Job creation and inclusive growth are high on the agenda of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) global conference, being held from November 27 to 29 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James. Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, told JIS News that this focus is of particular importance to countries like Jamaica, which depend highly on the...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further improve the quality of services offered to vulnerable children and families. The two-year MoU entails the establishment of a referral system that facilitates social interventions for persons who are assessed and determined to be vulnerable....

Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, has called on the Jamaican Diaspora in the United States to partner with Government in establishing a national school bus service. He said the Ministry is looking to acquire 100 school buses over the next five years, and encouraged the Diaspora to match this target. The Minister was addressing members...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government is working to quickly resolve issues relating to the 2017/19 public sector wage negotiations. He noted that while it was not expected that unions and other stakeholders would immediately accept the offer put forward by the Government, the negotiations have not been progressing at a reasonable pace. “There will always...

Health Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, is calling for Jamaicans to practise responsible sexual behaviour in order to prevent new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. He said results from an HIV/AIDS Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviour Survey conducted for 2004, 2008 and 2012 indicate that the factors driving the epidemic have not changed over time, with continuing insufficient condom use...

A series of interventions focusing on men as parents, particularly their relationship with their sons, will be held in the Majesty Gardens community in St. Andrew on the weekend. The activities are in observance of International Men’s Day on Sunday (November 19) under the theme ‘Celebrating Men and Boys”. They are being organised by the Bureau of Gender Affairs (BGA)...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, has reiterated his appeal for financial institutions to provide low-interest funds to the productive sector. He said that for business innovation to strive, money loaned to the sector should not be at more than seven and eight per cent. Mr. Shaw, who was delivering the keynote address at the launch...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, says the increase in the number of Around the Table activities during Youth Month this year is geared at ensuring that more rural youth are reached. Speaking at an Around the Table dinner at the Guango Jerk Centre in Dunbar’s River, Westmoreland, on November 14, Mr....

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry, says the economic signs remain positive, with the general buoyancy reflected through increased industrial activities and employment, among things. He was speaking at the quarterly media briefing at the agency’s New Kingston head office on Wednesday, November 15, where he announced gross domestic product (GDP) growth of by...