October 11, 2021

Nigeria is exploring opportunities for greater trade and business linkages with Jamaica, says Nigerian High Commissioner, Dr. Maureen Tamuno. She was speaking at a virtual Service Excellence Conference held on Tuesday (October 5). High Commissioner Tamuno said that since assuming duties in June, she has had several meetings with government ministers and businesspeople to explore opportunities for increased business between the two countries. She noted that Jamaica and Nigeria have been working to strengthen relations in trade, air services and culture since establishing diplomatic ties on April 29, 1970. She said that the Fourth Session of the Nigeria-Jamaica Joint Commission will provide a “formidable platform for rejuvenating existing bilateral agreements and scaling up relations in critical areas of mutual interest”. The event is scheduled to take place in Abuja, Nigeria, during the first quarter of 2022. Among the areas of mutual interest between the countries are petroleum and energy, agriculture, trade, tourism and culture, double taxation, consular and immigration matters; establishing a Technical Aid Corps (TAC); and a new Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA). High Commissioner Tamuno said that formalising a new air-service agreement would be a “win-win endeavour for both countries”. “While Jamaica would serve as a gateway for exploring opportunities in the wider Caribbean region by Nigeria, our country would serve the same purpose for Jamaica in Africa,” she pointed out. Further, she said that given Nigeria’s population of about 250 million people, 285 tribes and with more than 500 languages, the two countries would “work collaboratively with relevant stakeholders to strengthen ancestral and cultural affinities”. She informed that Nigeria, in collaboration with the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), recently organised a free skills training event in head wrapping, beadmaking and batik tie and dye, for young Jamaicans and Nigerians. The two-day Service Excellence Conference, which concludes Wednesday, is part of activities to mark National Customer Service Week from October 3 to 8, under the theme, ‘You…Me…We Got the Power of Service Excellence’. Source: https://jis.gov.jm/nigeria-exploring-business-opportunities-with-jamaica/

The House of Representatives, on Wednesday (October 6), approved the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2021 to allow shareholder meetings to be held virtually or in a hybrid format. Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Audley Shaw, who piloted the legislative measure in the House of Representatives, noted that the restrictions under the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) prevented many companies from holding annual general meetings within 15 months of their last meeting, as mandated by Section 126 Subsection 1 of the Companies Act. The DRMA Enforcement Measures Order 2021 includes a restriction on public gatherings and requires persons to maintain various distances apart from each other as part of COVID-19-prevention measures. Minister Shaw said that since many companies had more shareholders than the number of persons permitted by the DRMA to gather, those companies were unable to hold in-person general meetings in compliance with the Act, noting that this poses the possibility of sanctions being imposed. “Considering the above, a decision was taken to amend the Companies Act, so as to strengthen the existing legislation in order to provide for the holding of any general meeting, such as an annual general meeting or an extraordinary general meeting, as a virtual-only meeting completely electronic or a hybrid meeting – a combination of in-person and virtual, where this is not expressly prohibited by the articles of a company,” he said. Mr. Shaw said it also seeks to empower the Registrar of Companies to grant an extension of time for the holding of an annual general meeting on the application of a director of a company or any member who is entitled to vote at the meeting, where an order has been made under the DRMA or a proclamation has been made by the Governor-General declaring a period of public disaster or a period of public emergency under Section 20 of the Constitution of Jamaica. He added, too, that it will provide for conditions necessary for the holding of hybrid meetings or completely electronic meetings, which ensures participation of all members in attendance. “The primary and overarching purpose of these amendments is to be able to accommodate the difficulties and unprecedented nature of the time that we are operating in and to allow companies to continue to be able to abide by the rules and this allows them to have completely virtual meetings or hybrid meetings,” Minister Shaw said. In supporting the amendments, Leader of Opposition, Mark Golding, said they are necessary and urgent. “In the interim, individual companies whose annual general meetings are due would have had to go case by case to the Registrar to ask for exemptions. In a situation where you have had such widescale disaster as we have experienced during this pandemic, it really calls for a mechanism to allow for a general management of the situation, and the amendment allows for that to happen,” he said. Source: https://jis.gov.jm/house-approves-amendments-to-companies-act/

Minister of Transport and Mining Hon. Robert Montague has welcomed the newest player in the field of general aviation in Jamaica, Amber Aviation. The entity will provide a mix of offerings to clients to include ultralight flying experiences, a jet share programme, and domestic flights. Ultralight aviation, also called microlight aviation, is the flying of lightweight, one or two-seat fixed-wing aircraft which is used largely in sightseeing and recreation. The Minister was speaking at a soft launch of Amber Aviation at the Ian Fleming International Airport (IFIA) in Boscobel, St. Mary on Friday (October 8). “I want to on behalf of the Government and people of Jamaica congratulate [Amber Aviation Chief Executive Officer] Dushyant [Savadia] for this venture that he is doing and to introduce this kind of attraction in our tourism product,” Minister Montague said. The Minister who was taken on what Amber Aviation described as the first ultralight flight in Jamaica following the launch, explained that it was an opportunity to leverage domestic tourism in Jamaica. “It is not only for the overseas tourist but there has been, since the pandemic, a very healthy and strong infusion of Jamaicans taking their vacations right here in Jamaica and discovering some things that only our overseas visitors have discovered,” Minister Montague said, adding that the Ministry of Transport and Mining is very happy to support the venture. He thanked the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) Director-General Mr. Nari Williams-Singh and his team for working through the challenges to ensure that Amber Aviation satisfied the safety aspect and the other requirements of the legislation. He also congratulated the Airports Authority of Jamaica for being very creative in dealing with the safety and security aspects of the certification process. The Minister pointed out that IFIA, which is an international airport, observes security regulations that are mandatory. “The AAJ stepped up to the plate and did what had to be done to ensure that we satisfy the needs of our client, Amber Aviation, and to satisfy the international security requirements of an international airport,” Minister Montague declared. The Minister also expressed that MTM is overjoyed that Amber Aviation will domicile its operations at IFIA, “therefore adding to the offerings of Ian Fleming, to make this facility more economical”. Amber Aviation will also be providing a jet share programme that is aimed at satisfying the need for the service which has seen a large uptick since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In responding to the massive jump in private jet share aviation services which makes private jet flying economic and affordable, Amber Aviation will launch Jamaica’s first fractional jet share programme which will be open to businesses and individuals. Mr. Savadia said that it is his ambition for Jamaica “to create low-cost economic travel within the country without breaking the bank. The more people move, the more the economy flows because then more food is sold, more drinks are sold, the more transportation is used”. The venture is expected to provide employment, enhance the tourism product, and have a positive impact on the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Source: https://jis.gov.jm/transport-minister-welcomes-amber-aviation/