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Prime Minister Bruce Golding is calling for a more clearly defined framework for the Aid -for- Trade (AFT) programme and he says there is also need for clarity as to the relationship and the impact of trade provisions with bilateral arrangements. Addressing the second Latin America and the Caribbean regional review on Aid- for- Trade at the Ritz Carlton hotel...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding is of the view that there is a need to examine the expanded, unregulated and distracting choices available to young people and in particular boys. He said there are too many impulses coming at youngsters from too many directions. "Where are they going to find time to focus on their academic learning?. Where are...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding has confirmed that the health authorities now have the capacity to do local testing for Influenza A (H1N1). "Up to last week, specimens would have had to be sent to the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) in Port-of-Spain for analysis. We have now received the necessary primers and we have the reagents and the competence...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding has said that the Government will be spending approximately $10 billion this fiscal year to keep poor Jamaicans covered under its social safety net, especially in terms of health care and school nutrition. Mr. Golding said that the Government has provided an additional $1 billion to expand the Programme for Advancement Through Health and...

The National Development Plan for Jamaica (Vision 2030) and the Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework, were tabled by Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding today (May 5) in the House of Representatives. The development plan and framework set out a range of policy actions, which are designed to transform Jamaica into a developed state by the year 2030. Prime Minister...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding says that Jamaica will only contemplate resuming a borrowing relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), if the country faces significant deterioration in its balance of payment. But Mr. Golding, speaking in the Budget Debate at Gordon House today (May 5), assured Parliament that the Government was prepared to engage the Opposition in looking...

Residents of Kendal in Manchester are being encouraged to get organised in order to effectively contribute to the development of their community. "You need to become organised (with) people from all the different sectors within the community coming together as one people and charting and planning the way forward for the betterment of the people," said Development Area Co-ordinator at...

Starting this year, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) will be observing May as Hurricane Preparedness Month. The initiative, which will be an annual feature on ODPEM's calendar, aims to heighten national awareness of the need for adequate preparations, by individuals, to effectively deal with dislocations resulting from the onset of severe weather during the six-month North...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding has advised that parents wishing to purchase computers for their children, should do so through the schools in order to avoid the General Consumption Tax. He has again advised the public that computers that are purchased by schools, universities and educational institutions are exempted from tax. Speaking on his call-in radio programme, Jamaica House...

Leader of the Opposition, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, has recommended that the allocation for Natural Disaster Mitigation and Management in the current budget be significantly increased. "Jamaica is a small island developing state. This places us at the epicentre of the challenges that come with Global Warming and Climate Change, for which there is a growing body of...

Deputy Director-General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Richard Thompson, is assuring that the agency is adequately prepared to initiate up to four weeks of relief assistance islandwide, in the event that the country is affected by a hurricane or tropical storm. This assurance comes one month ahead of the start of the 2009 North Atlantic...

The National Library of Jamaica is developing Digital Audio Books for visually impaired Jamaicans. The new format will assist visually impaired persons who are unable to access research or recreational material, other than by Braille, because of the unavailability of Digital Audio Books and material. Executive Director of the National Library, Winsome Hudson, made the disclosure on Tuesday (April 28)...