More

The first round of voting in the 2011 General Election gets under way this morning, at polling stations in all 63 constituencies. Polling will take place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. for 25,396 Election Day workers, 8,211 police and 2,098 soldiers, who are eligible to vote. Under the Representation of the People Act (ROPA), special provisions are made for...

King’s House has confirmed that the new Children’s Advocate will be Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Diahann Gordon Harrison, who will take office on January 9. In a release Tuesday (December 20), King’s House said that the Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, has appointed Mrs. Gordon Harrison to the post. She will replace Mary Clarke,...

A recently published study on the environment has found that over the last three years, there has been an increased focus on improving environmental management in Jamaica. The report suggests that this has been achieved through activities such as creating new standards, policies and regulations (and enforcing existing ones); increased environmental monitoring; and raising greater awareness among citizens and stakeholders....

At least 290 National Youth Service (NYS) trainees are turning the pages of success, in dealing with the weaknesses which exist in the procurement and distribution of textbooks at high, junior high and all-age schools. So far, they have helped the Media Services Unit of the Ministry of Education to collect for re-distribution some $350 million worth of government-issued textbooks,...

The YB Afraid Foundation established by  world sprinter, Yohan Blake, has joined  with the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) in adopting the Mount Olivet Boys' Home in Walderston, Manchester. This partnership resulted in a day of excitement and gifts for the residents of the Home on Saturday, December 17, as the JIS Management and Staff and the YB Afraid Foundation were...

KINGSTON — Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), Professor Errol Miller, says Jamaica can be proud of its electoral system, which has improved significantly since Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944 and continues to advance through the leadership of the ECJ. “The reform of the country’s electoral process is one of the great accomplishments of the Jamaican people in...

KINGSTON — Plans for the country’s 50th anniversary celebrations next year are well advanced, with the  activities  set to  begin on Sunday, January 1, with fireworks  on the  waterfront, downtown Kingston, and  at various locations across the island. The celebrations, with the slogan ‘Jamaica 50: Feel the heart and soul of a nation’,  will   culminate in a similar manner on...

KINGSTON — Approximately 10,000 residents of Kitson Town, St. Catherine, and its environs, are to benefit from Segment I of the newly commissioned Kitson Town Water Supply System. Costing over US$5 million, under the multi-million dollar Jamaica Water Sector Improvement Project (JWSIP), the system was commissioned into service by Minister of Housing, Environment, Water and Local Government, Dr. Horace Chang,...

MONTEGO BAY — Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen has commended the management and staff of the Falmouth Public Hospital in Trelawny, for the high level of service rendered to the nation, as they consistently address the health needs of citizens in western Jamaica. Presenting them with a Certificate of Recognition during his tour of the...

KINGSTON — A licensing and merchandising programme is currently in place to ensure that Jamaica reaps all the benefits from its 50th anniversary celebrations next year. “Our licensing and merchandising programme serves two purposes, one to give greater visibility to Brand Jamaica…and as a revenue earner,” Project Director, Jamaica 50th Secretariat, Lenford Salmon, said today (December 20), at a JIS...

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, has commended the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for its assistance in addressing the impact of the “brain drain” on Jamaica. Speaking at a special ceremony at the PIOJ’s New Kingston offices recently to mark the IOM’s 60th anniversary, Dr. Hutchinson said the organization had been instrumental in...

The Ministry of Energy and Mining is pursuing discussions with several of the country’s tertiary institutions towards establishing a partnership for the delivery of a four-year degree programme for professionals in the mining sector. “There has been dialogue with the University of Technology (UTech) in particular, and we are continuing the dialogue. We have had discussions with the University of...