More

Customers conducting business with the Ministry of Finance and Public Service can now expect more efficient service, including less waiting and processing time, with the launch of the Ministry's revised Customer Charter. The Charter, which was unveiled on (Nov. 21) at the Ministry's Heroes Circle office, is built around seven core values: fairness, integrity, teamwork, transparency, excellence, accountability and mutual...

The National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) is undertaking a pilot programme, which is aimed at providing community-based support and treatment for drug abusers. The initiative, which is also expected to expand the number of drug treatment centres across the island, is being funded by the National Health Fund (NHF) over a two-year period at a cost of more than...

Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, has said that Jamaica Vacations Limited (JAMVAC) is being strengthened to assist the Ministry's efforts to increase flights to the island and so boost visitor arrivals. "JAMVAC, which was pretty much dormant, has been restored and will be strengthened," the Minister told JIS News in London recently. "I will appoint a new board for JAMVAC and...

Cabinet has approved the appointment of board directors and chairpersons for a number of agencies that fall under the Ministry of Tourism. Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, who made the announcement at the (Nov. 21) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, said that the appointments are with immediate effect. Carla Seaga, wife of former Prime Minister Edward Seaga, will head the...

A delegation from the University of Technology (UTech) is in the United Kingdom (UK) this week for a series of meetings aimed at strengthening partnerships with the Caribbean community and several UK universities. The delegation is led by UTech President, Professor Errol Morrison, who told JIS News that the discussions will focus on opportunities for student and faculty exchanges and...

The Caribbean District Optimist International will hold its first quarter Conference November 23-25, at the Hilton Kingston Hotel under the chairmanship of Governor Granville R. Newell. The Conference starts off on Friday, November 23, with a welcome reception which will be addressed by Senator Warren Newby, Parliamentary Secretary with responsibility for Youth in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and...

As of December 1, Cable and Wireless will be blacklisting and shutting down mobile phones that are stolen from its customers, rendering them useless. Minister of Mining, Energy and Telecommunications, Clive Mullings, during a statement in the House of Representatives on (Nov. 20), noted that the move followed a request by the government to the island's three mobile telephone providers,...

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Senator Warren Newby, has underscored the importance of research and innovative work in the quest for social and economic advancement. He was delivering the main address at the International Students' Day function at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland recently. According to Senator Newby, small...

The Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), the premier public health care facility in Western Jamaica, now has a new ward pharmacy located on the ninth floor of the hospital. This facility will provide pharmaceutical service to adults and children on the hospital's medical and pediatric wards. Senior Administrator at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), Dawn Harvey, in her remarks at the...

The Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) is to benefit from a new and improved Management Information System (MIS). Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles and Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Tony Lewars, signed a US$522,500 contract for the installation of the system recently at the Ministry's Heroes Circle office in Kingston. Mr. Charles explained that the technology...

Jamaica's ability to remain competitive in the global market is contingent on the development of a culture of continuous innovation and improvement driven by science and technology (S&T), said Robert Buddan, Director of Policy, Planning, Research & Projects in the Ministry of Industry, Investment, & Commerce. He was speaking at the opening of the Scientific Research Council's 21st annual conference...

The Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) will observe its annual 'Eat Jamaican Day' on November 25, with an ecumenical service, agro-processing display and brunch at the Fellowship Tabernacle Church on Half-Way-Tree Road. In an interview with JIS News, Marketing and Projects Manager at the JAS, Hugh Blackwood, explained that this year's celebrations will not be as elaborate as previous years, because...