Finance Minister Fayval Williams says the government will be working with the private sector to develop a factoring framework that will allow contractors owed by the state to sell their invoice to a third party at a discount in exchange for immediate cash.
The move she says will help contractors avoid having to halt projects or borrow funds to complete work on time.
However, the finance minister did not indicate how contractors would be compensated for the discount they would have to accept in order to access quick cash.
Ms. Williams noted that delays in government payments to contractors often result in long setbacks in project execution, limit contractors' ability to take on new work, slow economic growth and increase the country's infrastructural vulnerability.
Meanwhile, Angus Young, Chief Executive Officer and Vice President in charge of corporate banking at NCB Capital Markets, said the company will assist the government in developing the framework and formalising the rules that will govern the system.
Both Williams and Young were speaking at the 21st Regional Investments and Capital Markets Conference hosted by the Jamaica Stock Exchange at the Pegasus Hotel earlier this week.
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