News

NCB has been relentless in enforcing its digital vision since the onset of the pandemic when there was a shift towards more digital payments.

The financial conglomerate is said to have spent an estimated $500 million on the mobile wallet product, which not only aligns with the group's ambition and vision for digital inclusivity, but also with the Government's push for increased use of the Jam-Dex digital currency. 

According to a recent Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) research, Jamaica's unbanked and underbanked…

Natalie Campbell-Rodriques gave a state of the nation presentation in Jamaica’s Senate on Friday (9 September). During the speech ,she pointed to data produced by Jamaica Forums for Lesbians, All-Sexual and Gays (J-FLAG) on discrimination, ill-treatment and stigma against members of the LGBTQ+ community. J-FLAG’s survey, which polled 1,043 people, showed showed 50 per cent of those sampled had positive attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community on issues such as education. Sadly, the same poll found 67 per cent of respondents didn’t support…

In a June 2021 report, the Caribbean Policy Research Institute included a 2014 study of 1,185 adolescents in Jamaica that “found that approximately 15 per cent displayed depression and anxiety symptoms. Estimates by specialists in the field state that 160,000 or 20 per cent of Jamaican children have a mental disorder, and 40,000, or five per cent, have serious mental disorders. Another survey done in 2019, which assessed broader indicators of mental and emotional well-being, showed that 45 per cent of adolescents in Jamaica had consistently…

The National Housing Trust (NHT) was established in 1976 so homeownership could be facilitated by it as a public mortgage body building homes and subsidising loans for purchasing. The NHT ‘Strategic Mandate Review Commission Report’ (November 2017) identified only two sites, Belair in St Ann (140 units and 116 service lots), and Providence Heights in St James (320 units and 54 service lots) as planned developments to facilitate removal of squatters from nearby communities. However, its planned temporary relocation of squatters to facilitate…

The Think Tank Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) has called out sections of the local media for going dangerously close to 'normalising' violence against women and girls in the way these reports are handled.

The think tank, in its latest report — 'Breaking News: Gender-Based Violence in Jamaican News Media' — which was released on Thursday evening, said instances of gender-based violence are often portrayed as natural responses to life's stressors or dissatisfaction with one's relationship, particularly in cases of…

In sweeping criticism of Jamaica’s welfare programmes as ineffective, a leading think tank has lobbied for the implementation of a comprehensive national health insurance plan and an inclusive pension scheme.

The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) has called for the removal of the conditionalities from the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) and has pressed for the passage of the National Assistance Bill to replace the Poor Relief Act (1886). The absence of overarching legislation for social…