During the upcoming fiscal year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will pump millions of dollars into building out a fish hatchery in Jamaica, in an effort to grow the fisheries sector. Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, has given his commitment to spearhead this buildout, primarily through the ‘Promoting Community-based Climate Resilience in the Fisheries Sector Project’....

State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr. the Hon. Norman Dunn, says a national framework for the development of a sustainable standards-led market-driven economy is vital, supported by a culture of high value, to achieve global competitiveness and consumer protection. “This vision will be realised through the achievement of National Quality Policy goals,” he said, at...

The National Works Agency (NWA) is advising that effective Sunday, January 17, the Savage Pen Road in St. Andrew will be closed to vehicular traffic. The roadway will be closed between the hours of 7:00 am and 4:00 pm. The closure is necessary to facilitate paving activities associated with the rehabilitation that is now underway at that location. The roadway...

Programme Director for the National Identification System (NIDS), Warren Vernon, says that biometric data for the national identification database will be encrypted to prevent unauthorised access. “Your fingerprint and facial image will be encrypted, so that a regular person just can’t access it like that unless you have the resources or the authority to decrypt the information,” he said. “Additionally,...

The public is being invited to make comments and provide recommendations on the Beach Access and Management Policy for Jamaica, which is now at the draft stage of development. This call comes from Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment, and Climate Change, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., who noted that the input of the public is vital in ensuring that the...

The deployment of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines in countries across the Americas under the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility is anticipated to get under way by the end of March. Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr. Carissa Etienne, made the disclosure during a digital media briefing on Wednesday (January 13). An initial two billion vaccine...

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is distributing 30,000 antigen test kits and reader machines to six private laboratories, to increase national testing capacity for the coronavirus (COVID-19). Beginning January 18, the SD Biosensor test kits will support the laboratories testing capacity, pending the arrival of these laboratories’ supplies within two weeks. The laboratories are Microlabs Limited, Biomedical Caledonia Medical...