Finance Minister, Audley Shaw, has indicated that 84 public entities are to be merged, closed or divested as part of the Government’s ongoing rationalisation of the public service.

Shaw made the disclosure at the signing of the divestment of operations of Caymanas Track Limited to Supreme Ventures Limited at the finance ministry on Friday.

He informed that there are plans for mergers in the betting and gaming industry with the Jamaica Racing Commission, the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission and the Casino Gaming Commission to be subsumed into a Jamaica Gaming Commission.

Shaw said the privatisation of Caymanas Track will likely create more jobs, enable the use of appropriate technologies and ensure greater levels of investment.

He noted that Supreme Ventures will provide cash flow of more than 42 million dollars to the operations of the racing commission, not only for regulatory purposes but for development projects.

These projects include the state-of-the-art improvement of the University of West Indies/Jamaica Racing Commission lab, which conducts drug testing for the horse racing industry and upgrading of surveillance cameras in the testing barn at Caymanas Track.

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