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"Who am I? Black and beautiful Who am I? Smart and sensitive Who am I? Phenomenal and philosophical Who am I? I am me". The year 2007 was when Claudette Graham penned those words, not knowing that three years later she would have realized her true potential and that unearthing her hidden talents, would have transformed her into who she...

The Government is maintaining its commitment to the island's street children, with $12 million budgeted for that purpose in the 2010-2011 Estimates of Expenditure. The money is to be channeled into the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture's Possibility Programme, which is aimed at providing the necessary resources and support for street children to improve their life chances. Specific targets...

The 2010/11 Budget includes the provision of $166 million for the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Weight Limit Enforcement programme in the Ministry of Transport and Works. The money is to be used to start construction of three weigh stations; complete the Harbour Head Weigh Station; and substantially complete the other two weigh stations, as well as complete all programmed platforms...

The Tax Administration has announced that it will be taking strong action against business persons who had failed to file their income tax returns or pay their taxes to meet the March 15 deadline. This measure is being taken by the tax authority to send a strong message to delinquent taxpayers that they have an obligation to file and pay...

The Government has implemented a pilot Development Assistance Centre (DAC) within the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), to improve the turnaround time for building applications. Minister with responsibility for Information, Telecommunication and Special Projects, Hon. Daryl Vaz, says the current development application approval process has been criticised as being inefficient, in terms of the time taken to process applications....

Efforts by the Government to increase agricultural production and farmers' earnings through improved irrigation management, is being boosted through a $193 million allocation to the National Irrigation Development Project. As stated in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, which is now before the House of Representatives, the money will go towards the installation of pipes, fittings and appurtenances at New Forest/Duff...

The sum of $3.7 billion has been earmarked for the Social Protection Project in the 2010/2011 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives. The project, being implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Government of Jamaica. Its objectives are to further improve the effectiveness...

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) has been allocated some $2.35 billion in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, to facilitate continuation of a number of the Government's social intervention projects and activities. To this end, JSIF, since its implementation in 1996, has targetted responses to the needs of some of the society's most vulnerable...

The engineering consultant hired to inspect the National Stadium has concluded that the facility "is as safe as it was built". The consultant, Hue Lyew Chin Engineering Ltd, was hired in the wake a quote attributed to the Mayor of Kingston in one of the daily newspaper that the National Stadium was "a death trap". Hue Lyew Chin Engineering Ltd,...

The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, the Honourable Olivia Grange, MP has been presented with one of the special bats produced by the West Indies Cricket Board to commemorate the 2010 ICC World Twenty/Twenty series in the Caribbean. Making the presentation to the Minister at her offices today (Friday), the Tournament Director of the World Twenty/Twenty series, Robert Bryan...

The Government has cut planned importation of new buses from Belgium in 2010/11 by 50%, but the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) is expected to fill a large portion of the gap with newly refurbished buses. The 2010/11 Budget which was tabled in Parliament on Thursday (March 25) by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, the Hon Audley Shaw,...

The Poverty Reduction - Capacity Building and Training for Communities programme, which is being executed by the Ministry of National Security, will be spending $62.5 million on phase two works in 2010/11. The funds will be spent on the implementation of capacity building projects, which are geared to youth development, parenting education and community violence prevention. These include vocational skills...