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Minister of Housing, Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill, has stressed that the Government was committed to the stimulation of Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs), as this sector has the potential to be the major driving force of Jamaica's economy. "To do this, we must be prepared to extend credit on favourable terms to SMEs with sound business plans," he said....

The Safe Schools Programme, which was introduced in November 2004 by Government to tackle undesirable and anti social behaviour and violence in schools, is proving to be a success in St. Thomas. This was noted by Superintendent of Police in charge of the parish, Doric Sinclair, at a recent 'Safer Community' forum held in the parish. Giving a report on...

For at least two mornings each week, students of the Calabar and Trench Town Primary Schools in inner-city Kingston are guaranteed a hot breakfast, thanks to the Port Authority of Jamaica. Industrial Relations Officer at the Authority, Alberta Grant, tells JIS News that the programme was introduced out of a need to enhance the welfare of children in the immediate...

Residents of the communities of Clifton, Askenish and Mount Pace turned out in their numbers on Thursday (May 18) at the Clifton All Age School, to participate in a symbolic ceremony in celebration of the pending rehabilitation of the Askenish to Mount Pace Road in Hanover. A $19.4 million contract was recently signed between implementing agency, the Jamaica Social Investment...

The St. Ann Health Department will be engaged in a clean-up of the Discovery Bay area on Labour Day, May 23. Vector Control Officer at the St. Ann Health Department, Mark Miller, told JIS News that the clean-up exercise was a part of the Rodent Control Programme, which was currently underway in the Discovery Bay area. He explained that the...

Prime Minister Simpson Miller has agreed to support the establishment of a secretariat to support the work of the Commonwealth Forum of Local Government Ministers (CFLGM) at the Ministry of Environment and Local Government in Kingston. The request to the Prime Minister came during a courtesy call made by Mr. Carl Wright, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum...

Former Jamaica tennis champion, Karl Hale, is assisting with the development of the sport in Jamaica with a donation of more than Cdn$40,000 in tennis equipment. The one-time Davis Cup and Jamaica national tennis champion recently sent 266 tennis racquets obtained from Wilson Sports and 10,000 tennis balls, to Tennis Jamaica, the organization responsible for the administration and development of...

Jamaican, Saleem Josephs, has created history at the prestigious Columbia University in New York City, becoming the first student from that institution to graduate with three degrees at one sitting. At the commencement exercise for the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine in Manhattan on Thursday, May 18, Mr. Josephs, the eldest of three brothers enrolled at the school, was...

As preparation for Labour Day 2006 gets into high gear in the west, the Labour Day planning committees in the parishes of St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland are reporting a combined total of 82 registered projects up to Friday, May 19. Expectations are that by Labour Day (May 23), that figure should be much higher. In keeping with the national...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Science and Technology (with Energy), Phillip Paulwell, emphasized the need for Jamaica and the rest of the region to continue on a path of progress in information communication technology (ICT development. The Minister, who was speaking at the May 17 opening ceremony of the World Telecommunication Day Symposium at the Hilton Kingston, noting that with the...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Science and Technology (with Energy), Phillip Paulwell, has said that the Ministry, through the Central Information Technology Office (CITO), was executing a number of projects, which were aimed at deepening Caribbean integration through information communication technology (ICT). The Minister, who made the announcement at the May 17th opening of the World Telecommunication Day symposium at the...

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), is in the process of designing the Justice Undertakings for Social Transformation (JUST) Programme, an initiative geared towards increasing the security of citizens and fostering social stability in Jamaica. Speaking of the programme's scope at a JIS Think Tank recently, Senior Governance Programme Manager, Louise Valle, said that JUST would work with "government, civil...