The Ministry of Local Government and Community Development is in the final stages of collaborating with the Management Institute for National Development (MIND) for the training of local government officials. This was noted by Portfolio Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, in his address to mayors and councillors from Manchester, St Elizabeth, and Clarendon at the second in a series of sensitisation...

Jamaica is among 18 countries in the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean that will benefit from the United Nations Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework for the Caribbean (UNMSDF). The five-year initiative, which has a regional budget of US$197.9 million, will focus on four areas of priority – an inclusive, equitable and prosperous Caribbean; a healthy Caribbean; a safe, cohesive and just Caribbean;...

The Government is to acquire a surveillance aircraft as part of a raft of new measures to strengthen the country’s border-protection system. This was disclosed by Minister of National Security, Hon. Robert Montague, during a press briefing at his Oxford Road offices in St. Andrew on Wednesday (January 18). He said the Government “has taken a very conscious decision that...

The Scientific Research Council (SRC) is inviting schools to send representatives to workshops where the Council will seek to provide guidance to schools and teachers participating in their upcoming Science and Technology Fair later this year. These workshops, which will be held in January and February, will guide teachers through the scientific method, science fair-project process as well as provide...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, is urging the island’s mayors and councillors to pay their property tax. “I have a list of 229 councillors, some of whom have never paid any property tax for more than 20 years, and some of whom also own one or more properties, but have not been paying taxes,” the...

The Government has hired a new forensic pathologist to assist in reducing the backlog of autopsies. This was disclosed by National Security Minister, Robert Montague, during an interactive session with heads of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on January 17. In the meantime, Minister Montague said the Government continues to provide the...

The Regional Drug Law Enforcement Training Centre (REDTRAC), based at the National Police College in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine, is to be expanded to meet the demand for additional space for training. Director/Principal, Major George Benson, said the project involves the addition of another floor in order to have more rooms. “When this is done, we will be able to...