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Former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. P.J. Patterson, is appealing to Parliamentarians to abandon adversarial politics and replace it with a consensual system, which embraces the best ideas regardless of the political quarters from which they originate. "We have to make a seismic shift in our political culture," Mr. Patterson said in Gordon House on Tuesday, where a joint sitting...

Several Members of both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday (November 13) paid tribute to former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. P.J. Patterson for his role in shaping Jamaica’s post-Independence Parliamentary landscape. Mr. Patterson served as the nation’s sixth Prime Minister from March 30, 1992 to March 30, 2006. Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, described the former leader...

Some 18 delegates from over 10-member countries of the Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) are in Jamaica for a three-day Regional Staff Development Workshop. The workshop, organised for procedural clerks serving the region's parliaments, got underway Friday morning at the Four Seasons Hotel, St. Andrew, under the theme: ‘The Role of the Procedural Clerk...

A levy of US$1 has been imposed on each pound of conch exported during the 2012 conch season. The House of Representatives on Tuesday (October 30), approved the Conch (Export Levy) (Rate of Levy) Order Resolution, 2012, to facilitate the move. The Resolution was brought by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke. The law requires that for each...

The House of Representatives, on Tuesday (October 30), approved the withdrawal of $1.8 billion from the Capital Development Fund (CDF), to provide budgetary support for the 2012/13 financial year, as well as to fund community development programmes. Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, who moved the Withdrawal Order in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (Oct....

The operations and activities of the nation's Parliament are one step closer to being transformed, through the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Minister, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, has disclosed that the Ministry has received a formal submission and accompanying budget from the Clerk of the Houses of Parliament for the project’s consideration. The Minister...

The House of Representatives, on Tuesday (Oct. 16), approved a motion for the United Kingdom (UK) and specified British Overseas Territories to be brought under the ambit of the Mutual Assistance (Criminal Matters) Act. The move will provide for increased cooperation on criminal matters between Jamaica and other Commonwealth countries in the region. According to Attorney-General, Patrick Atkinson, who moved...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, has hailed former Prime Minister the Most Hon. Edward Seaga as "one of the granite figures of our time". "He is supremely an extraordinary parliamentarian, creative institution builder, and a pragmatic Jamaican visionary," she said in tribute to Mr. Seaga yesterday (Oct. 9 during a special joint sitting of the Houses of...

Former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Edward Seaga, is to be honoured during a special joint sitting of the Houses of Parliament at Gordon House on Tuesday (October 9), as part of Jamaica 50 celebrations. Mr. Seaga is being recognised for the role he played in shaping Jamaica's post-Independence parliamentary landscape. He is the only surviving member of the team...

Cabinet has instructed the Ministry of Justice to ensure that priority is given to the passage of legislation such as the DNA Bill and regulations to accompany the Sexual Offences Act. This follows extensive discussions on the recent spate of sexual offences against women and children. Speaking at the Jamaica House press briefing on October 3, 2012, Minister with responsibility...

As part of its Jamaica 50 celebrations, the Houses of Parliament will honour former Prime Minister the Most Hon. Edward Seaga for the role he played in crafting the post-Independence Parliamentary landscape. Tribute will be paid to Mr. Seaga at a special Joint Meeting of the Houses on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at Gordon House. The ceremony...

A  Bill to establish the National Parenting Support Commission was passed by the House of Representatives on September 25. Under the National Parenting Support Commission Act 2012, members of the Commission will have the responsibility of overseeing the implementation and operation of the National Parenting Policy. The policy defines effective parenting from a Jamaican perspective and sets out the Government's...