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At the invitation of the Colombian Foreign Minister, HE Angella Maria Holguin Cuellar, Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, the Hon. Dr. Kenneth Baugh will pay an Official visit to Bogota, Colombia from Wednesday, August 31, to Thursday, September 1. Dr. Baugh will head the Jamaican delegation to Colombia as they engage in the 7th Meeting of the Jamaica/Colombia...

KINGSTON — Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, says that the Government has approved the acquisition of Claro by fellow telecommunication company, Digicel. The Prime Minister made the disclosure in a statement to the House of Representatives on Tuesday August 30, which has been temporarily located at the Jamaica Conference Centre, Downtown Kingston, while improvement to the roof of Gordon...

KINGSTON — Supplementary Estimates tabled by Minister of Finance, Hon Audley Shaw, in the House of Representatives today, showed a $2 billion increase in the 2011/12 budget he presented in April. The Estimates revealed a $4.4 billion increase in recurrent (housekeeping) spending, mainly due to the agreement on the payment of the seven percent wage increase to public sector workers,...

The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange, has been discussing possible areas of co-operation between the Governments of Jamaica and South Korea. Minister Grange met with her South Korean counterpart, the Hon. Chung Byungkuk, to discuss the deepening of the friendship between Jamaica and Korea while providing opportunities for their citizens. Minister Grange said she believed both...

KINGSTON — Inflation targeting, one of the critical strategies designed to enhance the Bank of Jamaica's (BOJ) primary objective of achieving price stability, is gathering momentum. When fully implemented, this will serve to increase the accountability of the Central Bank, anchor inflation expectations and improve transparency in the bank’s conduct of monetary policy. During a recent seminar targeting senior journalists,...

KINGSTON — The National Works Agency (NWA) is conducting work to repair breakaways along roadways across the country. Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Transport and Work's Maxfield Avenue offices yesterday, the agency's Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Wong, informed that there are some 650 breakaways along the island-wide road network with some in need of major retaining...

The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange has congratulated Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown on winning the silver medal in the women's 100 metres at the IAAF World Championships in South Korea. Minister Grange said Campbell-Brown (10.97) made a "courageous run" to finish second in the race won by the American Carmelita Jeter (10.90). "Veronica is a true fighter,...

KINGSTON — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Robert Montague, has reaffirmed Government's push to ensure the survival of the aquaculture sub-sector through the introduction of new policies. Among them are the development of a national fisheries policy, which embraces the principles and tenets of the Common Fisheries Policy, including the ecosystems approach to fisheries and aquaculture development management; and...

KINGSTON — Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett, has announced that five Artisan Villages will be constructed over the next five years in resort townships, at a cost of $5 billion. Mr. Bartlett said that the villages will be built in Montego Bay, Falmouth, Port Antonio, Negril and Ocho Rios. Construction of the Artisan Village in Ocho Rios moved one step...

KINGSTON — The Prime Minister, the Hon Bruce Golding, has expressed his condolences to the Government and people of The Bahamas, where Hurricane Irene destroyed over 100 homes and brought flooding and power cuts to several areas on Wednesday August 24. “The Government and people of Jamaica, express condolences to the people of the Bahamas, who have lost homes as a...

The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange, has congratulated Jamaica's Yohan Blake on winning the men's 100 metres at the IAAF World Championships in South Korea. The Minister also expressed sympathy with Usain Bolt who was disqualified from the final for a false-start. Minister Grange said: "On behalf of the Government and people of Jamaica, I congratulate...

KINGSTON — The town of Ocho Rios in St. Ann is to benefit from major infrastructural development, costing some $1.8 billion, which is expected to see the establishment of new and exciting tourism products, over a five year period. According to Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, this development is part of plans by the Ministry to ensure that the...