A mediation programme is being piloted in the parish courts as part of efforts to reduce the backlog of cases, while enabling persons to settle disputes peacefully. The programme is being undertaken by the Ministry of Justice and the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF) and will run from December 1 to March 2022. The initiative aims to improve the pace of...

Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., says a Bill to amend the Rent Restriction Act is expected to be tabled in Parliament by the end of this fiscal year. He said the amendments seek to strengthen the outdated provisions and address the challenges faced by landlords and tenants. “A viable rental industry is...

The Ministry of Health and Wellness, in collaboration with the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC), has contacted 52 laboratories to participate in the inter-lab comparison by the National Public Health Lab, to expand COVID-19 testing capacity. “Of that number, 14 have been non-responsive, two were previously approved with another three recently approved, and by Friday, December 4, 2021, we...

Qualified National Housing Trust (NHT) contributors are to benefit from 16 housing solutions in Clarendon. This will be made possible through a Special Benefit Order, effective July 30, 2021. Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Fayval Williams, made the announcement at a virtual post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday (December 1). She noted that the Special Benefit Order will facilitate...

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says training arrangements are being finalised to facilitate local testing for coronavirus COVID-19 variants. Jamaica acquired a genome sequencing machine to test for COVID-19 variants in late October. It is located at the National Influenza Centre (NIC) at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). Speaking in the House...

The Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in December, and will stage a series of activities to mark the occasion, under the theme ‘CCCJ at 20, Expanding the Possibilities’. Speaking today (December 1) at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, Executive Director of the CCCJ, Donna Powell Wilson, said that throughout its 20-year existence, the entity...

Akishma Payne of the Hampton School in St. Elizabeth took first place in the National Child Month Committee (NCMC) Youth Forum debate competition finals held on Friday (November 26). She defeated three other students from secondary schools across the island, who argued the moot ‘Be it resolved that the circumstances surrounding the pandemic are preparing the youth to embrace the...