Residents of the Mount Salem Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO) have benefitted from outreach activities aimed at providing them with job-readiness skills and improved access to critical social services. This is according to a Ministry Paper tabled recently in the House of Representatives by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness. Since the establishment of the Zone on September 1,...

Several projects are currently in progress or scheduled for action in the Denham Town Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO), in Kingston. This is according to a Ministry Paper tabled recently in the House of Representatives by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness. To this end, the Zinc Fence Substitution and Integrated Infrastructure Project is targeting the substitution of over...

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), Andrew Wynter, says persons who apply for Jamaican citizenship have to undergo a stringent vetting process. “In Jamaica…it’s not a free for all. You have to bring in your police records, we check with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and other international agencies. On the local scene,...

Thirty-two persons were today (August 9) conferred with Jamaican citizenship at a swearing-in ceremony organised by the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), at the Police Officers’ Club in Kingston. The men and women, who have been associated with Jamaica for some time, hail from countries such as Syria, Nigeria, India, Sri Lanka, Cuba, the United Kingdom, Suriname, Canada and...

The Ministry of National Security is assuring citizens that its national closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance programme – Jamaica Eye – is not infringing on their right to privacy. Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, Legal Officer, Ministry of National Security, Tonelle Beecher, noted that the programme is voluntary “and not something placed on you mandatorily”. “What we are really...

In an effort to make the Jamaican passport more secure and to tighten any loopholes for identity theft, the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) will now require that persons submitting an application on behalf of an applicant take along a certified authorization letter signed by the applicant. Formerly, a person could submit an application for another person without presenting...

The State of Public Emergency now in effect in St. James, will continue for another three months, until November 1. Members of the Senate, during Friday’s (July 27) sitting, unanimously approved the extension under the Emergency Powers (Continuance) (No. 3) Resolution, 2018. Last week, the Lower House voted in favour of the extension. The State of Public Emergency was declared...