Approximately 2,500 students at Little Bay Primary and Infant School in Westmoreland and Old Harbour High School in St. Catherine are benefitting from the donation of two buses to the institutions. The vehicles, which have bolstered the schools’ transportation arrangements, are already yielding positive outcomes, as student attendance at both schools has increased. There has, additionally, been a decrease in...

The Government has earmarked $530 million for continued modernisation of the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). The major hospital redevelopment project includes the construction of a new tower with 58 additional bed spaces, 35 neonatal cots and seven operating theatres, and the purchase of medical equipment. As contained in the 2023/2024 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House...

Local government elections have been postponed for a further 12 months, and are to be held no later than February 28, 2024. This follows approval of the Representation of the People (Postponement of Elections to Municipal Corporations and City Municipalities) Act, 2023 in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (February 21). The Bill was passed without amendment. Twenty-nine Members of...

Investors from the Dominican Republic are eyeing the eastern parish of St. Thomas, which is fast emerging as the new destination for development in Jamaica. Speaking at the inaugural Jamaican/Dominican Republic business forum at the AC Hotel in Kingston on Tuesday (February 21), Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said “we are anticipating, within a short while… a good visit from...

Two critical pieces of legislation that will impose stricter penalties for murder will be placed before a Joint Select Committee to ensure wide consultation. The Bills – the Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Act 2023 and Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Act 2023 – were tabled in the House of Representatives on February 21. Tabling the Bills, Minister of Justice, Hon....

The Government will be spending more than $2 billion on works for the continued redevelopment of the St. James-based Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH). The objective of the project is to improve service delivery in the public health system by rehabilitating the CRH to include ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems; mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems; information and communications technology (ICT)...

Jamaica’s economy is estimated to have grown by 5.1 per cent between January and December 2022. This was disclosed by Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry, who said the out-turn was spurred by an estimated six per cent growth for the Services industry and 2.1 per cent for the Goods Producing Industry. “All [sub]...