Beginning this week, several of the nation’s major gullies and drains will be cleaned, as the Government heightens activities to eradicate possible mosquito breeding sites. The clean-up activities, which will cost $200 million, are being carried out by the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, through the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP) Secretariat. This was disclosed by Minister of Health, Hon. Horace...

The Portmore Municipal Council has scheduled February 5 as a clean-up day, to eliminate mosquito breeding sites. “Meetings were held with tyre shop operators and other vendors in Portmore and on that day, the Municipal Council, in partnership with  the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), will remove all old tyres and other large objects that can become mosquito breeding...

In a bid to encourage greater participation by the public in local governance, the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) will be staging a series of public education sessions in the Corporate Area, to sensitize persons about legislation which will entrench Local Government in the Constitution. Mayor of Kingston, Senator Councillor, Dr. Angella Brown Burke, said  the campaign will serve...

Three strategic bills, which are pivotal to the Local Government reform process in Jamaica, were passed in the Senate on January 8. They are the Local Governance Bill; Local Government (Unified Service and Employment) Bill; and the Local Government (Financing and Financial Management) Bill. Minister of Justice, Senator the Hon. Mark Golding, who piloted the bills in the Upper Chamber,...

United Nations (UN) organization, White Helmets Commission (WHC), from Argentina, has partnered with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), to improve the country’s volunteer programme that responds to disaster emergencies. Jamaica’s National Disaster Risk Management Volunteers’ Programme (NDRMVP) brings together volunteers from various institutions across the island to render service in the pre and post impact phases...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Noel Arscott, says he will be seeking Cabinet approval shortly for the tabling of the revised Building Act in Parliament. He was speaking at the launch of Earthquake Awareness Month 2016 at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) offices on January 5. The revised Bill will facilitate the adoption...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Noel Arscott, says immediate steps will be taken to secure the Retirement Landfill in St. James from any further illegal activity, following two fires at the municipal waste disposal site over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Minister Arscott made the comment following a tour of the facility on Saturday, (January 2)....