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A sum of $6.5 million has been allocated to the Enhancing Civil Society Participation in Local Government for Community Development Safety Project, which seeks to strengthen civil society’s participation in local governance.            It also seeks  to establish a co-ordinated local civil society and State response to crime and violence.            This is contained in the 2013/14 Estimates of Expenditure,...

Imagine having to traverse through a riverbed to get to and from your community on a daily basis, or travel for miles using the alternative route when it becomes impassable. That was the reality for hundreds of residents in several communities in North East St. Catherine, when the Dover Castle main road was left impassable following the collapse of a...

The St. James Parish Council is to embark on a series of community empowerment fora in the 17 Parish Council Divisions, with the first to be held on Thursday, March 28, at the John’s Hall All Age School in Springmount. Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Glendon Harris, who made the announcement on March 27, while addressing a Social Development Commission...

The Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) will be hosting a gospel concert on Holy Thursday, March 28. Entitled ‘Gospel on the Waterfront’, the concert will be held on Ocean Boulevard in downtown Kingston. The concert, which is free to the public, is expected to begin at 5:30 p.m. Patrons are being encouraged to wear a touch of white, symbolising...

he St. Elizabeth Parish Council is to receive an additional $3 million to assist in the distribution of water to drought stricken areas in the parish. This was announced by Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Noel Arscott, at a meeting of the Council on March 21. With sections of the island suffering from drought conditions, concern was...

The Kingston and St. Andrew office of the Social Development Commission (SDC) has achieved more than 80 per cent of its targets for the financial year April 2012 to March 2013. “We know that there’s a lot of room for improvement, but we are proud of the work we have done. Overall, we had an achievement rate somewhere in the...

Approximately 95 children in the Waterhouse community are benefiting from a new school building, which was handed over to the Maranatha Christian Church by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), on March 15. The Maranatha Ministries Basic School was constructed at a cost of $44.5 million, with financial support from the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF), a project of the...

How many plastic bottles do you use each week? A 2006 study out of the University of the West Indies (UWI), estimates that Jamaicans use over a million plastic bottles in any given week and many of these are discarded in gullies or by the roadside, as Jamaicans do not have strong recycling habits. One parish is on a mission...

The Social Development Commission (SDC) is expressing satisfaction with the public response to its series of Participatory, Accountability and Responsibility (PAR) parish sessions. According to Executive Director of the SDC, Dr. Dwayne Vernon, the feedback has been positive to date, with citizens voicing approval for the agency’s work and how the various activities have impacted their lives. “What has come...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Noel Arscott, says that all options will be explored to ensure efficiency in the collection and disposal of solid waste islandwide during the 2013/2014 financial year. He said that a submission is being prepared for Cabinet’s approval in this regard. “I, however, want the country to understand that there is a correlation...

Political representatives have been urged to make space for community leaders to identify development needs in their area, and to work with them to ensure they are achieved, by Mayor of Black River, Councillor Everton Fisher. Addressing a parish forum on March 11, at the St. Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), in Santa Cruz, Mr. Fisher argued that while the...

Residents of New Day in St. Elizabeth are being urged to play their part by contributing to the construction of a modern and more spacious basic school to serve the area. The appeal came from Chairman of the institution, Sharon Dasman, at the official contract signing ceremony held recently at the United Pentecostal Church in the community. The school is...