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Chairman of the St. Catherine Parish Council, Dr. Andrew Wheatley, has said that all the drains in the parish could not accommodate the volume of water brought by Tropical Storm Gustav. Several communities in St. Catherine suffered from flooding, with the passage of the tropical storm. "If all the drains were well kept, they still could not have accommodated the...

Approximately 6,000 farmers in St. Mary have been registered so far, under the Farmers Registration Programme. Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Parish Manager for St. Mary, Victor Edwards, said that the number represented the vast majority of farmers in the parish. He pointed out that the farmers have overcome the initial apprehension they had about the registration programme, and are...

The Jamaican High Commission in London has launched a special Relief Fund, in response to the damage caused to the island by Tropical Storm Gustav last week. The High Commission's Fund will go to the national Disaster Recovery Fund, which has been launched by Prime Minister Bruce Golding. In a statement to Parliament, the Prime Minister said while Gustav was...

Farmers and fisher folks are being urged by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), to carry out the necessary post-storm recovery activities, to restore their operations in the shortest possible time. Giving reminders, Director, Division of Technology, Training and Technical Information at RADA, Phillip Chung, told JIS News that fish farmers should examine fish ponds for dead fish or contamination,...

At least three criminal courts will be outfitted with advanced technology by the beginning of the new legal year, commencing in late September. The purpose of the new technology is to produce transcripts of evidence, as part of the Government's 10-year Justice Reform Programme. Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dorothy Lightbourne, made this disclosure at the official launch of...

The Government is making $140 million in loans and technical support available to resuscitate the dairy sector, and to increase milk production to 55 million litres by the year 2018. "Re-vitalization of the dairy sub-sector is a critical element of Government's policy of enhancing food security, livelihood protection and rural development for Jamaica," said Production Specialist at the Jamaica Dairy...

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), today (September 4), received US$300,000 in relief commodities and transportation from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (ODFA). This assistance has come in the wake of the damage sustained across sections of the island, by the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav last...

Prime Minister, Bruce Golding has instructed that each Member of Parliament should be permitted to utilise $2 million of their Constituency Development Fund (CDF) balances for relief/repair related expenditure. "It is to be understood that this is not an additional provision but an advance from the undisbursed balances on each constituency's account. This, of course, would be separate from the...

While some schools got off to a delayed start for the official start of the 2008/09 school year, because of Tropical Storm Gustav, for teachers and students at the Church Teachers' College Early Childhood Demonstration School in Manchester, things were fairly normal. Even as the air was pierced with the cries of some anxious students, teachers and parents did all...

Traffic flow between Kingston and St. Thomas has been restored with the newly installed Bailey bridge, which spans the Hope River in Harbour View, St. Andrew, but with a number of safety restrictions. Communications Director of the Ministry of Transport and Works, Reginald Allen, told JIS News that the bridge was opened to vehicular traffic since the night of September...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has put forward a number of areas in which Jamaica is seeking to establish greater co-operation with Brazil. The areas being considered are the expansion of the tourism market to attract Brazilians to Jamaica, the expansion of commercial trade and the development of sports, particularly as it relates to football. Mr. Golding made the proposals when...

Status update on Damage to the Sector The 2008 School year should have started on September 1 however due to the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav we decided to facilitate the recovery process in the education sector; as a result we will officially begin the school year on September 3rd. I must offer my deepest sympathy to those who have...