Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton confirmed yesterday that his ministry had received a one-year moratorium on the Fiat Ducato Ambulance donated to the health sector by Jamaicans in the United Kingdom (UK) on July 20.

“In fact, we received moratoriums on two vehicles, but the problem is that we still have to find the funds to pay for them by next year,” Tufton told the Jamaica Observer .

A copy of the moratorium granted to Commissioner of Customs Velma Ricketts Walker by Financial Secretary Everton McFarlane on July 20 showed that the 2013 Ducato ambulance, said to be the one which arouse interest at the Jamaica 55 Diaspora conference on Monday, was one of the two vehicles for which the Ministry of Health had sought a moratorium.

The other was a 1998 Bluebird LTC40 Detroit, which has not yet arrived in Jamaica, as the Ministry of Health had asked the donors to await a response to Dr Tufton’s request to Finance Minister Audley Shaw, for a second moratorium before shipping the vehicle to Jamaica.

Tufton said he accepted that the moratorium on both vehicles was the best that the finance ministry could have done at this time, as there is a $10-million monthly limit on waivers for such imports under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Stand-By Arrangement with Jamaica, which came into effect last October.

“I had to ask for a moratorium in light of the cap. I would have preferred a waiver, but the waiver is limited to $10 million per month under the IMF agreement,” Tufton stated.

The letter from the Ministry of Finance advised the Customs commissioner that both moratoriums had been granted for one year, which means that the ministry will have to pay the duties and taxes for both vehicles next year. However, the ministry did receive a waiver on the bond requirement.

The Ministry of Finance said that “all other conditions are to be predetermined by the Jamaica Customs Agency”.

The issue of an ambulance detained by Customs was raised at the Diaspora Conference on Monday during a presentation from Dr Tufton on the state of Jamaica’s health sector.

Linda Hudson, a barrister now residing in the UK but who is originally from Hanover, explained that members of the UK Diaspora raised £40,000 to buy an ambulance for the Noel Holmes Hospital in Lucea but the vehicle has been detained by Customs for the past 11 months.

However, Tufton had explained at the conference that he already had discussions with Shaw on the issue, and that the finance minister had indicated that he would grant a moratorium on the US$39,000 required to clear the ambulance. However, the outstanding amount would have to be paid within a year to Customs.

Yesterday, Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips raised the issue in the House of Representatives while responding to state minister for finance Fayval Williams’s opening contribution on three bills on the issue of share buybacks on the local stock exchange which were eventually passed by the House.

Dr Phillips insisted that, although he was not sure about the circumstances, he was aware that there was room for discretion by the minister, if the issue was regarded as a priority under the IMF agreement.

“The minister can apply discretion, but it is not unlimited discretion. I think we need to make that very clear,” Dr Phillips said.

Williams assured the House that the issue had been dealt with, and the ambulance was in the process of being cleared.