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Local Government officials are being urged to assert themselves more in disaster mitigation and management. At a workshop hosted by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and the Department of Local Government, at the Hilton Kingston Hotel, Friday (October 9), Mayors, Secretary Managers and Parish Disaster Co-ordinators were engaged in discussion on their roles and responsibilities in...

Grace Kennedy Foundation Director, Caroline Mahfood, has said that providing scholarships for inner city residents is one of the best ways of improving their communities. "A nation's development and success is directly related to the capabilities of its human resources, consequently, scholarships benefit not only the individuals who receive them, but their families, their communities and the nation," Mrs. Mahfood...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Jean Dixon, has appealed for support from stakeholders for the Government's efforts to improve the status of mentally ill Jamaicans. "We need the assistance from stakeholders in two areas: fostering awareness of the mental well being and tackling stigma, discrimination and inequality; and in empowering and supporting people with mental health problems...

Four-year-old Tennyson Cole will benefit from the first Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy Surgery for spasticity in cerebral palsy, to be performed in Jamaica on Monday (October 12). The surgery will be conducted by noted Paediatric Neurosurgeon from Gillette Children's Hospital, St. Paul, Minnesota USA, Dr. Joseph Petronio. He will be collaborating with Professor Ivor Crandon, Head of the Surgery Department and...

The Food Storage and Prevention of Infestation Division (FSPID) of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce destroyed some 118 bags of bakery flour, weighing just over 3.5 metric tonnes, which were infested with the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum), this week. The red flour beetle, which is common in Jamaica, primarily infests processed food items such as rice, flour,...

The Manchester Chamber of Commerce is calling on residents to work within the law, in confronting criminal elements in their communities. The Chamber made the call after media reports surfaced Friday alleging that a number of licensed firearm holders and business operators, in the parish, had formed themselves into a group to go after a criminal ring targeting children and...

Vice Chairman of the North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA), Dave Morrison, has commended registered nurses for their role in the health sector. "Nurses have always been at the forefront of health care in this country, and we will utilise any opportunity we get to show them how much we appreciate them. Your unwavering dedication is something to be proud...

Government Senator, Hyacinth Bennett, has called for national consensus to steer Jamaica through the challenges posed by the onset of the global economic crisis. Central to this must be plans to boost the country's productive capacity, to enable the nation to increase its ability to earn its way out of debt and reduce dependency on borrowing, she suggested. Senator Bennett,...

The Ministry of Health's Public Health Inspectors will begin inspecting schools on Monday (October 12), to ensure that proper hygiene and sanitation practices are being observed and appropriate facilities exist. Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, in a meeting on Friday (October 2009), involving officials from the Health Ministry, the Health Department and the Education Ministry, said the Government has...

A glitch in the supply of tyres for the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses, which resulted in some units being kept out of service for a short period recently, has been resolved. In a release Friday (October 9), the JUTC said that the problem stemmed from a combination of cash flow challenges at the company, and a logistical setback...

Presentation by the Hon. Bruce Golding Parliamentary DebateSupplementary Budget

Programme Director of the Planned Development Unit at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Mrs. Leila Palmer, has cited the need for structural and cultural changes within the public sector if that body is to play a relevant and meaningful role in positioning Jamaica as the place of choice to live and do business. Speaking at the Jamaica Customer Service...