Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, is advising creative practitioners to take estate planning seriously particularly given the current uncertainties related to the coronavirus (COVID-19). She noted that the pandemic has served as a “harsh reminder of our mortality and the financial volatility of the cultural and creative industries.” She cited an industry-wide survey, conducted by...

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, is encouraging all members of the entertainment fraternity to sign on to the National Registry of Entertainment Practitioners (e-Registry). The e-Registry is a single repository of information on culture and creative practitioners. When fully operational it will act as a central portal for listing Jamaican entertainment service providers and companies...

The 2021/2022 Parliamentary Year will open tomorrow, Thursday, February 18, 2021 with the traditional Ceremonial Opening of Parliament being held at Gordon House. This year’s proceedings will take place in strict adherence to the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 guidelines. Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism and House Leader, describes the restrictions as necessary given the country’s current COVID-19 situation. According...

The National Water Commission (NWC) has made yet another major push in its drive to improve water supply to its customers by recently completing the Westgate Pipeline Upgrading project in the parish of St. James. The agency spent over JA$ 40 million to lay approximately 1 kilometre of 500 millimetre (20 inches) pipes along the Westgate to Adelphi Main Road,...

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has partnered with private-sector stakeholders to accelerate the procurement and administration of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination for Jamaica. This is being facilitated under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC). Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher...

Jamaica is benefiting from a bonus grant under the ninth cycle of the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF), being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF). Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, told JIS News that Jamaica qualified for the bonus grant last year based on the speed of execution of projects, which was second only to Grenada. The...

A new state-of-the-art elevator was officially commissioned into service at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) in downtown Kingston on Tuesday (February 16). The project was undertaken by the National Health Fund (NHF) as part of a $143-million initiative to instal eight elevators in hospitals across the South Eastern Regional Health Authority (SERHA). With the installation, the hospital now has two...