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The effective and efficient delivery of products and services by the public sector is pivotal to the realisation of the country's National Development Plan, Vision 2030. This was emphasised by Chief Standards and Monitoring Officer, National Customer Service Programme, Public Sector Modernisation Unit, Cabinet Office, Michele Gordon-Somers, at the opening of the Customer Service Monitoring and Evaluation System (CSMES) inaugural...

MANDEVILLE – The Canaan Heights community in Clarendon has received four computers and other office equipment from the Social Development Commission (SDC), as part of the agency’s community safety and security initiative funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Director of Governance at the SDC, Sherine Walker-Francis, told the handing over ceremony at the Canaan Heights Community Centre on...

KINGSTON - The 2011 Housing and Population Census will assist policy makers in making critical decisions in the areas of transportation and communications. Director General of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), Sonia Jackson, in an interview with JIS News, said that unlike the last census, questions relating to these sectors have been included in the 2011 survey instrument. “The...

By the end of March, the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) will be taking legal action against entities that refuse to comply with the registration requirement under the Registration of Business Names Act. “We will be taking to court all these businesses that have not been registered or have not renewed certification and have been served three notices,” said Compliance...

The Government of Jamaica is deeply concerned about the massive earthquake that struck the eastern section of Japan earlier this morning. Measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, it is the most severe earthquake ever to have struck Japan and the 7th worst in the history of the world. A large number of persons have been killed and extensive damage done...

Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, has announced that a parliamentary by-election and four Local Government by-elections will be held in April. He said that Nomination Day will be next Wednesday, March 16, and Election Day for all five contests will be on Monday, April 4. Mr. Golding made the disclosure Tuesday (March 8) at a press conference at Gordon...

The Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) has reported that at least two foreign nationals have been convicted within the past six years for attempting to sell a Jamaican child overseas. In its 2009/10 annual report, the OCA points out  that the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Trafficking in Persons Unit indicates that since 2005, five incidents of child trafficking cases,...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding says a Sexual Harassment Policy is being developed and a National Gender Policy is to be launched shortly to further strengthen the protection of women. “Despite the advancements made, regrettably, too many of our women are still afflicted by daily challenges in the homes, communities and places of work-challenges that we must consistently strive to minimize...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, addressing Guardian Life’s 11th Annual Awards Ceremony yesterday (March 3) at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel expressed the hope that enough fiscal space will be allowed to put some money in the economy so people can start working and spending again. “We believe that this is critical to supporting the investment that we want to see. It...

The deadline for the submission of entries for the Natural History Museum of Jamaica’s (NHMJ) Earth Day competition has been extended to Friday, March 11. Students are being asked to send in their creative essays, posters and photography works by that date. Education Outreach Officer of the NHMJ, Dorsia Brooks, told JIS News that the deadline was extended to allow...

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) has retrofitted 1,103 houses in five parishes and trained 235 persons in safer building techniques, following the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav, which ravaged sections of the island in 2008. Programme Coordinator of the Tropical Gustav Recovery Project, Kirk Frankson, made the revelation at a Think Tank held on March 2...

Prime Minister, Hon. Bruce Golding says the Wigton windfarm in Manchester will be providing hard currency savings for the country, while earning from the sale  of carbon credits overseas. “It will save us almost 60,000 barrels of oil imports per year, at a value of over US$5 million,” the Prime Minister  pointed out, adding that together,  Phases One and Two...