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The Cocoa Industry Board, will be increasing the price it pays to cocoa farmers in October. Making this disclosure at a Cocoa Agents meeting at the Richmond Cocoa Fermentary in St. Mary on September 23, Secretary/Manager of the Cocoa Industry Board, Naburn Nelson, said the increase would become effective on October 1, moving the price per box from the current...

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Karl Samuda, has said that a practical approach combined with proper work ethics are vital to boosting the development of the Micro, Small and Medium, Enterprises (MSMEs). "The fundamental factors that have been, in my opinion, largely ignored over these many years, (is that) there is not enough attention (being) paid to.training at a...

The Tax Administration Services Department (TASD), is to establish a Third Party Payment Facility by March 31, as the Department continues to seek new ways of making it easier for persons to pay their taxes. This disclosure was made by Director of Public Relations, Meris Haughton, in an interview with JIS News yesterday (September 25). "In order to make it...

State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Michael Stern, has said that despite efforts to harmonise standards between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Latin America, there still exists differences between national and regional standards. This he said should not continue as the mutual recognition agreements, with respect to acceptance by trading partners of conformity assessment procedures, must...

Ninety-two beneficiaries in rural St. Catherine, received their certificates of title yesterday (September 25), from the Land Administration and Management Programme (LAMP). The titles were issued under a programme seeking to regularise and disburse some 420 such certificates titles for land occupied in the parish, which have never been registered before. The beneficiaries were from the districts of Bog Walk,...

Since the Government took office in September, a number of legislations have been passed in both Houses of Parliament, addressing issues such as pension, corruption, crime, and regulation of the scrap metal trade. To this end, Minister of Industry, Investment, and Commerce, Karl Samuda, in November, tabled a Ministry Paper in the House of Representatives, paving the way for new...

Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Olivia Grange, has said that the upcoming Olympic Homecoming Celebrations, scheduled for October 3 to 10, is an excellent way for Jamaica to honour and show its appreciation to the country's Olympians. "Our Olympic athletes have treated Jamaica, and the world for that matter, to an experience of a lifetime. The Olympic Homecoming...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding says the European Partnership Agreement which Jamaica is expected to sign come October 15, will provide a tremendous opportunity for US businesses to get into the European markets through Jamaica and to benefit from the duty free, quota free access offered under the agreement. Mr. Golding told representatives of the Jamaica American Chamber of Commerce and...

Since the new administration assumed office last year, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, has been actively attending to the social needs of Jamaican citizens, particularly the under-privileged, through the strengthening of its social intervention programmes, among other activities. One such, the Programme for Advancement through Health and Education (PATH), is set to benefit from the installation of a...

Minister of Education, Andrew Holness, has reiterated that all students leaving the primary school system must be certified literate by the Grade 4 Literacy Test, before they can sit the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), or proceed to high school. "The Ministry of Education is going to set a policy now that all students leaving the primary school system must...

The Tax Administration Services Department (TASD), is to launch an aggressive Tax Compliance Programme on November 1, as it takes a hard line stance against avoidance and delinquency. Speaking to JIS News yesterday (Sept. 24), Director of Public Relations, Meris Haughton, said the Department is ready to bring tax dodgers to book. "Come November 1, following the end of the...

The Forestry Department, is now in the final stages of moving from a department of the Ministry of Agriculture, to being an Executive Agency. In an interview with JIS News, Conservator of Forests, Marilyn Headley, said that while the Forestry Department, as an Executive Agency, would generate some income for services offered in areas such as dissemination of research data...