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The Government has allocated $235 million in 2019/2020 to complete design work on the Western Children Adolescent Hospital in Montego Bay, St. James. The details are contained in the 2019/2020 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The figure will also fund a number of essentials for the 220-bed facility. Other works will include site preparation, setting up...

Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, is calling for the redoubling of efforts to end discrimination against persons living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Delivering the keynote address at the official opening of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Medical Centre on Hagley Park Road in St. Andrew on February 18, Dr. Tufton said while some groups are...

Construction of the Montego Bay, Yallahs and Port Maria fire stations are to commence in the 2019/2020 fiscal year. This will be facilitated under the Jamaica Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project, for which $1.13 billion has been allocated in the 2019/2020 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House. The money will also be used to commence coastal revetment works at Port...

The Government will be spending $1.2 billion to construct and renovate police stations and other buildings. The project, entitled ‘Construction and Improvement of Police Buildings’, is being implemented by the Ministry of National Security. As outlined in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, the money will go towards the construction and expansion of the Caribbean...

The Education Transformation Programme has received funding of $371.5 million from the Government for the fiscal year 2019/20. Details about the project are provided in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The targets for the 2019/20 fiscal year include the construction of additional classrooms at Papine High, Norman Manley High and Mount St. Joseph High...

The Government will be spending $7.3 billion in the new fiscal year to facilitate the acquisition of aircraft and equipment for the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF). This is outlined in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The Estimates were tabled in the House of Representatives on February 14 by Minister of Finance and the Public...

The Government has set aside $2.12 billion to continue carrying out key activities under the Jamaica Integrated Community Development Project in the 2019/2020 fiscal year. The project, which is being implemented by Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), aims to enhance access to basic urban infrastructure and services, and support increased community safety in selected economically vulnerable and socially volatile inner-city...

A sum of $68 million has been allocated to the Japanese Grassroots Project for the 2019/20 fiscal year. The objectives of the project include the provision of additional classroom spaces and canteen facilities; upgrading of school infrastructure, including water harvesting and sanitation; and the purchase of two school buses. Details have been outlined in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now...

With the maintenance of law and order high on the agenda of the Government, a sum of $2.68 billion has been budgeted to bolster the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) military services. This includes $923 million to facilitate the acquisition of assorted vehicles for the Jamaica Defence Force; a further $930 million to procure hardware and software for cybersecurity initiatives; and...

Approximately $134 million has been allocated by the Government for the ‘Partnership for Improved Safety and Security in Schools’ project for the 2019/20 fiscal year. Details are provided in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the House of Representatives. Launched in 2017, the project, which involves collaboration between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, United States...

The Government has earmarked approximately $1.75 billion to continue work under the Jamaica Foundations for Competitiveness and Growth Project. The objective of the undertaking is to strengthen Jamaica’s business environment to facilitate private-sector investment by enhancing competition; facilitating strategic private investments; strengthening the capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises; and financing policy and societal sensitisation through project implementation, monitoring and...

The Government will be intensifying measures to address challenges in the agriculture sector and improve the market potential of Jamaica’s fresh produce locally and internationally. This will be facilitated under the Agriculture Competitiveness Programme Bridging Project, which has been allocated some $326 million in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure now before the House of Representatives. Several key strategies will be...