The Government is receiving expertise from the Organization of American States (OAS) in developing a national register of cultural heritage places and objects. A team from the organisation is participating in a three-day workshop to provide training to local personnel. The session, entitled ‘Effective Heritage Inventories and the National Registers’, got under way on Tuesday (September 18) at The Courtleigh...

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has launched the ‘Jamaica Beach Guide’, a webpage designed to provide information on the various public beaches across the island. The webpage, located on NEPA’s website at www.nepa.gov.jm provides a list and quick facts about the featured beaches. “We have documented 87 public beaches across the island, and we are working to increase...

Starting January 1, 2019, the Government will be imposing a ban on the importation, manufacture, distribution and use of specific categories of plastic packaging materials. These include single-use plastic carrier/shopping bags; expanded polystyrene foam, commonly referred to as styrofoam; and plastic drinking straws. Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, who made...

Fifty National Housing Trust (NHT) beneficiaries were presented with keys to their homes or letters of possession to serviced lots at Longville Vista and Longville Court in Clarendon on Wednesday (September 12). The developments, which comprise a total of 127 new housing solutions, include 43 studios and 46 serviced lots in Longville Vista; and 38 semi-detached studio units in Longville...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, says the Government is working to alleviate some of the problems being faced by the commuting public as a result of ongoing road works in sections of the Corporate Area. “We understand and we are working assiduously to try and better it. It won’t be...

Small coffee farmers who have been severely affected by the ongoing decline in the industry will now have access to $60 million, which has been donated by philanthropist and businessman, Michael Lee-Chin and his family. The money, being made available through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), will assist the neediest of the 7,000 registered coffee farmers. The announcement was...

The Red Hills Skills Training Centre in St. Andrew has been renovated at a cost of $3 million and will now offer unattached youth four skill-based courses through partnership with the HEART Trust/NTA. The refurbishing was undertaken through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), which provides members of Parliament with financial resources to execute approved social and economic programmes within their...