April 9, 2026 • 3 min readJamaica Brief
The Yard Report
Kingston, Jamaica | Thursday, April 9, 2026
News from the rock. Unfiltered.
GAS GOING UP. AGAIN.
Effective today, Thursday April 9, gasoline prices at the pump are going up. The latest ex-refinery figures confirm the increase. Nobody is happy about this. The relevant minister will explain it in terms of global market conditions, the Strait of Hormuz, and forces beyond anyone’s control. Motorists on Washington Boulevard will explain it in other terms, none of which are printable. The price of a coaster bus fare will adjust by next week. The price of a beef patty will follow shortly thereafter. This is the cycle.
Read More → March 27, 2026 • 4 min readCaribbean Brief
A weekly sweep of what’s moving across the Caribbean. Five minutes. No fluff.
JAMAICA — BUDGET DEBATE UNDER THE SHADOW OF HURRICANE MELISSA
Jamaica is deep in its 2026–2027 budget debate, and the numbers are sobering. Finance Minister Fayval Williams opened the debate last Tuesday facing a JA$1.4 trillion national budget with a significant gap, after Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025 as a Category 5 storm and wiped out an estimated 40% of GDP — causing roughly US$8.8 billion in physical damage. Williams announced new taxes for the first time in a decade, including a sugar beverage tax projected to raise JA$10.1 billion, noting bluntly that “it took a Category 5 hurricane for that to happen.” Opposition Leader Mark Golding has since taken the floor, and the debate is being closely watched across the region. Meanwhile, Montego Bay’s mayor is pressing the Auditor General for answers on the post-Melissa street light restoration arrangement with Jamaica Public Service. Much of St. James is still dark.
Read More → January 22, 2026 • 5 min readCaribbean Brief
Regional News
Mottley calls Barbados elections for February 11, Trinidad’s new PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar navigates US-Venezuela tensions, Jamaica secures IMF emergency funding for Hurricane Melissa recovery, and Caribbean Airlines restructures its regional operations.
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