The Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) has welcomed the Government’s decision to extend the State of Public Emergency (SOE) in St. James. The House of Representatives, on Tuesday (July 23), approved a 90-day extension of SOEs in St. James, Westmoreland, and Hanover until October 28, citing a reduction in murders and shootings in the parishes between April...

The Legal Aid Council (LAJ) is taking its quarterly Justice Fair to Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, on Friday (July 26). The event will be held at Independence Park from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Executive Director of the LAC, Hugh Faulkner, told JIS News that residents will be able to access legal services and advice on a range of matters. “If persons...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the next phase of the Government’s training and apprenticeship initiative, the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme, is to be rolled out shortly. This, he said, will entail institutionalising the employment and training aspect of the programme. “I am very satisfied [and] happy to see the programme come to this point...

The Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) is to provide training for shelter managers in first aid and shelter management practices. “We will be pulling together all shelter managers that we have, to brief them on what is expected of the [hurricane] season. We are also looking to do first-aid training with about 30 of them, and we will...

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, says the Government is moving expeditiously to put the sexual harassment legislation in place. The Bill was tabled in the House of Representatives on July 9. Ms. Grange said members of the joint select committee from the Lower House who will consider the Bill have already been appointed, and within...

Chairman of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Godfrey Dyer, says construction of the Montego Bay perimeter road (bypass) will usher in a “new frontier of economic development” for the Second City and the wider western Jamaica. He said that the project will open up opportunities to achieve further growth in tourism and other sectors. “The growth that Montego Bay, and...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says Jamaica could be in a position to borrow from the international capital market in local currency within five years. He said that the country is already on this trajectory, citing the Government’s move towards attaining operational independence for the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), supported by a credible inflation-targeting...