Business Briefs
Published:Wednesday | March 8, 2023 | 12:10 AM
Kingston Wharves signs partnership agreement with Curaçao port
Kingston Wharves Limited, KWL, says it has signed a ‘sister port’ with the Ports Authority of Curaçao regarding a partnership with Port of Willemstad that it expects provide greater reach into the eastern Caribbean and South America for shippers utilising its services.
It also gives the Willemstad greater access to the destinations served by the Jamaican port company, which numbers 45 worldwide.
“We are deeply integrated into the global supply chain that that allows us to facilitate trade with the world including Europe, Australia, North, South and Central America and to the wider Caribbean,” said KWL CEO Mark Thompson in a press release.
The agreement lasting three years will include the sharing of information, exchange of research and technical expertise and exploration of commercial and marketing opportunities between the two entities, Kingston Wharves said.
Over 12,000 elderly registered for social pensions
There are 12,362 seniors registered under the Jamaican Government’s new Social Pension Programme, Minister of Labour and Social Security Karl Samuda reported during the sitting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives.
Between March 2022 and January 2023, the programme disbursed $446 million.
The social pension scheme targets all Jamaican citizens 75 years and older who have no pension or retirement income. It does not include the elderly in the care of the state.
“We are evaluating the manner in which we qualify persons to go on the programme. This is a discussion we will have to have, as some people fall through the cracks simply because they might have a refrigerator or they might be lucky enough to have a television at home,” Samuda said at the March 2 sitting.