The Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) has reported an increase in the number of emergency calls responded to in 2022, when compared to the previous year. “Our overall responses totalled 16,696… an increase of 304 or two per cent,” said Commissioner, JFB, Stewart Beckford, during an interview with JIS News. Of the total number of calls received, 7,756 were genuine fire...

Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) Commissioner, Stewart Beckford, says several activities have been undertaken to safeguard firefighters and adequately equip them to execute their duties. He told JIS News that 130 sets of bunker gears and 150 pairs of firefighting gloves were procured in 2022. Bunker gear is the personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by firefighters. Commissioner Beckford informed that the...

Municipal Corporations are being provided with trucks to assist with the distribution of water to communities most impacted by drought conditions, informs Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie. “We are providing trucks for all municipalities. At least seven municipalities, so far, have been provided with brand-new trucks, coming from allocations that we had made in the...

The Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) is reporting success in its efforts to collect revenue before the end of the financial year on March 31. Chief Executive Officer, Winston Palmer, reported that as at February 9, the year-to-date figure showed that of the $361,700,000 targeted, some $327,400,000 had been collected, which represented 91 per cent. Mr. Palmer told JIS News that...

Mayor of Kingston, Senator Councillor Delroy Morgan (right), interacts with Cleveland Alphonso Watts, at the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation’s (KSAMC) Downtown Reggae Month Street Mingle, held at Water and Temple Lanes on Friday, February 24.

The Senate, on Friday (February 24), approved the Representation of the People (Postponement of Elections to Municipal Corporations and City Municipalities) Act, 2023, which gives allowance for local government elections to be held no later than February 28, 2024. Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed the Bill without amendment. In the Upper House, the Bill was piloted by...

The Government is placing greater emphasis on rural communities to ensure that residents have access to basic amenities to improve their lives and economic well-being, says Local Government and Rural Development Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie. It is for this reason, he said, that significant resources are being pumped into upgrading community infrastructure under the Rural Development Programme (RDP). He was...