Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Jacquiline A. Bisasor-McKenzie says the Ministry is investigating reports of a shortage of drugs affecting private pharmacies. “Based on the media reports, we are investigating, and have contacted some of the distributors and are awaiting the reports to see if there are drug shortages and exactly what those shortages are,” Dr....

The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport announced today prize money for the first time in the 18 year history of the INSPORTS Basic Schools Athletics Championships. Speaking at the Media Launch of the 2018 edition of the Basic Schools Champs, held at the National Arena, Minister Grange said, “The winning school will receive $50,000; second place, $30,000...

The Senate on Friday (June 8) approved the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) Bill, with 77 amendments. Piloting the Bill, State Minister in the Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Ministry, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., said “passing the legislation is critical to the national security framework of our country”. Among the amendments is the appointment of the...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, has announced that a Procurement Commission is to be established by year end. Speaking at Sterling Asset Management Limited’s annual investor forum briefing, at the Spanish Court Hotel, New Kingston, on June 7, the Minister said the Commission will oversee the government procurement process, for which the existing regime...

Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, says the Morant Bay Courthouse in St. Thomas will be restored shortly. Speaking at a seminar for justices of the peace (JPs) on June 7 at the Morant Villas in Morant Bay, the Minister said the building, which was destroyed by fire more than a decade ago, will be a showpiece to lift the...

More than 100 project managers across various government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have, so far, been trained in the use of the Public Sector Investment Management System (PIMS). Speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank at the Agency’s head office in Kingston, Executive Director for the Public Investment Management Secretariat (PIMSEC), Douglas Levermore, said training is...

Jamaican tertiary students are being encouraged to apply for European-funded scholarships under the Erasmus Mundus programme. Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation, Jamaica, Ambassador Malgorzata Wasilewska, said it is an opportunity for students to get a better understanding of the diversity and richness of Europe. She was speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’, at the...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says the Government will be taking “tangible and consequential” steps to improve public-sector governance in the interest of all Jamaicans.  “In order to preserve the health and legitimacy of the Government in the 21stcentury, we have to ensure that the standards of governance in the public sector are transparent,...

Senate President, Hon. Tom Tavares-Finson, is calling for greater involvement from the private sector in the banning of single-use plastic bags, commonly referred to as scandal bags. Issuing the call in the Senate on June 8, in observance of World Oceans Day, Mr. Tavares-Finson said the matter is “in (the) the national interest of the country “ and challenged the...