Action to improve the reading skills of primary school students has been further bolstered with an allotment of $205 million in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The funds have been provided under a joint project between the Ministry of Education and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), aimed at increasing grades One...

Two of the country’s major correctional facilities are to be repaired and expanded this financial year. A sum of $200 million has been allocated in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, to undertake the projects. A total of $100 million will be spent to facilitate structural repairs at the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre. It is anticipated...

A sum of $123 million has been allocated in the 2014/15 budget to strengthen the country’s capacity in the export markets, so as to decrease trade deficits. The funds will go towards the Economic Partnership Agreement II (EPAII) Capacity Building Project, to accelerate exports, enhance competitiveness, and further integrate the economy into global markets. Implemented by the Planning Institute of...

Government will spend $308 million this fiscal year to construct new accommodations, office and storage facilities in the Lathbury Barracks, at Up Park Camp. The sum is set out in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives. The project, which is being implemented by the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), with funding from the National Housing Trust...

Additional classrooms are to be constructed at four primary schools across the island this fiscal year, at a cost of $60 million. The money has been allotted in the 2014/15 Estimates of Expenditure, under the Primary Education Support Project, which seeks to improve the performance, efficiency and equity of the primary education system. This objective is being realised through the...

Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Sandrea Falconer, says further action is being taken to develop Jamaica’s electronic media policy, as the Government keeps pace with new and emerging trends in the media landscape. She says comprehensive stakeholder consultations have been completed and are expected to be considered in this undertaking. “This will provide an enabling framework for the new media...

A total of US$16 billion has been allocated for disbursement to small, developing states, like Jamaica, to fight debilitating diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The funds are being provided under The Global Fund’s revised financing model for 2014 to 2016, and are available for distribution to eligible nation states, with each country having a specific allotment, depending on...