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The State Opening of Parliament will take place on Tuesday, April 7, beginning at 11:00 a.m. On that day, the Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Dr. Patrick Allen, will deliver the Throne Speech, in which he will outline the Government's programmes and policies for the 2009/10 Fiscal Year, which begins on April 1. Later in the afternoon, Minister of...

The Airports Authority of Jamaica has negotiated some US$60 million in loans from the European Investment Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), to finance Phase1A of the expansion programme at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA). The House of Representatives, yesterday (March 24), approved a Government guarantee for the loans, which comprises US$40 million from the European Investment Bank...

The Honourable Olivia "Babsy" Grange, Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports has advised that today's meeting of the Cabinet focused on the Expenditure side of the 2009/2010 Budget. Minister Grange said that between now and Thursday of this week (March 26) when the Cabinet will hold a special meeting on the Budget, ministers, their permanent secretaries and technical staff...

The House of Representatives today (March 24) approved the withdrawal of $85.1 billion from the Consolidated Fund to defray expenses until the 2009/10 budget takes effect. Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, who moved the resolution, explained that $61.2 billion will be used to meet ongoing recurrent overheads, while $23.9 billion will be spent on capital expenditure....

Jamaica's draft national plant health policy, which aims at safeguarding public health while boosting agricultural production, is now available for public consultation. The draft policy is on the Ministry of Agriculture's website, where it will remain for the next eight weeks. The public may visit the website, at www.moa.gov.jm, and make comments. The document is expected to be tabled in...

Another step to improve customer service in public sector agencies will be made tomorrow, (March 11) when the Public Sector Modernization Division (PSMD) of the Cabinet Office will host a Customer Service Conference and Workshop under the theme 'Excellence in Service Delivery.' The conference will provide participants with information on customer service best practice across the Public Sector; evaluate the...

In advising that there will be no post-Cabinet Press Briefing this week, the Honourable Olivia "Babsy" Grange, Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports has also informed that the next meeting of the Cabinet will be on Tuesday, March 17 starting 9:00 a.m. Minister Grange said that the Cabinet meeting will be held on Tuesday because the Prime Minister, the...

Another step to improve customer service in public sector agencies will be made tomorrow, (March 11), when the Public Sector Modernisation Division (PSMD) of the Cabinet Office will host a Customer Service Conference and Workshop under the theme 'Excellence in Service Delivery.' The conference will provide participants with information on customer service best practices across the Public Sector; evaluate the...

In advising that there will be no post-Cabinet Press Briefing this week, the Honourable Olivia "Babsy" Grange, Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports has also informed that the next meeting of the Cabinet will be on Tuesday, March 17 starting 9:00 a.m. Minister Grange said that the Cabinet meeting will be held on Tuesday because the Prime Minister, the...

The busy Portmore Parkway in St. Catherine has been renamed George Lee Boulevard, in honour of the first mayor of the municipality. Councillors turned out in their numbers for the recent occasion, which was preceded by a civic ceremony at the Lion's Civic Centre, to pay tribute to Mr. Lee for his stewardship and pioneering work in the formation of...

Jamaica is expected to host the next meeting of the executive committee of the Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas (COPA), which unites democratic Parliaments in the Americas. This has been confirmed by Jamaica's representative on COPA's executive committee, Othneil Lawrence, the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West St. Ann, who returned home recently from the meeting of the committee...

The Cabinet today, in addition to regular agenda items, continued intense deliberations on issues related to the 2009-2010 Budget. These include the global economic crisis, its negative impact on the island and the steps that must be taken to deal with the challenges. In the discussions, Cabinet took note of the worsening international situation as reflected in last weekend's report...