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The St. James Parish Council has commenced a series of quarterly intersectoral fora, to bring together, representatives from all major state agencies, business and civic groups, for dialogue aimed at improving service delivery within the parish. Addressing the first quarterly meeting held on May 31 at the Oleander Restaurant at Sandals Montego Bay, Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Glendon Harris,...

Hundreds of persons turned out in St. Elizabeth on Labour Day (May 23), to beautify towns, clean community spaces, build community amenities and homes for the elderly. Many of the projects were completed, and in other cases significant work was done with many of the residents promising to volunteer their time to ensure that they are completed in short order....

Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Angela Brown Burke, says providing and maintaining a clean environment for family-oriented recreational activities is a major focus of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) for the development of downtown. “We are looking, in our 140th year, to see what we do with downtown in terms of its development. It’s not just about the Waterfront,...

Three ministries of government are collaborating to ensure that this year's Labour Day activities are successful. These are Youth and Culture, Labour and Social Security, and Local Government and Community Development. (Related Story: Parish Councils Take Lead in Registering Labour Day Projects) Principal Director of Culture in the Ministry of Youth and Culture, Sydney Bartley, stated that out of recognition...

Further research and development of fruits and vegetables will be facilitated under the Centre of Excellence for Advanced Technology in Agriculture (CEATA), with the construction of two new greenhouses, this financial year. The greenhouses, one of which will be located at Coleyville, Manchester and the other at Elim, in St. Elizabeth, are being constructed with funding from the Spanish Agency...

Parish Councils islandwide have been leading the charge in the registration of projects at the community level, to be carried out on Labour Day, May 23. This was disclosed by Principal Director of Culture in the Ministry of Youth and Culture, Sydney Bartley, at a  JIS ‘Think Tank’ on May 16. “The Parish Councils have been very very active. The...

Some $21.85 million has been allocated in the 2012/13 Estimates of Expenditure for a project to strengthen civil society participation in local governance and establish a co-ordinated local civil society and state response to crime and violence. During the fiscal year, ‘The Enhancing Civil Society Participation in Local Government for Community Safety’ project, funded by the United Nations Development Programme...

Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon. Noel Arscott, has underscored the pivotal role which local authorities must play in sustaining good governance in communities, by seeking to assist them in overcoming challenges, particularly crime and violence. Speaking at a parish safety and security workshop, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on May 9, Mr. Arscott said issues...

Since the start of the year, the parish of St. Elizabeth has seen a 24 per cent reduction in major crimes, with a 38 per cent drop in the murder rate, over the same period of 2011. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Derrick Cochrane, who heads the Area Three Police Division, credited the improvement to the hard work of the...

The cleaning of the Lucea cemetery is the parish project for Hanover for Labour Day 2012 on May 23. The project was chosen at a multi-sectoral meeting held in the parish council chambers on May 2, which was chaired jointly by council chairman and Mayor of Lucea, Shernett Haughton, and Custos of the parish, Dr. David Stair. The representatives at...

The new government, which was elected to office on December 29, 2011, has placed local governance at the top of the national agenda, with a full Ministry of Local Government and Community Development established under the leadership of Hon. Noel Arscott with Hon. Colin Fagan as State Minister. Under the Portia Simpson Miller-led administration, the Local Government Elections, which were...

The 24 People’s National Party (PNP) Councillors of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), who were successful in the March 26 Local Government election, were sworn on April 10, at a ceremony held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston. The other 14 Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Councillors did not attend the ceremony, and will be sworn in at...