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The Government continues to pursue strategies to attract and retain the nation's health workers, Health Minister, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has said. He was delivering the opening presentation of the second segment of the 2010/11 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (September 21). Mr. Spencer pointed out that, over the years, successive governments have relied on a mix...

The House of Representatives has adopted a report from the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) seeking an amendment to the Electoral Commission (Interim) Act, to make provision for the ECJ's entrenchment in the Constitution. Moving the resolution, Minister of Education and Leader of Government Business, Hon. Andrew Holness, pointed out that the recommendation for the entrenchment was an important change...

Minister with responsibility for Information, Telecommunication and Special Projects, Daryl Vaz said that contributions by engineers will be increased and sustained in the near future. He was speaking on September 23 in Kingston at the opening ceremony of the 2010 China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) Conference. The conference falls within the Jamaica Institution of Engineers, 'Engineers Week'. Minister Vaz said,...

The youth outreach arm of the National Transformation Programme (NTP) is now operating in some 15 schools across the island. This was disclosed by Director of Development, Planning and Monitoring with the NTP, Fabian Brown, at a recent JIS 'Think Tank'. "The Students for Transformation (SFT) are in Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine and St. Ann. The idea is to...

World Bank representatives have expressed confidence that Jamaica will be able to fix many of its macroeconomic problems, after the Fiscal Responsibility Framework (FRF) is fully implemented. "If this Fiscal Responsibility Framework is implemented, it will transform the way public resources are spent and perhaps the large budget deficits will be behind us in Jamaica," says World Bank Lead Economist...

State Minister for Labour and Social Security, Hon. Andrew Gallimore, has praised the efforts of the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC) in helping the nation's seniors remain active participants in society. "The (NCSC) has been doing hard work...to continuously find ways to engage our seniors, to keep (them) fresh and interactive," he said, during the opening ceremony for the...

Persons submitting applications for the Prime Minister's Youth Awards 2010 must do so by October 1. The gala event, being organised by the National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD), youth arm of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, will be held on Sunday, November 28. Youth Information Specialist at the NCYD, Rochelle Brooks, told JIS News that nomination forms...

In its annual report for 2007/08, which was tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (September 21), the Ministry of Transport and Works pointed out that the review period was a challenging but productive one for the country's transportation system and the physical infrastructure. "Jamaica's air, land and maritime transportation experienced extensive developments in 2007," the report notes. "Road...

The World Bank has commended the Government's efforts to overcome the global recession and stabilise the economy, noting that the country must now look towards growth and development. "Now that the Government has established a more stable macro framework, the private sector and the people will see the difference in the country," said World Bank Lead Economist and Sector Leader...

The Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) has awarded scholarships to 1,861 high school and tertiary students from volatile communities, as the Ministry of National Security intensifies its crime prevention efforts by pushing education. The beneficiaries are from 27 areas, including 1,400 from the Kingston Metropolitan Area, and 461 from St. James and Westmoreland. Presentations were made to the over...

Hundreds of exercise books highlighting ways children can support mothers while they breastfeed, were distributed to students of the St. Peter Claver Primary School in Kingston on (Sept. 23). The exercise books, with front-cover illustrations showing children and other family members completing chores while mother breastfeeds, are the collaborative effort of the Ministry of Health and the United Nations Children's...

The Pesticides Control Authority (PCA) is participating in a major initiative to eliminate obsolete pesticides from Jamaica and promote safety islandwide. Speaking with JIS News, Registrar at the PCA, Michael Ramsay said that the initiative is funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, and is aimed at getting rid of unwanted pesticides from Jamaica and...