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The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Act is being amended to provide for the payment of arrears on NIS claims for up to three years. Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles, in a statement in the House of Representatives on (Dec.18), said that the necessary changes to the Act, which were approved by Cabinet, are being done by the...

Several Jamaican organizations and charities will benefit from more than $1 million from the fund-raising activities of United Kingdom (UK) based Jamaican groups over the past summer. The collection from the annual service of Praise and Thanksgiving to mark Jamaica Independence Day, organised by the Jamaican High Commission, raised more than

The Government is to set aside approximately $500 million as part of a major initiative to help cushion the effects of rising consumer prices on the most vulnerable. Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, who made the announcement in the House of Representatives on (Dec.18), during the debate on the first supplementary estimates for the 2007/08 fiscal year, said that the framework...

A refurbished block of classrooms and a computer laboratory were re-opened on(December 18), at the Mount Rosser Primary and Infant School in Saint Catherine. The school, which was established in 1963, currently has 146 primary students, 21 children in the infant department and five teachers. The work was facilitated by a gift of Can$2,000 from the late Mavis Wilson-Lumsden, who...

JAMALCO has, since mid-December, feted children and their teachers in some 70 basic schools in Clarendon and South Manchester, at a cost of just under $3 million. On December 15, over 200 challenged students from educational institutions in Clarendon were treated and given gifts for the yuletide season, at the refinery's sports club at Halse Hall in the parish. The...

The Jamaica Agriculture Society (JAS) has assured that vegetable crops such as lettuce and tomato are available for the Christmas season. President of the St. James Association of Branches Societies, Glendon Harris, said that farmers are in the field trying to "get crops back on track," after the recent hurricane and heavy rains. "I see quite a bit of lettuce...

Think about all the things that persons do with their hands: write, offer handshakes, nibble on their nails when nervous or hungry, pick their nose, open doors of cars, offices, shops and bathrooms, hold the rail in the bus. the list is endless. But how often do persons wash these hard working appendages attached to their upper limbs, daily? For...

The need for young people to play their part in promoting Jamaica as a tourist destination, has been emphasized by Carole Guntley, Director General in the Ministry of Tourism. Miss Guntley was speaking at a Tourism Awareness Day forum, held at the Somerset Falls Resort in Hope Bay Portland on December 12. In a wide ranging address, the Director General...

Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Olivia Grange, has announced the construction of a $160 million transportation centre on Water Lane, downtown Kingston. The Minister, who was speaking at the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation's (KSAC) Christmas tree-lighting ceremony on Friday (Dec. 14) at St. William Grant Park, said the facility will accommodate the buses and taxis, which congest...

Within minutes of assuming office as the country's 26th Commissioner of Police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin assured Jamaicans that he is committed to making Jamaica a place where peace and security prevails. "My determination is to improve public safety for every citizen and to make Jamaica a place where peace and security prevails," the Commissioner said, as he addressed members...

Education Minister, Andrew Holness, says he will be setting up a Parenting Commission to ensure that parents adhere to best parenting practices, as they are the guardians of the nation's future. The Minister was speaking last week at an Early Childhood facility operated by the Rural Family Support Organization (RUFAMSO), in Kemps Hill, Clarendon, as part of a familiarization tour...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles has commended the Jamaica Central Labour Organization (JCLO) for facilitating the employment of thousands of Jamaican workers within the agricultural and hospitality sectors in the United States and Canada. The Minister was speaking at the annual awards luncheon of the JCLO in Washington, DC recently, where two of the organization's longstanding employees,...