Director of the Child Labour Unit in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Marva Pringle-Ximinnies, is urging Jamaicans to be vigilant in detecting and thus helping to reduce child labour. She said persons should be particularly vigilant in situations where they see a child who they suspect may not be attending school. “We have this cultural practice where we...

Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, says a submission has been made to Cabinet to seek approval to amend the Constitution to allow for retired judges to offer their services. He made this disclosure recently during an interview on the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) television programme, ‘Issues and Answers’. “We are not going to increase the age of retirement from...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, says there will be a roll-out of approximately 14,000 hotel rooms over the next three to four years, representing a significant investment for Jamaica. Speaking to JIS News following the grand opening of the Blue Mountain Renewables (BMR) wind farm in Potsdam, St. Elizabeth, on August 11, Mr. Shaw said...

Twenty-one former remandees and wards of the State have received business start-up grants valued at over $6 million, through an Organization of American States (OAS) initiative. Dubbed ‘Pitch It’: Learning and Investing in Your Future,  the project seeks to improve the lives of youth in conflict with the law, by addressing their emotional, social, educational and economic challenges. Forty-nine youngsters...

The Government is seeking to equip the nation’s courts with the relevant technology as part of measures to increase efficiency. During a recent interview on the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) television programme, ‘Issues and Answers’, Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, said the main parish courts and all the supreme courts will be equipped with audiovisual technology, “so that everything...

Jamaica’s capacity to produce clean Irish potato seedlings has been enhanced with a $19-million allocation from the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF). Under the programme, the money spent annually to import 90 per cent of Irish potato seeds into the island will be cut significantly, while the availability of first-generation seeds will be guaranteed throughout the year. Delivering the keynote...

Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., has lauded Probation Officers islandwide for their commitment to youth empowerment. Between August 8 and 12, the Probation Aftercare Services hosted some 350 child offenders from 14 to 17 years of age in their annual outreach programme – the Challengers’ Day Camp. This year’s camp...