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Minister of Energy, Clive Mullings, yesterday (Sept.16) disclosed to the House of Representatives that the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Company owes the state oil refinery, Petrojam, $5.7 billion for fuel, of which $2.9 billion is now due and payable. "This raises a very serious question and I indicated to the Chairman of Marubeni, to convey to Tokyo, the Government's concern...

Minister of Energy, Clive Mullings, yesterday (Sept. 16), informed the House of Representatives, that the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Company, has been directed to discontinue the extension of any billing period for customers beyond the 30 or 31 days, authorised by its licence. "Customers who were wrongfully billed (some 9,000 customers) in this manner, are to have their next bills...

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has emphasised that a concerted effort must be made to ensure that agricultural produce that are entering the island are of the highest standards and quality. Speaking with JIS News, during a tour of the Customs facilities at Newport West yesterday (Sept. 16), Dr. Tufton said that his main priorities were to ensure that...

Former Olympian, Byron LaBeach, an alternate member of Jamaica's 4x400m relay team that won gold at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games, is encouraging Jamaicans to remember, appreciate, and pay tribute to the trailblazers, who paved the way for the successes attained at the Beijing Olympics. Mr. LaBeach was speaking at a handing over ceremony on September 15, at the National...

Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, has informed that the agreement entered into with American Airlines, is of tremendous benefit to Jamaica, as with nearly 3,000 new hotel rooms to fill this year, additional airlift is critical. "The arrangements secured the Dallas/Fort Worth/Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ) flights, critical to our behind the gateway markets of the west, south, and northwest United...

One month after the launch of the toll free line for persons with disabilities, the Executive Director for the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), Ransford Wright, has reported minimal usage of the telephone line. "Since the inception of the 1-888-ENABLED toll free line, we here, at the Council, have not seen any marked improvement in the delivery of...

The Government remained committed during the past year, to improving the physical conditions under which police officers carry out their duties. Since the Bruce Golding administration took office in September of last year, a number of police stations have undergone major infrastructural improvements, while new ones have also been built. In November, a new police station was opened in Sligoville,...

Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, has informed that there are several project proposals that will directly impact the Central Kingston Constituency, under the Kingston Development Project, that is to be undertaken by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC). He said it is proposed to establish, in the Parade Gardens area, a cultural village under the theme 'Out of Many, One People', to...

Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, informed the House of Representatives yesterday (Sep.16), that the first tranche, ($480 million) of the funding from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), was paid on July 26. "All Members of Parliament had an allocation of $8 million in the first tranche and all constituencies had projects approved," he said. Mr. Golding, who was speaking in the...

Government this morning received a total of J$21 million towards its Gustav relief Fund. The presentations were made at Jamaica House by Digicel and RBTT Bank, to Prime Minister, Bruce Golding. Digicel presented some $16 million to the Gustav Fund, an additional $2 million to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management-ODPEM and $2-million to Mustard Seed Communities, which...

During the past year, efforts have been ramped up to advance the Local Government Reform process, with the charge being led by Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), with responsibility for this portfolio, Robert Montague. One of his first duties was a meeting on September 18, 2007, with the staff of the former Ministry, to...

Efforts by the Government, aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity and output by the nation's farmers, met upon challenges resulting from spiralling hikes in the cost of fertiliser on the global market, which influenced movement in local prices. In January, the administration, only four months into its first term in office, was forced to implement measures to cushion the impact of...