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The parish of St. Elizabeth has copped top place in the inaugural Social Development Commission (SDC) National Debating Competition with prizes of $30,000 and a trophy. The awards were held at the Fellowship Tabernacle in Mandeville Manchester on Wednesday, December 2. Member of the winning team, Jermaine Porter, told JIS News that he and his teammates had served as youth...

Two often volatile Spanish Town communities got a lift Thursday (December 3) with the opening of the March Pen Road/Corletts Road Community Centre, by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Major Richard Reese. Major Reese described the community centre, located on McPherson Avenue, as a monument to the dedication of the residents to achieving peace in the...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding has instructed that $100,000 be given to each "Youth Mayor" for a project that is "substantial and long lasting." Speaking at the Prime Minister's Youth Mayors' Luncheon Wednesday (December 2) at Jamaica House in Kingston, Mr. Golding said that the "young Mayors" should be leaders of today and not tomorrow, as is often said....

Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, with responsibility for Local Government, Hon. Robert Montague, has commended 16 past members of the Trelawny Parish Council, for giving a combined 478 years of dedicated and meritorious service to the parish. The workers, who served between 15 and 43 years, were presented with plaques at a ceremony, held in...

As of today (December 1), persons applying to the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), to mount display boards promoting events, will be required to pay a cess of $50,000. His Worship the Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Desmond McKenzie, explained that this cess would "put us in a better position when we have to clean up after persons who advertise."...

With the consultations on local government reform completed, Cabinet submissions are being prepared, to facilitate the issuing of drafting instructions for the 14 laws, which are to be repealed as part of the reform process. The intention is to create three key Acts that better reflect the roles and functions of local authorities and which will give the system the...

Students from several high schools in St. Mary participated in a St. Mary Youth Council meeting, organised by the St. Mary Parish Council on Thursday, November 19. The event, which was held as a part of activities to observe Local Government Month (November) in the parish, was convened as a mock version of the monthly meeting of the St. Mary...

The Department of Local Government is turning to green technology in a major thrust to cut expenditure at the local government level. One of the areas being looked at is the use of solar-powered streetlights, and the Department is already testing one of these lights on Hagley Park Road in Kingston, just outside its offices. The Department began testing the...

His Worship the Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Desmond McKenzie, says that downtown Kingston can look forward to a number of positive developments in 2010. The Mayor, who was speaking at a Church Service launching Kingston and St. Andrew's Local Government Month celebrations, also commended telecommunications company, Digicel, on its decision to move downtown, next year. "I am encouraged by certain...

Despite financial constraints, the St. Ann Parish Council will continue to reach out to indigent persons in the parish through its street feeding programme. Administrator for the Parish Council, Ms. Claudiah Carter, told JIS News that the Council provides a hot meal for the poor and needy on a daily basis. "This street feeding programme started in the early 1990s...

Mayor of Savanna-La-Mar and Chairman of the Westmoreland Parish Council, Councillor Bertel Moore, has bemoaned the deterioration of proper values and attitudes, especially among students. The Mayor urged parents and guardians to continue training the young people, in order for them to adapt the right principles and become heroes in their own rights. He was addressing hundreds of citizens at...

The long awaited reform of Jamaica's Local Government system, to empower the Councils to be more efficient and responsive, is expected to be completed in June, 2010. Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) with responsibility for Local Government Reform, Hon. Robert Montague, informs JIS News that the extended timeline is achievable, and "we are working...