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The Government plans to spend $50 million this fiscal year on the continuation of the local government reform process. As set out in the Estimates of Expenditure for 2012/2013 tabled in the House of Representatives on May 10, the provision is to go towards developing a viable and vibrant system of local government administration to meet the needs of citizens...

With only a few weeks before the start of the 2012 hurricane season, the St. Catherine Parish Council is reporting that preparations are in high gear with regards to drain cleaning and disaster preparedness activities. “We are going to be doing extensive drain cleaning later in the month and early next month. We’ll be working on some of the major...

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, is calling on society, especially corporate Jamaica, to play a greater role in protecting the environment. He said that while the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) bears principal responsibility, environmental stewardship is the corporate and individual imperative of all Jamaicans. The Minister was speaking on May 6, at...

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) will be observing its 11th anniversary with a Thanksgiving Service, at the St. Luke's Anglican Church, on Slipe Road, in Kingston, on May 6, beginning at 7:00 a.m. Manager of Public Education and Corporate Communication at NEPA, Natalie Fearon, told JIS News that the ceremony will highlight the roles and functions of NEPA...

A two-day conference on Valuation, Administration and Management of Commercial Properties is currently underway at the Hilton, Rose Hall Hotel, in Montego Bay, St. James. The event,  being staged jointly by the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI) and the Royal Institutions of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), was officially opened today (May 3), by Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change,...

Economies around the world, including Jamaica, have been faced with one common difficulty, how to find job creation opportunities for their people. Since taking office on January 5, 2012, the Government of Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller has continuously stated that job creation remains a primary focus.  It was for this reason why the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme...

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, is assuring residents of Negril of the government's commitment to working with them to tackle all planning and environmental issues affecting the resort area. Minister Pickersgill, who was addressing a Stakeholders Meeting held on April 26, at the Couples Swept Away Hotel located in the Westmoreland town, said that...

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, said the government intends to make “big strides” this year in resolving land tenure issues that continue to marginalise and exclude the majority of Jamaicans from secure land ownership.  He said the government is seriously concerned that the majority of landowners still do not have registered titles for the...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is accelerating the implementation of the remaining projects under the National Irrigation Development  Programme (NIDP), before the country loses critical funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Portfolio Minister, Hon. Roger Clarke, stated that implementation of the programme has been “riddled with delays and mishaps” occasioning several extensions from the IDB, the last such...

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, says protecting key economic sectors from climate change, through budget allocations and development planning, is no longer an option for governments. “The cost of financing adaptation change at the national, regional and international levels is often high. Nevertheless, we know that cost delaying actions to address climate change are...

Since the Government came into office on January 5, the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change has been focusing on improving water and sewerage systems; and highlighting the impact of climate change, and the need to protect the environment. Ground was broken on February 23, for the construction of the Darling Street Wastewater Pumping Station, which will improve...

The Meteorological Service has discontinued the Flash Flood Watch for low-lying and flood-prone areas of St. Ann, St. Mary, Portland, St. Thomas, Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine with immediate effect. The pre-frontal Trough and Cold Front that have been influencing weather conditions across Jamaica have drifted to the east, away from the island. Satellite imagery and rainfall data indicate...