Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says the Government will be putting regulations in place to allow for mandatory evacuations in times of natural disaster. He said the regulations, which are far advanced, will make the Disaster Risk Management Act more effective, particularly in relation to compulsory evacuations from areas deemed vulnerable to severe weather such...

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says Jamaica will provide whatever assistance it can to Caribbean nations impacted by major hurricanes that have battered the Eastern Caribbean islands. Speaking this morning (September 19), Prime Minister Holness said, "I am in touch with the Prime Ministers from the eastern Caribbean. Our prayers are with them as they seek to recover from these tragedies....

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has underscored the need for the Government’s programme of economic and structural reforms, now under way, to be expedited. This, he said, is imperative if Jamaica is to achieve economic independence and reduce its reliance on external assistance for funding support. “We no longer have the luxury of delay,” he noted. Mr. Holness...

Trade unions representing public-sector workers have been urged to modify their wage claims, as nothing should be done to derail the economic programme that Jamaica is on. Making the call, Group Chief Executive Officer of Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB), and Co-Chairman of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC), Keith Duncan, said it is important that Jamaica achieve the target...

The Plant Quarantine Division (PQD) in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce Agriculture and Fisheries is playing a key role in helping to boost trade in agricultural produce and ensuring that citizens have access to safe, quality foods. Chief Technical Director in the Ministry, Dermon Spence, said the expansion of trade in part of Government’s strategic objectives for the sector. “Our...

A move to establish a permanent facility for homeless persons in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, has been made by the Ministry of Health with a donation of $4 million. Through a partnership involving the Jamaica Public Service (JPS), with a contribution of $1.1 million, the St. Catherine Municipal Corporation and the National Health Fund (NHF), the home will be constructed...

Lay Magistrates in Manchester and St. Elizabeth have been urged to study the Law Reform (Zones of Special Operations) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Act, by Justice Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck. Addressing the lay magistrates at a sensitisation session at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville, Manchester, on September 15, the Minister said knowing the law is significant, as...