Stakeholders in Hanover are planning a memorable commemoration of the 138th anniversary of the birth of National Hero, the Right Excellent Sir Alexander Bustamante. The wreath-laying ceremony will be staged at Sir Alexander’s birthplace, Blenheim, on Thursday, February 24 starting 11:00 a.m. The customary elaborate celebration for the parish’s most famous son has been scaled down due to coronavirus (COVID-19)...

Discussions are under way to make electric vehicles more affordable to Jamaicans by 2030 to 2035. This was noted by Chief Technical Director of the Policy Planning and Evaluation Division of the Ministry of Economic, Growth and Job Creation, Gillian Guthrie. Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on February 21 about the Emissions Policy Framework and the updated Climate Change...

Local designers in the fashion, gift and craft industry are to benefit from the ‘Festival of the Cloth Workshop Series’, being hosted by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC). The series is a three-part programme, which will focus on Design Motif and Block Cutting on March 2 to 4; Waxing and Dyeing Part 1 on March 16 to 18, and...

Cabinet has approved a 28.5 per cent increase in the national minimum wage, effective April 1, 2022. Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Karl Samuda, says this will see the rate moving from $7,000 to $9,000 per 40-hour work. Mr. Samuda further advised that Cabinet approved increases in the minimum wage for industrial security guards, which will move from...

A sum of $300 million has been budgeted to continue implementation of the Improvement of the Emergency Communication System in Jamaica Project in fiscal year 2022/23. Details are outlined in the 2022/23 Estimates of Expenditure, tabled recently in the House of Representatives by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke. The project, being spearheaded by...

The county’s security capabilities have been significantly strengthened with the addition of six new armoured vehicles to the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) fleet. Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, commissioned the Thales Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles (BPMV) into service during a ceremony at the JDF’s headquarters, Up Park Camp, Kingston, on Monday (February 21). Manufactured...

Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) wishes to advise the public that the printing of Driver’s Licences at the May Pen Tax Office is suspended until further notice. This change has become necessary due to a hardware issue with the driver’s licence printers, which continues to impact the twenty (20) day turnaround time in which driver’s licence applications are processed, resulting in...