Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the role of the government is to ensure that the public sector works efficiently to provide services for Jamaicans in an effective and timely manner. The Prime Minister made it clear that the government is responsible for ensuring equal opportunity for access to all in the country. “My role is to make sure that government...

Essex Valley in St. Elizabeth is to benefit from the development of its irrigation infrastructure in the upcoming fiscal year. A sum of $457.6 million has been provided in the 2018/19 Estimates of Expenditure to undertake this work and other activities. These include the development of lands; construction of access roads; and the construction of a pump-house, and well drilling....

The Jamaica Customs Agency’s (JCA) capabilities will be further strengthened in 2018/19 as the Government positions the entity to continue driving economic growth through trade facilitation, revenue collection and border protection. Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, said that this year, the JCA will, among other things, improve the rate of detection of contraband, and prohibited and...

Within days, construction is expected to begin on apartments in Denham Town, downtown Kingston, as part of a redevelopment project for the area. A total of 24 studio units and four two-bedroom units are to be built at Metcalfe Street and Wellington Street in Denham Town, at a cost of $72.1 million. A contract to undertake the works was signed...

The Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ) is moving ahead with plans to provide 830,000 square feet of business process outsourcing (BPO) space in St. Thomas and St. Catherine. The spaces will be created in Naggo Head, St. Catherine; and Morant Bay, St. Thomas and will have the capacity to provide 23,000 employment opportunities in the sector. In an interview with...

Effective April 1, some 159 licensed water abstractors will begin paying water abstraction charges/volume-based fees (WAC/VBF). The fee is applicable to all persons who have a license to abstract and use water, and is being applied under the Water Resources (Water Abstraction Charges) Regulations, 2017. The charges are calculated based on the amount of water that the applicant is licensed...

Business process outsourcing (BPO) once viewed as stop-gap job option, has become a career of choice for many bright, young Jamaicans. In fact, many of them are moving to Montego Bay, which has become the centre of the country’s BPO operations, to take up positions in the sector. Among them is Junior Rogers, who tells JIS News that “I came...