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Some 3,750 spaces are available for secondary and tertiary students between 17 and 24 years of age to participate in the National Youth Service (NYS) Summer Programme 2013. The programme was officially launched by Minister of Youth and Culture, Hon. Lisa Hanna, at a press briefing on Wednesday, April 3, at the NYS offices on Collins Green Avenue, in Kingston....

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is seeking to reduce the food importation bill from US$1 billion to US$700 million in the short to medium term. “We have targeted some 8,000 acres of government lands that we intend to put into the hands of farmers and we are committed to putting in the basic infrastructure to help to get those...

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is to benefit from the provision of 16 computers, a smart board and other computer related equipment valued at $2.5 million from the Universal Service Fund (USF). The computers were officially handed over on Tuesday, April 2, to the Police National Computer Centre (PNCC), during a ceremony held at the Police Commissioner’s Office, Old Hope...

Prime Minister and Minister of Sport, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, has congratulated the Jamaican team on its outstanding performances at the just concluded Carifta Games in the Bahamas. The team’s performance was outstanding and spectacular, said Mrs. Simpson Miller, adding: “the sheer brilliance, depth and dominance of Team Jamaica once again demonstrates to the world that we are...

Jamaicans will know what the Government intends to spend during the 2013/14 Financial Year on April 4, when Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, tables the Estimates of Expenditure for that year in the House. Tabling of the Estimates will follow the State Opening of Parliament, when the Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick...

The Meteorological Service (Met Service) has listed Kingston and St. Andrew among the parishes worst affected by severe drought conditions affecting the island. Acting Director of the Met Service, Evon Thompson, says data collected at the end of February showed that with the exception of St. Ann and St. James, all other parishes were experiencing below normal rainfall levels, or...

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, is attributing the successful implementation of the National Debt Exchange (NDX) programme, to extensive consultations and open dialogue between the Government and participating financial institutions. The Ministry of Finance and Planning, which piloted the programme, concluded its implementation on March 22 with commitments from eight of Jamaica’s leading financial institutions to...

Imagine having to traverse through a riverbed to get to and from your community on a daily basis, or travel for miles using the alternative route when it becomes impassable. That was the reality for hundreds of residents in several communities in North East St. Catherine, when the Dover Castle main road was left impassable following the collapse of a...

Minister with responsibility for the Public Service, Hon. Horace Dalley, says efforts are continuing to lobby support for the public sector wage restraint agreement by unions not yet on board. The three-year agreement, which was signed earlier this month, will see the island’s civil servants forgoing major wage increases for the period 2013 to 2015. This forms part of the...

The Government’s logistics hub initiative will be a global asset of the scale and significance of the world’s other leading hubs in Rotterdam, Singapore, and Dubai. At a meeting with government communicators at Jamaica House on Thursday, March 28, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, emphasized that the hub will have far-reaching economic benefits beyond basic transshipment...

Several persons, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and corporate establishments from across the island have been recognized for their contributions toward the alleviation of poverty and destitution in the country. The awards were given by the Board of Supervision (Poor Relief), at its inaugural awards ceremony, held at the Cardiff Hotel and Spa, in Runaway Bay, St. Ann, on March 27. Chairman...

Minister of Water, Land, Environment, and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickergill has lauded the Ewarton Watershed and Farmer’s Co-operative Society for its role in protecting the environment and safeguarding the country’s natural resources. “I am very proud of this group…what you have set out to do through your organisation, namely: preserving the environment through improved farmer techniques and environmentally friendly...