The Government is looking to review the building fees charged by municipal authorities with the aim of putting a standardised system in place, and ensure that the fees for development projects are in keeping with current realities. Developers have long raised concerns about the fragmented nature of the fees charged by various local authorities and the resultant complications. Minister of...

Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says proposals made at the recent Youth Mayors’ Forum will be documented for implementation. “I have instructed the team to ensure that we place them on the website of the Ministry of Local Government and that we use them as a part of the way… forward,” he stated. He was speaking...

The Old Shoe Market located on the corner of St. James and Strand Streets in Montego Bay is to be transformed into a modern arcade at a cost of some $100 million. Mayor of Montego Bay and Chairman of the St. James Municipal Corporation, Councillor Homer Davis, said that ground will be broken early 2019 for the development, which will...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Karl Samuda, is imploring citizens to pay their water bills, as this contributes to the continued development of the country’s water infrastructure. “I am going to appeal to those who will benefit from these systems, that when the water is supplied, you must make your contribution. You...

More than 7,000 residents of several communities in South St. James now have access to an improved water supply, following the Rural Water Supply Limited’s (RWSL) completion of four major projects in that region at a cost of approximately $54 million. The projects include rehabilitation of the Spring Gardens water supply system; upgrading of the Montpelier water supply system; and...

The re-launch of the Parish Development Committees (PDCs) is seen as critical in the reform of local governance by increasing citizen engagement in the decision-making process and development of their communities. “The PDCs give the common man an opportunity to represent their views at the municipal corporation because it is the PDCs that sit on the committees of the municipal...

Millions of dollars will be spent to upgrade the infrastructure of infirmaries islandwide, says Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie. The Minister was speaking at the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development’s Youth Mayors’ Forum, held at the Clarendon Municipal Corporation in May Pen on November 22. The event was held as part of Local...