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Government is to establish a special fund to assist Parish Councillors in implementing development projects in their Council seats. The Divisional Empowerment Fund (DEF), which will be introduced in February 2011, will provide $100,000 for each Parish Council Division, to be utilised similar to the way the Community Development Fund (CDF) operates for Members of Parliament (MPs). Addressing the monthly...

Custos Rotulorum for St. James, Hon. Ewen Corrodus, has said that Justices of the Peace (JPs) are needed to restore strength and unity to communities, and to reconstruct the moral fiber of the Jamaican society. "It is no light matter that you have been chosen to serve your country in this capacity. You have been recommended and selected, based on...

A cheque for $800,000 to cover the tuition fees of 103 sixth form students at Cornwall College, in Montego Bay, was presented to Headboy, Jason Bowen, on December 2, by Member of Parliament for North West St. James, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang. Dr. Chang, who is also Minister of Water and Housing, said the money, which comes from the Constituency...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding, has expressed confidence that the dream of a re-developed downtown Kingston is fast becoming a reality. Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Digicel Headquarters in downtown Kingston on November 30, Mr. Golding said the Government hopes to commence building a new headquarters for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade to...

The Boys' Town Telecentre/Computer Lab, which allows residents to have access to a wealth of information by the click of a button, was officially opened today (November 30). Located at Hugh Sherlock Hall on Collie Smith Drive in Kingston, the telecentre/computer lab provides a means for community members, especially young people, to improve their education, acquire skills and participate in...

Approximately $60 million is to be spent by the Department of Local Government to construct two Municipal buildings, and expand another facility, to accommodate the operations of three local authorities. The three authorities that will benefit are the St. Thomas and Westmoreland Parish Councils, and the Portmore Municipal Council. This was announced by State Minister for Local Government in the...

Minister of State for Local Government, Hon. Robert Montague, says that the government is fully committed to the reform process to make governance at the local level more effective. Giving the main address at a town hall meeting of the St. Mary Parish Development Committee held at the Port Maria Civic Centre on Thursday (November 25), Mr. Montague said that...

Nine markets are to be renovated under Phase One of an island-wide market beautification programme, to be spearheaded by the Department of Local Government. The markets are: Constant Spring, in St. Andrew; Ocho Rios and St. Ann's Bay, St. Ann; Buff Bay and Port Antonio, Portland; Oracabessa and Annotto Bay, St. Mary; Falmouth, Trelawny; and Lucea, Hanover. All the markets...

The Mayors of Portmore, Spanish Town and Morant Bay plan to revisit enforcement plans for 'no-build' zones in their respective parishes, to increase enforcement, following the devastation wreaked by Tropical Storm Nicole, recently. Jamaica's National Housing Policy, which is being fine tuned by the Ministry of Water and Housing, does not speak specifically to no-build zones. However, it speaks to...

About 100 houses are to be built in communities in Central and West Kingston under the pilot project to be undertaken by the government to address the problem of inadequate housing in inner-city communities. "We will be selecting sections of Central Kingston and West Kingston and that should be able to cover 80 to 100 (houses)," said Prime Minster, Hon....

State Minister for Local Government in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Hon. Robert Montague, says arrangements are being made to allocate approximately $40 million to each of the 14 municipal councils, to assist repairing infrastructural damage caused by heavy rains associated with tropical storm Nicole in September, and other severe weather systems. Speaking at the launch of the...

State Minister for Local Government in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Hon. Robert Montague, says arrangements are being made to allocate approximately $40 million to each of the 14 municipal councils, to assist repairing infrastructural damage caused by heavy rains associated with tropical storm Nicole in September, and other severe weather systems. Speaking at the launch of the...