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Some 6,174 students from 83 schools islandwide have benefited from the Student Empowerment Programme to complete their secondary education. The programme is an initiative of the Ministry of Education that seeks to provide opportunities for Grade Nine students who are performing below their grade level. Salomie Evering, Deputy Chief Education Officer in charge of Curriculum and Support Services, told JIS...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, today (July 4), signed a Euro 29.3 million (J$3.3 billion) loan agreement with Vice-President of the Commerzbank in Belgium, Jacques Nyssen, for the purchase of 100 buses for the Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited (JUTC). At the signing ceremony, held at the Finance Ministry's headquarters in Kingston, Mr. Shaw noted that...

Caricom Heads of Government have proposed that the World Bank establish a team comprising representatives of the World Bank, the Caricom Secretariat, and the Caribbean Development Bank to come up with recommendations to address debt restructuring and the establishment of special windows for development financing for the region's heavily indebted middle income countries. This was disclosed by Prime Minister Bruce...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security will be establishing a registry of all seniors resident in Jamaica, State Minister, Andrew Gallimore has said. This is expected to be complemented by a toll free line at the National Council for Senior Citizens. The line, which will come into operation during the first week of August, is: 1-888-SENIORS ((1-888-736-4677). Speaking in...

Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Olivia Grange, has commended employees of the Women's Centre of Jamaica Foundation, who have made a difference in the lives of young mothers in crisis. Speaking at the Foundation's 30th anniversary luncheon and awards ceremony held at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston yesterday (July 3), the Minister noted, "today we come to...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security is to undertake a public education campaign on the benefits of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), State Minister, Andrew Gallimore informed the House of Representatives on Wednesday (July 2). Making his contribution to the 2008/09 Sectoral Debate, Mr. Gallimore noted that only 400,000 of the country's near three million population were currently members...

State Minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Andrew Gallimore, has said that plans are afoot for the active re-engagement of a number of the country's senior citizens in areas of community and national development. Making his contribution to the 2008/09 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on July 2, Mr. Gallimore said that Jamaica, like the...

The Hon Bruce Golding, Prime Minister of Jamaica, in an unequivocal statement on Tuesday (1 July 2008) to the Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government re-affirmed his country's commitment to CARICOM. Prime Minister Golding who was attending his first Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government as a Head of Government told the Opening Ceremony...

With chronic illnesses, such as hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes on the rise, the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Environment, held a health fair in Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay recently. The event was aimed at educating the public on how to care their bodies and to mitigate against the serious effects...

The Manchester Police Department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Manchester Chamber of Commerce (MCOC) and several other regional civic organizations to implement the Closed to Crime Initiative, an undertaking aimed at significantly reducing the growing incidence of crime in that parish. The MCOC believes that the safety of Manchesterians is being seriously compromised, and as a...

Opposition Spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Anthony Hylton has applauded the Government for its most recent articulation of a new policy on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Mr. Hylton, who was making his presentation in the 2008/09 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (July 2), said the policy, "brings with it renewed hope...

The new nine-member Air Jamaica Board, which became effective on July 1, has seen six persons from the previous 11-member Board being retained and three new members. The retained members are: Shirley Williams, Dennis Lalor, Richard Byles, Wilfred Bagaloo, Dr. Carolyn Hayle, and Omar Parkins, while the new members are: Derick Latibeaudiere, Chris Berry, and Colin Steele. Making the announcement...