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Minister of Water and Housing, Donald Buchanan has announced a new management team for the National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC), which he said was part of the organisation's strategic plan to restructure itself. At a press conference held at the Ministry on Tuesday (Oct. 28) to update the media on the progress of the restructuring of the Ministry and its...

Debate on a resolution piloted by Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies, seeking the approval of the House to increase customs duty (Common External Tariff - CET), on imported cement from 15 per cent to 50 per cent, was suspended at Tuesday's sitting of the House, to allow the Minister to provide more information to substantiate the proposed...

The local banana industry received a boost on Wednesday (Oct. 29) with the official handing over of equipment and other farm products by the European Union to the Ministry of Agriculture, during a presentation ceremony at the Boundbrook Wharf in Port Antonio, Portland. The package, valued at over $70 million, included two mini excavators, a backhoe, a trailer, motor vehicles...

Calm has returned to the community of Flankers in Montego Bay, which was the scene of major demonstrations earlier this week, following the killing of two senior citizens allegedly by the police. The security forces, which maintained a strong presence following the demonstrations, have now left the community and things are returning to normal. This has resulted from a successful...

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. Omar Davies has urged Jamaicans in the Diaspora not to restrict the country's cultural heritage solely to reggae. Noting that more effort could be made to preserve Jamaica's arts discipline, Dr. Davies mentioned that attempts were already under way to direct funds to that medium. He was speaking at the Peter Tosh Symposium last Friday...

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant, has said that the agricultural and productive sectors were in need of a jump-start in order to respond effectively to the increasing pressures of globalisation and the onset of the Free Trade Areas of the Americas (FTAA). Speaking yesterday (Oct. 30) at the Proclamation Ceremony for National Science and Technology...

National Performing Arts Festival award winning traditional music and dance group from Clonmel Primary and Junior High School in St. Mary, ended a successful 10-day visit to the United Kingdom (UK) this week, with a call at the Jamaican High Commission. The group was in the UK at the invitation of the Jamaica Cultural Association and the Black History Month...

Following a comprehensive restructuring and recruitment exercise, the Ministry of Water and Housing has appointed a new management team for the Rapid Response Programme (RRP). Speaking at Wednesday's (Oct. 29) press briefing to announce the progress of the restructuring of the Ministry and its entities, Water and Housing Minister, Donald Buchanan conceded that the trucking of water to poor rural...

Effective today (Oct. 30), the Hanover Parish Council will be removing stray animals from its roadways, starting with the clearing of the Dr. Aston King Highway, which runs from Great River to Lucea. Councillor Lester Crooks, Chairman of the Council and Mayor of Lucea, told JIS News that the animals removed would be placed in the animal pound in Montpellier,...

Persons wishing to obtain non-immigrant United States (US) visas will soon enjoy the convenience of paying the required fees at any of the 130 Paymaster locations islandwide. This arrangement will become effective on Saturday, November 15 when the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) will cease to provide the service on behalf of the US Embassy. Applicants are required to pay...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Horace Dalley, has appealed to Jamaicans to seize the opportunities offered by the National Health Fund (NHF) and get registered for the programme. The Minister made the appeal while making his contribution to the debate on the National Health Fund Act (2003) on Tuesday, October 28 in the House of Representatives. He pointed out...

Information Minister, Senator Burchell Whiteman, has said that the Government would continue to push for a policy to guide the international recruitment of teachers. Senator Whiteman was speaking at a meeting of the Association of Jamaican Teachers in the United Kingdom (UK) on Tuesday (Oct. 28) at the Jamaican High Commission in London. He said the Government was concerned about...