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Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles, is urging employers to certify and upgrade their employees in order to boost productivity, save money, and improve the working environment. "We want all employers to require that their workers are certified and upgraded," the Minister said, stressing: "we want to have HEART Trust prepare themselves to certify tests and upgrade employees....

Acting Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Viralee Lattibeaudiere, is reporting that an increasing number of Jamaicans are making greater use of its online facility to pay their taxes. Speaking at yesterday's (July 22) JIS 'Think Tank,' Mrs. Lattibeaudiere informed that since its launch in 2004, the online facility, which she refers to as the Virtual Collectorate, for the...

Minister of Education, Andrew Holness, has announced that the Ministry has developed guidelines for setting auxiliary fees for secondary schools. This comes against the background of numerous complaints received by the Ministry regarding exorbitant increases in non-obligatory contributions (auxiliary fees) requested by some schools. In a statement to the House yesterday (July 22), Mr. Holness said that the Ministry "has...

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) have signed a contract valued at $4.3 million, to facilitate a mentorship programme in 12 inner-city communities in five parishes across Jamaica. At the launching ceremony, held at Jamaica House, yesterday (July 22), Managing Director of JSIF, Scarlette Gillings, said that the one-year contract provides for services in the...

The National Council on Ocean and Coastal Zone Management (NCOCZM) has established a Cay Management Committee for the more than 60 cays surrounding Jamaica. The committee is in the process of visiting a number of the cays with a view to provide a detail report on the existing conditions. Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign...

Mr. President, I am pleased to make my contribution to the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate in my capacity as Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Mr. President, the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dr. Kenneth Baugh, in his Sectoral Presentation to the House...

Thousands of locals as well as foreigners are expected to flock the grounds of the St. Ann Jamaica Bauxite Partners in Discovery Bay, for the staging of the Jamaica Push Cart Derby, on Sunday, August 17. The event has been endorsed by Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, the Ministry of Tourism and its agencies, the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and...

Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Charles Sinclair has commended the National Land Agency (NLA) for embarking on a project, which has resulted in 37 certificates of title being issued to persons occupying land settlement schemes in Hanover, Westmoreland, and St. James. Speaking at a recent handing over ceremony, at the St. John's Methodist Church Hall in Montego Bay, Mayor Sinclair...

The over 700 court staff island-wide who interact with the public daily have begun to benefit from a series of customer service training workshops being undertaken by the Justice Training Institute (JTI). The announcement was made by Director of the JTI, Audrey Sewell, during an interview with JIS News. According to Mrs. Sewell, the series of training workshops will focus...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator, Dr. Ronald Robinson has said that a bilateral agreement to expand the exploration of hydrocarbon resources in the Joint Regime Area (JRA) shared by Jamaica and Columbia will soon be a reality. Making his contribution to the 2008/09 State of the Nation Debate in the Upper House...

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Senator Warren Newby, has informed that the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has committed $15 million to develop Youth Information Centres (YIC) in St. Thomas, St. Elizabeth, and St. Ann. "The centre in St. Ann should be opened during the course of this financial year, and work will begin...

Officials of the St. Thomas Parish Council are to meet this week with residents of Trinityville in the parish to tour that district and assess various local concerns, and to effect solutions as swiftly as possible. This comes as a result of a Parish Council meeting held in the district, which facilitated broad-based public interaction. This was one of four...