Senate Passes Bill for General Meetings

On Friday, October 22, the Senate approved the Companies Act 2021, allowing companies in Jamaica the ability to hold a general meeting in a hybrid format – an in-person and virtually in the scheme to prolong business continuity with the leverage of technology.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, who orchestrated the bill says due to COVID-19. The government had to set restrictions for health and safety under the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA). The Act enforcement measures order includes a restriction on public gatherings and requires persons to maintain various distances apart from each other.

Johnson-Smith says without permission from the Supreme Court to hold a meeting with a mixed modality, companies have been left open to the possibility of being held in breach of the requirement for holding their annual meetings.

Reporter: Jhanielle  Powell