#Kingston, June 18, 2023 – The quantity of paper-based banknotes now in circulation is expected to be gradually reduced over at least the next 12 to 24 months.

This, as the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) undertakes phased disbursement of the new Polymer replacement versions.

BOJ Governor, Richard Byles, told JIS News that persons will be able to conduct transactions using the existing banknotes alongside the Polymer versions during the period.

“You will see both in circulation, and both will be legal tender. Nobody needs to worry that they will be caught with old notes. You can always bring those notes here [at the BOJ to be exchanged],” he informed.

Mr. Byles said while the BOJ only accommodates private persons in relation to exchanges, “because of the special nature of the notes [being introduced], we said [that] the public can come here too [to bring in the old notes] and get the new notes”.

He added, however, that “you can also take them to the [commercial] banks and get them exchanged.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Byles, advised that full withdrawal of the existing banknotes from circulation is “going to take a while.”

He said while the Bank has not set a specific date, “we’re going to let the [new] notes gradually go out into the system.”

“The old notes, when they come in… depending on what the quality of them is like… we’ll take them out of the system. However, there’s going to be a point in time when [after] the BOJ assesses that enough of the old notes have come in and enough of the new notes have gone out, that we can say ‘alright, everybody [who has] old notes, bring them in [within a specific period, and then] try and have a cut-off at that point,” the Governor indicated.

Meanwhile, the BOJ has issued over $11 billion worth of new banknotes, since the exercise commenced on June 6 with disbursements to deposit-taking institutions (DTIs).

The new Jamaican banknotes was officially released to the public on June 15.

Mr. Byles advised that up to mid-afternoon on Friday (June 16), the total stock of notes issued totalled $11.5 billion.  He said a breakdown for each denomination showed the $5000 note accounting for the highest disbursement of $4.7 billion, with the sum for the $1000 bill totalling $3.2 billion.

The equivalent value of the other disbursements were: $2000 – $1.7 billion; $500 – $1.5 billion; $100 – $250 million; and $50 – $75 million.

The new series of polymer Jamaican banknotes comprises upgraded $50, $100, $500, $1,000 and $5,000 notes, and the newly introduced $2,000 bill.

The $50 note features National Heroes, the Right Excellent Paul Bogle, and the Right Excellent George William Gordon, while Jamaica’s first National Hero, the Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, appears on the $100 bill.

National Heroes, the Right Excellent Samuel Sharpe and Nanny of the Maroons, grace the $500 note, while National Heroes the Right Excellent Sir Alexander Bustamante, post-Independent Jamaica’s first Prime Minister, and the Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley, are featured on the $1,000 denomination.

Two former Prime Ministers, the Most Hon. Edward Seaga, and the Most Hon. Michael Manley, are highlighted on the $2,000 bill.

Another two former Prime Ministers, the Most Hon. Sir Donald Sangster and the Most Hon. Hugh Shearer, appear on the $5,000 note.  This marks the second time in Jamaica’s history that a new series of banknotes is being introduced and comes 54 years after the country got its own currency in 1969.

The Polymer substrate is being used to print Jamaican banknotes because of the material’s durability, compared to the paper format, which is expected substantially lower associated costs.

Contact: Douglas McIntosh

Release: JIS

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, June 12, 2023 – The Turk and Caicos just passed its largest ever budget at $424 Million, and residents can see the details of where the money is being spent in a newly published Citizen’s Guide to the Budget. The document was created by the team at the Ministry of Finance headed by E. Jay Saunders, Minister and Deputy Premier and Athnee Harvey-Basden, Permanent Secretary.

The 20 page booklet details the major achievements of the Government in the past year, and lays out the breakdown of how the money will be spent and how much will go to each island. In order of amount the allocations were:

Providenciales – $10.4M

• $900K Special Needs School
• $800K Sapodilla Bay Development
• $750K Furniture and Equipment for Primary Schools
• $650K to upgrade Bight Park
• $650K to renovate Fuller and Clementina Walkin Park

Grand Turk – $6.8M

• $2M for bridges, ponds and roads
• $1.5M for construction of Hangar
• $1.5M for drainage and site works at HJRHS
• $500k to renovate local GTT Village
• $250K to refurbish the Sylvia Melhado Aged Care Centre • $200K for the Veterinary Clinic

South Caicos – $2.8M

• $1.5M for enhancement and restoration of Conch Grounds airport (XSC)
• $500K for refurbishment of Sports Field
• $500K for redevelopment of Regatta Beach
• $300K for furniture, equipment and wheelchair accessible vans for the Eliza Basden Aged Care and Special Needs Centre

North Caicos – $2.4M

• $1M for the construction of the Bottle Neck Creek Community Centre
• $850K to repair the RGHS High School Block
• $500K for the refurbishment of the Horse Stable Complex
• $117K to purchase DDME equipment

Middle Caicos – $750K

$750 for the renovation of Bambarra Beach

Also listed in the guide were the Government’s priority areas for the financial year which included providing a living wage and privatization of janitorial services.

In the document, residents can see the breakdown of the areas where the most cash will be allocated (economic affairs), as well as the least (culture and religion).

While not as detailed as the budget book, it gives residents the opportunity to have physical copies of the upgrades that Ministers and MPs promised to achieve in 2023/24, and can balance their performance against that at the end of the fiscal year.

Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, June 11st, 2023 – On Monday, May 15th, 2023, Invest Turks and Caicos’ Business Support Unit launched; its pilot, one-year partnership with Udemy Business to provide comprehensive e-learning training to entrepreneurs and business owners across the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Launched in 2009, Udemy is one of the world’s leading e-learning providers. Its course catalogue is vast and varied, and the company boasts that 80% of Fortune 100 companies trust it for employee upskilling, including Apple, Unicef, PayPal, Accenture, Samsung and Unilever. It offers quality, controlled online courses on its platform. It has 57 million registered users, 74 thousand instructors, and offers over 213,000 courses. Udemy is an all-around provider, offering courses in professional and personal development.

The e-learning platform delivers a tailored virtual learning experience, with three hundred courses designed to address the skill gap challenges faced by many entrepreneurs. The platform offers hard skills training on core business courses such as Business Planning, Marketing, Financial Management, Project Management and Entrepreneurship. Additionally, the training includes soft skills training, such as Leadership, Customer Service, Emotional Intelligence, Communication and Negotiation.

MSME Programme recipients will be required to participate in the training as part of the recent amendments made by Cabinet to the programme in January 2023. Businesses that are clients of the newly formed Business Support Unit can also register to participate in the free, comprehensive e-learning platform.

Commenting on the partnership, CEO of Invest Turks and Caicos, Angela Musgrove, stated, “Invest Turks and Caicos is continuously working to expand its support to the small business community, to facilitate capacity building of our entrepreneurs and exploit the growth potential of our small businesses.  Having online access to a training platform, accessible at their convenience, provides another opportunity for small business owners to reach the standard of excellence we know they are capable of.”

Director of the Business Support Unit, Anissa Adderley, highlighted, “We are delighted to partner with Udemy Business to deliver this comprehensive e-learning ecosystem to businesses in the TCI. We have spent considerable time researching to find the best e-learning provider; suitable to address the needs of our entrepreneurs and business owners. We are confident that businesses who actively engage in the training will sharpen their skills and gain the knowledge needed to manage their enterprises better. Our goal is to educate, empower and inspire entrepreneurs and businesses to maximize their potential and create resilient, sustainable enterprises that will accelerate economic growth.”

Businesses are invited to contact the Business Support Unit at (649) 338-4787 or via bsu@investturksandcaicos.tc to register for the virtual training.