Approximately $290.5 million has been earmarked to continue implementation of the Jamaica Foundations for Competitiveness and Growth Project. The sum is programmed in the 2022/23 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project aims to strengthen Jamaica’s business environment for private-sector investment by enhancing competition; facilitating strategic private investments; strengthening the capacities of small and medium-sized enterprises...

The Ministry of Education and Youth (MoEY) is reporting that a decision has been taken to postpone the Grade Six Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Ability Test from its originally scheduled date of February 22, 2022, to March 24, 2022. However, the Grade Six Performance-Based Test scheduled for March 22 and 24, 2022, have been cancelled. Meanwhile, the Grade Six Curriculum-Based...

Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen has sent a congratulatory message to Her Majesty The Queen on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of her ascension to the Throne on 6th February 1952. She is the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. The Message reads: “I have the honour to convey to Your Majesty the felicitations of the Government and...

Washington, DC, 15 February, 2021 (PAHO) – The number of doses of COVID-19 vaccine delivered by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to Latin America and the Caribbean reached 100 million today, thanks to the efforts of the organization’s Revolving Fund, the procurement and delivery partner of COVAX in the region. The latest batch of vaccines includes 151,200 doses of...

More than 200 residents from several communities in St. Catherine, primarily schoolchildren, benefited from free eye screenings to check for vision problems, at a clinic staged by the Kiwanis Club of North Spanish Town on Saturday (February 12). The eye checks were carried out at the Angel’s Grove Community Centre by trained personnel from Comprehensive Eyewear and the Lion’s Club...

The Government has budgeted approximately $1.16 billion for the Energy Management and Efficiency Programme in the 2022/23 fiscal year. The programme seeks to promote energy efficiency in government facilities and fuel conservation in road transportation by reducing fuel imports. Details are outlined in the 2022/2023 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the...

Construction activities on the country’s forensic pathology autopsy suite are set to continue in the new fiscal year. The project, which commenced in April 2021, is slated to end in March 2023. The Government has budgeted approximately $319 million to carry out works on the state-of-the-art facility that will be located at 149 Orange Street, downtown Kingston. It is expected...

Jamaica earned US$1.24 billion from exports between January and September 2021. This was 22.9 per cent higher than the US$1.01 billion for the corresponding period in 2020, reported the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). In a statement on Monday (February 14), the agency said that the out-turn was largely due to a 96.8 per cent increase in the value of...

The Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) is undertaking a series of activities for the month of February, which is being observed as Heart Month under the theme ‘The Weigh to a Healthy Heart’. The month was officially launched on February 1 at The Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel, with the keynote speech delivered by Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the...