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The Jamaica Import/Export Inspection Centre, expected to reduce overlaps and gaps in the import/export inspection process, was officially opened Tuesday (June 23) during a ceremony at Port Bustamante, Newport West in Kingston. The Centre will operate as a 'one stop shop', housing all the regulatory agencies with responsibility for human safety, animal health and plant health, which fall under the...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding says if the country is to attract meaningful investments and business, it must do away with unnecessary bureaucracy, complicated ways of conducting business, and the use of discretion in a way that can lead to unfairness and corruption. He has called for a new philosophy to conducting business in Jamaica. In opening the Jamaica Import/Export Inspection...

Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Peter Knight, has issued a strong warning that the Agency will be relentless in pursuing and prosecuting individuals and entities deemed in breach of the terms and conditions of their development permits and licences, or who undertake such activity without the requisite approval. In the same vein,...

As climate change continues to be an increasingly topical issue, Jamaicans are becoming more aware of how the sustainability of the ocean impacts their lives, and what they must do to protect it. Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Dr. Ronald Robinson made this observation in a JIS News interview. In fact, fisher...

The Hanover division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) has had to deal with an over 300 per cent increase in fires January-May this year, compared to the similar period last year. According to Superintendent in charge of the division, Paul Hibbert, the dramatic increase was due to the amount of bush fires occurring in the parish in the first...

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Manpower and Maintenance Services (MMS), Audrey Hinchcliffe, is encouraging Jamaicans to find opportunities in the current global economic crisis. "Great difficulties are linked to great opportunities, so we need to learn how to turn crises into opportunities," Mrs. Hinchcliffe said. She was guest speaker at the launch of an information fair, dubbed 'H.O.P.E. in Recession...

The first of 10 orientation sessions under the Young Entrepreneurs Programme (YEP), which is targeted at high school and tertiary level students graduating this month, got underway yesterday (June 17) at four locations in Kingston. These were the Garmex HEART Academy; the HEART Trust/NTA Cosmetology School; Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI); and the Rockfort Vocational Training Centre (VTC). YEP was...

The Hanover Parish Council is seeking to identify lands to establish a cemetery to replace the Sandy Bay facility. His Worship the Mayor of Lucea and Chairman of the Hanover Parish Council, Councillor Lloyd Hill, in an interview with JIS News, said that the Parish Council is in discussions with the National Housing Trust (NHT) to gain access to property...

Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Ronald Jackson, has said that greater effort will be made during the current hurricane season, to attract more volunteers to assist in times of disaster. "We have been investing heavily in building our volunteer corps to support our mechanism, to try and get more persons, other than just...

Director of local charity Friends of the Homeless, Dr. Maureen Irons-Morgan, has called for special provisions to be put in place to assist persons, who become homeless during natural disasters. In an interview with JIS News, Dr. Irons-Morgan said that several persons usually become homeless during natural disasters, especially hurricanes, and it is therefore important to have a comprehensive plan...

With the island now a few weeks into the 2009 hurricane season, Disaster Preparedness Co-ordinator for Hanover, Olga Fae Headley, has declared that the parish is prepared to face any disasters, including storms or hurricanes. Speaking with JIS News following a disaster preparedness public education seminar, held at the Hopewell High School, on June 15, Mrs. Headley outlined the preparation...

Disaster Preparedness Co-ordinator for Westmoreland, Hilma Tate, has expressed satisfaction with the level of preparedness in the parish for the hurricane season, which began on June 1. "In this parish, we have been working assiduously to ensure that the level of preparedness is at a high. Presently, the main drains in the town and adjoining areas are being cleaned and...