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Some 70 per cent of pest control operators now have liability insurance since it became mandatory in 2006.Registrar of the Pesticides Control Authority (PCA), Hyacinth Chin Sue Walters, told JIS News that since the start of the registration process back in 2001, the PCA has stressed the need for all operators to get insurance. In fact, a pest control operator...

By September, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security will be using a Revised Proxy-Means Scoring Formula, which will serve to better identify and capture the socio-economic conditions of families who are in need of welfare assistance. Addressing a JIS 'Think Tank' on June 28, Director of Social Security and Project Director of the Programme of Advancement through Health and...

The Government and the European Union (EU) have signed a Euro 10.1 million agreement to provide funding for the second phase of the Poverty Reduction Programme (PRP II). "This is a very significant agreement between the EU and the Government for the poverty reduction programme.and I want to thank the European Union for their continued support for our development process,"...

Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller on (June 28) officially commissioned into operation the Pedro Plains Irrigation System, which will benefit scores of farmers in South St. Elizabeth. In delivering the keynote address, Mrs. Simpson-Miller noted that the irrigation system will address the needs of farmers in Pedro Plains, Little Park and Beacon. "Today is your day. for everyone wishing to put...

The National Works Agency (NWA) is implementing a $50 million Urban Traffic Management Programme, which is designed to reduce congestion along major thoroughfares in Kingston and St. Andrew. Speaking with JIS News, Communication Manager at the NWA, Stephen Shaw said, "we have looked at the Kingston Metropolitan Area and we have determined that there are quite a number of intersections...

State Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Victor Cummings has said that the Mines and Geology Division continues to promote and encourage the production of manufactured sand from rocks. He pointed out that this was the direction to go, as the natural resource of sand gravel was on the decline, and as such the island could no longer...

A total of 600 students, 300 from St. James and 300 from Hanover, are to benefit under the 2007 National Youth Service (NYS) Summer Employment Programme. The recruitment and orientation process within the region has been completed, with the next step being the placement of the beneficiaries in a working environment for a three-week period, for which they will be...

The United Way of Jamaica has received a $9.2 million donation from Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) towards its campaign for early childhood development, which is its philanthropic project for 2007. The organization launched its 2007 fund-raising event on June 27 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. This is an annual exercise of United Way, which seeks to acquire funding for...

Minister of Education and Youth, Maxine Henry-Wilson, has urged society to join parents in protecting the nation's children and to teach them the right habits so that they can optimize their true potential. "We have to rescue our children because we are all society's keepers. We have to teach our children these lessons while they are young," Mrs. Henry Wilson...

The St. Mary Parish Development Committee (PDC) will be conducting a two-day training seminar for young people in the parish, which is designed to prepare them to educate their peers about HIV/AIDS. The event, slated for the Golden Seas Hotel in Oracabessa from July 19 to 20, will be held in association with the Ministry of Local Government and the...

The female medical ward at the Port Antonio Hospital has been given a facelift by the Portland Returnees Association, which comprises of residents, who have retuned to the parish after living abroad for several years. The works, which included the re-painting and re-tiling of the ward, was the latest in a series of goodwill gestures by the association to the...

The international shipping industry is very lucrative, providing revenues for many countries, including Jamaica. With this in mind, the Government is ensuring that the country has full access to all the benefits that can be derived from the sector. Through the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), the country is promoting its international shipping registry, which allows foreign owned vessels to...