Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says the Government is looking to build on the Economic Programme Oversight Committee’s (EPOC) successes, through the proposed independent Fiscal Council. This, he says, as Jamaica’s prepares to embark on a post-International Monetary Fund (IMF) era, when the current US$1.7-billion Precautionary Stand-By Arrangement (PSBA) concludes in November 2019. The...

Chairman of the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ), Lyttleton Shirley, says the country’s rural and coastal towns are being targeted as Government moves to boost economic and social opportunities for citizens. He said that Port Antonio, Falmouth, Port Maria, Lucea, Savanna-la-Mar and Morant Bay are some of the towns that have been earmarked for development. “The Prime Minister, in what...

Wigton Wind Farm photovoltaic system design training being held from June 18 to June 22 is open to anyone. Training Coordinator/Engineer at Wigton Wind Farm, in Manchester, Sanja Simmonds, speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, recently, said that for the course, it would be good if the trainees had some previous experience. However, he explained that it was actually designed...

Director at the Heart Foundation and Consultant Emergency Physician, Dr. Hugh Wong, has appealed to Jamaicans to do something to help if someone is having a cardiac arrest. “Don’t just stand by and look, do something to assist,” he urged, as he addressed a Jamaica Information Service ‘Think Tank’, recently. “Oxygen-starved brain cells begin to die and the individual can...

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says that all of the island’s 171 high schools now have metal detectors. Most institutions are equipped with handheld scanners. “We have some walk-through detectors now being installed in selected schools and another 200 (handheld) devices are being procured to ensure that defective ones are readily replaced,” Senator Reid...

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Audley Shaw, is encouraging local rum-manufacturing companies to produce more high-quality products and market them within the Caribbean region. During a factory tour of National Rums of Jamaica and Clarendon Distillers Limited in Lionel Town, Clarendon, on June 14, Mr. Shaw said Jamaica’s rum-manufacturing companies can earn millions annually from the regional...

The Ministry of Local Government and Community Development will be providing $1 million to the Poor Relief Department of the St. Catherine Municipal Corporation, to assist needy individuals in the parish. This was announced by portfolio Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, who said the needy cases will be identified and addressed at the discretion of the department. “We are doing this...