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Food for the Poor, today (Dec.10), handed over two tractors, valued upwards of $4 million, to the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, at the Ministry's headquarters in Kingston. The tractors, which will benefit small farmers in St. Elizabeth and Manchester, were donated as part of Food for the Poor's Rural Economic Agricultural Programme (REAP). Director of REAP, George Thompson,...

Legislation to establish the Jamaica Dairy Development Board, which will be charged with putting programmes in place for the growth and regulation of the dairy sector and connected matters, was passed in the House of Representatives yesterday (Dec. 9). Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, who piloted the Jamaica Dairy Development Board Act, explained that the move is in response...

The Government's move to promulgate regulations governing public sector procurement procedures, will set legally binding and uniformed rules for procurement in all public sector entities, so as to enhance the regulatory framework and improve enforcement. This is according to a Ministry Paper tabled by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw in the House of Representatives yesterday (Dec....

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, has said that while the Jamaican economy is being severely challenged by the global financial turmoil, the country is not in crisis, nor is in panic mode. The Minister, who was addressing a joint press conference with the Managing Director of the IMF, Dominique Straus-Khan today (Dec.10), at the Hilton Kingston...

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Dr. Kenneth Baugh, has reiterated the government's commitment to the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights even while paying attention to the protection of civil and political rights. Minister Baugh was declaring open this morning (Wednesday) at the Foreign Ministry, an exhibition to commemorate the 60th Anniversary...

2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and at this important juncture Jamaica, like other countries, faces unprecedented challenges. Although sixty years have passed, the tenets in the Universal Declaration are as relevant today, if not more so. Crimes such as trafficking in firearms, terrorism, and trafficking in persons, threaten the very...

The Minister of Education wishes to commend the Police in its effort to tackle the problems of truancy, possession of offensive weapons and contraband, violence and disorder facing our school system. The Ministry recognizes that these challenges are as much education management issues as they are security issues. The multi-faceted nature of the problem requires a multi-sectoral response from the...

The United States-based charity, Jamaica Women of Washington (JWOW), has donated US$2,500 towards the Tropical Storm Gustav Recovery Fund. The cheque was presented to the Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, by JWOW President, Dr. Jacqueline Watson, at the organisation's 'Give5' fundraising holiday reception, held recently at the Embassy of Jamaica in Washington, DC. Dr. Watson stated...

Jamaica's tourism industry has suffered very little disruption, so far, as the global economic meltdown drags on. That was the message the Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, delivered to media practitioners in New York City, on December 5, at the Annual Media Appreciation Reception, held at the offices of the public relations firm, Ruder Finn, in midtown Manhattan. While emphasising...

Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, has called on stakeholders in the tourism sector to work with Government to ensure the sustainability of the industry, especially in these challenging economic times. "We must acknowledge that this world crisis will require all of us to make adjustments to our strategies and mode of operation in response to this economic slump," the Prime Minister...

Late entry for the 2009 Commonwealth Writers Prize closes on December 31, and short listed persons will be announced next February. The two overall winners for Best Book and Best First Book, will be announced at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival (AWRF) in New Zealand on May 16, 2009. The Commonwealth Prize is an annual presentation of the Commonwealth...

The definition of social water and who is to pay for it, will top the agenda of a workshop to be held by the Ministry of Water and Housing, at the Liguanea Club, in Kingston, on Wednesday, December 10. The Ministry's Water Sector Policy and Action Plan, speak to social water, and seeks, to make "potable water available to all...