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The State Opening of Parliament will take place on Thursday March 4, 2010, with Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Dr. Patrick Allen, delivering the Throne Speech, in which he will outline the Government's programmes and policies for the 2010/11 Fiscal Year, which begins on April 1. Later in the afternoon, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley...

Cabinet has approved the appointment of a new Board of Directors for the National Housing Trust. The appointments became effective January 1, 2010, for a period of two years. The new NHT Board members are: Mr. Howard S. Mitchell, Attorney- at law, appointed as Chairman for a second term. Mr. George Fyffe, General Secretary of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union...

The Government is moving to alleviate overcrowding in the island's prisons, with Cabinet's approval of measures for the full implementation of the electronic monitoring of criminal offenders. Electronic monitoring is a surveillance system, used by correctional services globally, to monitor the activities of convicted offenders who have been granted conditional release from incarceration. The process involves attaching an anklet to...

Cabinet has approved $24 million to JAMPRO to fund export promotion and facilitation overseas. The money will fund the re-opening of the Toronto office and support the Jamaica Marketing Company (JAMCO) office and the reactivation of JAMCO under Jampro's London office in England. Minister with responsibility for Information Hon. Daryl Vaz said that the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce,...

The Joint Select Committee of the Houses of Parliament set up to consider the Final Report of the Ministry of Health, Jamaica Abortion Policy Review Advisory Group, will be staging public consultations to discuss the issue of abortion. Members of the public will hear presentations on the issue and have the opportunity to air their views.These consultations will be held...

Arising out of yesterday's Cabinet sitting, Cabinet has scheduled a 4-day retreat for this Thursday-Sunday (January 7-10), during which it will deal with matters affecting the economy, including the status of the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Minister with Responsibility for Information, Hon. Daryl Vaz, said other matters which will be high on the agenda for this weekend's...

A new energy policy document, based on national consultations and comments from a wide cross-section of society as well as current realities facing Jamaica, has been tabled in Parliament by Minister of Mining and Energy, the Hon Jams Robertson. According to the Minister the document represents a revision of the Energy Policy Green Paper 2006-2020, which had been tabled by...

The Cybercrimes Act, with sanctions for the misuse of computer systems or data and to facilitate investigation and prosecution of such crimes, was passed on Friday (December18) in the Senate. Leader of Government Business and Attorney General, Senator the Hon. Dorothy Lightbourne, explained that the Act provides criminal sanctions for unauthorised access to and use of computer systems and data...

The House of Representatives yesterday (December 15) passed the Registration (Strata Titles) Amendment Act with the 29 changes made by the Senate. Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, noted that the majority of the amendments involved the insertion of or changes to words, to give greater clarity. He said that some clauses were also rearranged. "These amendments in the vast...

The pace of the transformation of Government to satisfy high levels of service and efficiency is moving ahead. The Public Sector Modernisation Vision and Strategy Medium Term Action Plan have been approved by Cabinet for wider implementation across the public sector. This approval allows Government to benefit from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan for financing to train state employees...

Government Senator Dennis Meadows has revived interest in the debate on the decriminalisation of marijuana (ganja) in Parliament. "What I am advocating is that ganja, at the level of spliffs for private use, (should) be treated similarly to a traffic ticket," Senator Meadows argued in his contribution to the 2009/10 State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on Friday...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding told Parliament yesterday ( Dec 8) that DNA legislation will pave the way for mandatory registration of a father's name on a newborn child's birth certificate. The draft for the DNA legislation is complete and on its way to Cabinet for review. The Prime Minister was responding to a question in Parliament from the Member for...