For the 2019/2020 fiscal year, the Government spent $6.9 billion on cash grants for Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) beneficiaries. This was disclosed by Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Mike Henry, during his contribution to the 2020/21 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on July 21. He told the House that the challenges of...

Local authorities and partner agencies received 3,773 development applications valued at $148.3 billion in the last financial year, with 2,777 approved within 90 days, representing an approval rate of nearly 84 per cent. Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, made the disclosure during his 2020/21 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (July 21),...

The Ministry of Local Government and Community Development is in the process of instituting measures aimed at further strengthening the accountability framework at Municipal Corporations. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says chief among these is the implementation of a new accounting-based system, for which technical assistance support is being provided by the European Union (EU). He also mentioned the proposed...

Stakeholders in the entertainment and creative industries are being encouraged to sign up with the Government’s e-registry, in order to benefit from various incentives. Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, made the call during her contribution to the 2020/21 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, on Tuesday (July 14). “Practitioners who register with the e-registry,...

The public is being advised that the Emancipation Day public holiday will be observed on Saturday, August 1, 2020, as scheduled. Director of Public Relations and Communication in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Vando Palmer, told JIS News that the legislation that governs public holidays has not made any provision for a change of the day on which...

Jamaica is on track to open its first National Shelter for victims of domestic abuse in August. Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, has informed that work has resumed on two of the three shelters that the Government is planning to open across the island. She was making her presentation in the 2020/2021 Sectoral Debate in...

The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport will be implementing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the University of the West Indies Open Campus for the anti-sexual harassment training of managers and other workers in the public and private sectors. Research will also be conducted on Sexual Harassment and Workplace Violence, says Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport,...