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President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Oral Heaven, addresses journalists at the entity’s headquarters at Freeport in Montego Bay, St. James, on Thursday, March 2.
President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Oral Heaven, addresses journalists at the entity’s headquarters at Freeport in Montego Bay, St. James, on Thursday, March 2.

Mobay Business Community to Partner on JamaicaEye

The St. James business community is looking to further support crime-fighting by partnering with the Government on the national closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance programme dubbed ‘JamaicaEye’. President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), Oral Heaven, said...
Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Karl Samuda
Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Karl Samuda

12,362 Seniors Registered Under New Social Pension Programme
Representative from the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Jamaica, Gabrio Marinozzi (right), presents a certificate to Clovaline Thomas, who was a participant in the Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) training workshop. Occasion was the closing ceremony for the programme and presentation of certificates held on March 3 at the Farmers’ Training Centre in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine.
Representative from the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Jamaica, Gabrio Marinozzi (right), presents a certificate to Clovaline Thomas, who was a participant in the Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) training workshop. Occasion was the closing ceremony for the programme and presentation of certificates held on March 3 at the Farmers’ Training Centre in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine.

PHOTOS: Closing Ceremony and Presentation of Certificates to PICSA Trainees
A $2.3-billion allocation has been made to continue work on the Southern Plains Agricultural Development Project in the upcoming fiscal year. The sum has been budgeted in the 2023/24 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, recently. The project, which began in December 2019, aims to provide access to irrigation water on fallow sugar lands, to increase agricultural productivity through the modernisation of the agricultural sector. It includes construction of wells and canal network and the development of the associated agricultural infrastructure in the arable areas of Amity Hall and Bridge Pen in St. Catherine and Parnassus in Clarendon. Up to December 2022, the drilling of three wells and yield test were completed in Parnassus, and abstraction licences were approved by the Water Resources Authority. Other physical achievements of the project include the completion of capacity-building for climate resilience and crop modelling, the design of agricultural buildings, the irrigation network design, the irrigation and road/draining works, and a gender-responsive training manual for farmer groups. For fiscal year 2023/24, anticipated physical targets of the project are to commence the construction of agricultural buildings and to complete the construction of irrigation network and roads/drainage infrastructure, as well as to complete the rehabilitation of Hartlands canal. This is in addition to the re-tender for contract to construct pump houses and reservoir at Amity Hall/Bridge Pen and the acquisition of GIS equipment for the NIC. (more) Southern Plains…2 The project is being implemented by the Ministry Agriculture and Fisheries, with co-funding from the Government of Jamaica and the Caribbean Development Bank. It is slated to end in December 2024. An additional $361.7 million has been earmarked to undertake activities in fiscal year 2024/25, if necessary.
A $2.3-billion allocation has been made to continue work on the Southern Plains Agricultural Development Project in the upcoming fiscal year. The sum has been budgeted in the 2023/24 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, recently. The project, which began in December 2019, aims to provide access to irrigation water on fallow sugar lands, to increase agricultural productivity through the modernisation of the agricultural sector. It includes construction of wells and canal network and the development of the associated agricultural infrastructure in the arable areas of Amity Hall and Bridge Pen in St. Catherine and Parnassus in Clarendon. Up to December 2022, the drilling of three wells and yield test were completed in Parnassus, and abstraction licences were approved by the Water Resources Authority. Other physical achievements of the project include the completion of capacity-building for climate resilience and crop modelling, the design of agricultural buildings, the irrigation network design, the irrigation and road/draining works, and a gender-responsive training manual for farmer groups. For fiscal year 2023/24, anticipated physical targets of the project are to commence the construction of agricultural buildings and to complete the construction of irrigation network and roads/drainage infrastructure, as well as to complete the rehabilitation of Hartlands canal. This is in addition to the re-tender for contract to construct pump houses and reservoir at Amity Hall/Bridge Pen and the acquisition of GIS equipment for the NIC. (more) Southern Plains…2 The project is being implemented by the Ministry Agriculture and Fisheries, with co-funding from the Government of Jamaica and the Caribbean Development Bank. It is slated to end in December 2024. An additional $361.7 million has been earmarked to undertake activities in fiscal year 2024/25, if necessary.

Finance Minister Opens Budget Debate Today
Annaleise Aiken, Team Leader for the Food Pilot Plant
Annaleise Aiken, Team Leader for the Food Pilot Plant

Beverage Production Businesses Benefit from Improved SRC Resources

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Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Zavia Mayne.
National Security

Promotion at DCS Will Be Based on Performance – Zavia Mayne

Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Hon. Zavia Mayne, is assuring correctional officers that their hard work, dedication and commitment will be matched by the requisite level of promotion within the service. He said that upward mobility in the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) will not be determined by favouritism but by performance. “No nepotism or cronyism...
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Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, addresses a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister in St. Andrew, on March 3.
Water

PM Appeals for Conservation of Water

Jamaicans are being encouraged to conserve on their use of water as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of drought conditions. “I am appealing to all Jamaicans to be conservative in the use of water. We are not yet at the point where we would declare certain orders in terms of the usage of water, but we could get...
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Minister of Education and Youth, Hon, Fayval Williams (centre), is surrounded by students at the 2023 staging of Jamaica Day on Friday (March 3), at the Dinthill Technical High School in St. Catherine.
EducationYouth

Schools Mandated to Focus on Civics and Character Development

The Ministry of Education and Youth has mandated schools to use civics and character education as a means of shaping and instilling positive behaviour and attitudes in Jamaican students. Portfolio Minister, the Hon. Fayval Williams, made the disclosure as she addressed the Jamaica Day celebration at the St. Catherine-based Dinthill Technical High School on Friday (March 3). “A focus on...
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Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) Commissioner, Stewart Beckford, outlines the agency’s achievements for 2022, during an interview with JIS News at his office on Hagley Park Road in Kingston.
Local Government

Firefighters Equipped to Execute Duties

Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) Commissioner, Stewart Beckford, says several activities have been undertaken to safeguard firefighters and adequately equip them to execute their duties. He told JIS News that 130 sets of bunker gears and 150 pairs of firefighting gloves were procured in 2022. Bunker gear is the personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by firefighters. Commissioner Beckford informed that the...
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Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange (right) is conferred with The Dame Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Star of Honour of Ethiopia, by His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie, on March 4, at a special ceremony in Washington DC.

Minister Grange Honoured by Ethiopia

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, has been invested as a Dame Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Star of Honour of Ethiopia. The investiture was made by the Crown Council of Ethiopia at the Command of His Imperial Highness, the Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie, on March 4, at the Army Navy Club Hotel in...
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Executive Director of Jamaica Vacations (JamVac), Joy Roberts (second left), listens as Administrative/Procurement Coordinator at JamVac, Nadia White (left), discusses tourism careers with students from the Portmore Community College, at the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation (JCTI) inaugural Career Expo, which was held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James, on Friday (March 3).
EducationTechnologyYouth

Hundreds of Students Take Part in JCTI Career Expo

More than 400 students from 17 schools across the island gathered at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James on Friday (March 3) to participate in the Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation (JCTI) inaugural Career Expo. The expo was hosted in collaboration with the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) and provided an opportunity for secondary and tertiary students to...
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Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (FILE)
Agriculture

Agriculture Ministry Allocated $21.25 Billion for 2023/24 Fiscal Year

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has been allocated $21.25 billion to undertake activities for the 2023/24 fiscal year. This represents a 19 per cent increase or $3.39 billion more than the previous year. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. made the disclosure during a meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives at Gordon House on...
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