Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government is seeking to attract increased investments from the United States (US) as it looks to achieve higher levels of economic growth. He informed that work is being done to make Jamaica’s business environment more attractive for US business interests with reforms being undertaken to improve public sector efficiency, and to...

The Government is maintaining its position regarding speedier timelines for developmental approvals. Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, says this is necessary in ensuring that projects are not setback due to unnecessary administrative delays. He was speaking at the recent groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of 63,000 square feet of...

The Local Economic Development Support Programme (LEDSP) of the Social Development Commission (SDC) was launched by Prime Minister, the Most. Hon. Portia Simpson Miller on May 7 in Ocho Rios, St. Ann. Under the LEDSP, the Prime Minister said promotion of the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector will be given priority. “That is why the Government has been...

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) on Friday (February 27) launched its Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP) in the community of Steer Town in St Ann. The project was launched during a ceremony held at the New Testament Church of God, Steer Town Clarendon. Steer Town is among 18 similar communities across six parishes in which projects promoting institutional strengthening,...

The number of areas on which comprehensive data and analyses are provided in the Statistical Institute of Jamaica’s (STATIN) Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC), has been expanded by two, in its 2012 edition, to include early childhood development and the elderly. These bring to eight, the number of focus areas incorporated in the report’s 23rd publication, the findings of...

Director of Urban and Regional Planning, Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, Marsha Henry-Martin, says that development planning in Jamaica must incorporate disaster mitigation measures and strategies to address climate change. These considerations, she said, are imperative in light of the extent of informal settlements across the island, totaling approximately 700, which are home to a minimum of 15...

While Jamaica has recorded slow economic growth since independence, the social development of its people has improved significantly. This was the consensus among panelists participating in a discussion on: ‘Understanding Jamaica’s Economic and Social Development Since Independence’, at the Golden Jubilee Village, at Independence Park, on August 4. Director General of the Planning Institute Of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson,...

Noted Attorney- at -Law, and Head of the Michael Manley Foundation, Delano Franklyn, has made a call for greater consensus among stakeholders around critical issues in order for Jamaica to gain developed status by the year 2030. “To develop and have greater consensus on matters in Jamaica, we must have the different stakeholders, including the political parties signing off on...

Minister of Justice, Senator Mark Golding, has stated the government’s intent to introduce legislation that will provide greater protection to the country’s innovators and inventors. He said that work has been underway on a new Patent and Designs Bill for some time, and the government is committed to “taking it as quickly as possible to the point where it can...