeli military assessments, Soleimani was killed alongside other Basij commanders at a makeshift headquarters. Recent Israeli operations have focused on Basij checkpoints around Tehran aiming to disrupt governmental control mechanisms. Following Katz’s statement, AFP correspondents in Jerusalem reported distant explosions and activated sirens in northern Israel, signaling warnings of incoming Iranian missiles.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Leader Mark Golding has launched a scathing critique of the government’s proposed $1.4 trillion budget for the 2026/27 fiscal year, declaring it fundamentally inadequate for driving economic recovery. During his Budget Debate address at Gordon House, Golding emphasized that the financial plan introduces an additional $18 billion tax burden while the nation struggles with the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa and potential economic fallout from Middle East conflicts.

Golding highlighted the concerning disparity between the massive economic damage and the government’s allocated response, noting that merely $30 billion—less than one percent of GDP—has been designated for capital expenditure toward hurricane recovery. This allocation comes despite the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s damage assessment of US$12.2 billion (approximately 56% of GDP) from Hurricane Melissa.

The Opposition Leader further criticized the government’s own Fiscal Policy Paper, which projects negative real GDP growth of 0.5% for the upcoming fiscal year and a severe contraction of -4.5% for the current 2025/26 period. Golding characterized the tax measures as pro-cyclical, warning they would reduce disposable income, suppress consumer demand, and reinforce economic decline.

While acknowledging the administration’s success in debt stabilization, Golding distinguished this achievement from economic optimization, noting that “debt stabilisation can coexist with economic stagnation.” He emphasized that unlike the COVID-19 pandemic downturn, Jamaica’s current economic contraction stems from tangible damage to the nation’s productive capacity, particularly in western regions.

Golding urged aggressive investment in recovery during the suspended fiscal rules period, stating: “We have been hit very hard, and we need to fight even harder to get out of the slump. Early investment in recovery is needed to turn the negative cycle occasioned by Melissa’s destruction into positive economic growth.” He reminded legislators that the two-year suspension of fiscal rules has a finite timeline without legal provision for extension, creating a limited window for growth-oriented policies.

WASHINGTON — Cuban diplomatic officials have expressed willingness to engage in comprehensive discussions with the United States while simultaneously making clear that their political system remains non-negotiable. The declaration comes amid escalating tensions and complex economic challenges facing the Caribbean nation.

Tanieris Dieguez, Cuba’s deputy chief of mission in Washington, emphasized in an exclusive interview that while both nations have substantial matters to discuss, neither should demand governmental changes from the other. “Nothing related with our political system, nothing with our political model—our constitutional model—is part of negotiations, and never will it be,” Dieguez stated unequivocally.

The diplomatic overture occurs against the backdrop of significant economic strain in Cuba, including a recent nationwide blackout and severe energy shortages following U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil shipments to the island. These developments have exacerbated existing challenges in Cuba’s socialist economy.

In a potentially significant economic policy shift, Havana announced this week that it would permit overseas Cubans to invest in and own businesses on the island—a notable departure from decades of strict economic controls. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a prominent Cuban-American critic of the government, dismissed these reforms as insufficient.

The Cuban envoy identified the longstanding U.S. trade embargo as the primary obstacle to normalized economic relations, noting that international investors remain wary of American sanctions. “We are open to receive any American interests, businessmen or whatever,” Dieguez affirmed. “The main obstacle to that is the big conglomerate of rules that is the blockade today.”

The humanitarian impact of recent sanctions has been severe, with Dieguez reporting that over 3,000 children have missed vaccinations due to temperature-sensitive medical supply disruptions—a particularly damaging development for a nation that has historically prioritized universal healthcare. The envoy characterized these measures as “collective punishment” affecting the most vulnerable Cuban citizens.