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Some 1,200 students from local high schools, colleges and universities will take part in the 'Spruce Up Jamaica' Youth Summer Programme, an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism to enhance the overall visitor experience and provide employment for young persons. The programme, which will be rolled out on July 21, will see students being placed in various tourism entities in...

The Coffee Industry Board (CIB) is reporting that it has registered the Jamaica Blue Mountain and Jamaica High Mountain logos and trademarks in more than 20 countries worldwide. This is part of the CIB's strategy to protect the brand on the local and international markets. Speaking at a JIS 'Think Tank' recently, Director General of the CIB, Christopher Gentles noted...

Outgoing Chief of Epidemiology and AIDS in the Ministry of Health and Environment, Dr. Peter Figueroa has called on the society to come to grips with a number of sensitive social issues, in order to effectively control the HIV/AIDS epidemic. "We know our young people are sexually active. We have to put effective programmes in place to encourage them to...

Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with special responsibility for Local Government Reform, Robert Montague, has embarked on a visit to Parish Councils islandwide, to update them on the progress of the reform process. The tour began in Western Jamaica on July 10, with a visit to the Westmoreland Parish Council. "We are having dialogue with...

Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), James Robertson has said there should be greater emphasis on the use of public/private partnerships as a financing mechanism for infrastructural projects. "In order to accomplish this, we need to put in place a formal, structured institutional framework set up within the Planning and Development portfolio of the Office...

Parish Councils, islandwide have until October 31 to have their accounts updated and internal statements ready for scrutiny, as failure to do so could result in penalties such as disbursal of funds from central government being ceased. Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, with special responsibility for Local Government Reform, Robert Montague, issued this warning while...

Some 44 inmates, from four of the island's correctional institutions, yesterday (July 10) participated in a major outdoor clean-up exercise at the Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Centre in Port Henderson, St. Catherine. The clean-up exercise, executed under the watchful eyes of more than 60 staff members of the islands correctional facilities and the police, fall under the expanded Inmate Public...

State Minister in the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications, Laurence Broderick says the Ministry is "actively" seeking to reposition the local Minerals Industry to take advantage of opportunities, while countering existing challenges. Speaking in the 2008/09 Sectoral Debate at Gordon House on Wednesday (July 9) Mr. Broderick said that as part of the repositioning process, the bauxite and alumina sector,...

Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang, has reiterated that the Government is fully committed to developing housing solutions in an effort to tackle some of the social problems in the country. These will be developed under the Land Improvement Community Amenities Act Programme. Speaking with JIS News during a tour of sections of South West St. Andrew constituency...

Owners of small hotels and attractions can now benefit from a $100 million 'Spruce Up Jamaica Entrepreneurial Fund', which is a special programme to provide technical assistance and financing for small properties and enterprises. The main purpose of the programme, which is the latest initiative by the Ministry of Tourism, in partnership with the JN Small Business Loans Limited, is...

State Minister in the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications, Laurence Broderick has said that the Government is fully committed to working with new and existing investors in the bauxite and alumina sector, to safeguard its viability and international competitiveness. He pointed out that the sector has experienced radical changes, noting that one of the challenges impacting the monitoring of the...

Members of a youth theatre group from King James I Community College, County Durham in North East England, will leave for Jamaica on July 13 for a week-long visit to explore the similarities in the lives of young Jamaicans and to look at a range of cultural and social issues. The Jamaican High Commission and the Jamaica Information Service (JIS)...