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A total of $108.8 million has been allotted to maintain and upgrade health facilities in the 2007/2008 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. A breakdown of the allocation will see $50 million going toward the health facilities improvement programme, which is an ongoing project for maintaining and upgrading the buildings and equipment of health care institutions; $38.8...

THIS IS A SPECIAL TIME OF YEAR, A TIME WHICH INVITES REFLECTION ON THE THEMES OF RESURRECTION, REBIRTH AND RENEWAL. HERE IN JAMAICA, ON THE SPIRITUAL LEVEL, WE JOIN WITH MANY OTHER NATIONS IN CELEBRATING THE CHRISTIAN FESTIVAL OF EASTER. ON THE PHYSICAL LEVEL, WE ARE ENJOYING OUR OWN VERSION OF SPRING - NEW LIFE APPEARING AND RAIN. BLOSSOMS ARE...

Jamaica Trade and Invest formerly the Jamaica Promotions Corporation, will be seeking to increase its engagements and partnerships within the public and private sectors, in order to attract more Jamaican investors in the local economy, Deputy President, Sancia Bennett-Templar, has said. She pointed out that Jamaica's ranking in starting businesses was high; however, its ranking with respect to sustaining and...

More than 90 per cent of all babies registered since January 1 of this year, now have their fathers' names on their birth certificates. This announcement was made by Minister of Health, Horace Dalley, at the official launch of Children's Expo 2007 by the Jamaica Foundation for Children (JFC), at the Hilton Kingston Hotel yesterday (April 3). On January 1...

The Jamaica Egg Farmers' Association yesterday (April 4), received a $15 million loan from the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, to assist in the establishment of a liquid egg plant. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, which was held at the Ministry's Old Hope Road offices, Minister of Agriculture and Lands, Roger Clarke stressed that the loan was an indication of...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Donovan Stanberry, has urged sugar cane farmers in St. Thomas to increase production, in order to capitalize on the lucrative market for ethanol, which is developing in the local and overseas marketplace. "St. Thomas is a sugar cane growing area, and an interesting development is unfolding where the world is shifting,...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Lands is promoting the 'Fairtrade' concept among banana farmers to boost income and ensure the sustainability of the industry. Fairtrade is an organized social movement, which aims to improve the lives of poor banana farmers and workers, by making sure that they get a fair price for the fruit on the international market. The Fairtrade...

It's not easy navigating the cultural twists and turns that are inevitably part of being a Caribbean national working or studying in China. Now, the Caribbean Association in China, working closely with the Embassies in Beijing, will help bridge that gap. The Association, which had its inaugural meeting in Shanghai on April 1, 2007, has pledged to serve as a...

A sum of $219 million has been allocated to the National Irrigation Development Project in the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, as set out in the 2007/08 Estimates of Expenditure now before the House of Representatives. Funded by the government of Jamaica and the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), the project aims to increase agricultural production and farmers' incomes through...

The Flood Damage Rehabilitation Programme of the Ministry of Local Government and Environment has received an allocation of $100 million for the 2007/08 period. This provision is outlined in the Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The objectives of this programme are to rehabilitate approximately 65 kilometres of flood damaged parochial roads with farming activities in six...

The Sugar Transformation Project will receive a budgetary allocation of $71 million this fiscal year, as set out in the 2007/08 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project, which will be implemented this month, will last until June of 2013. It is expected to develop a sustainable private sector led sugar industry; strengthen the economic diversification,...

The government of Jamaica has earmarked $13.23 million for natural resources conservation for financial year 2007/2008. The initiative, which falls under the National Environmental and Planning Agency (NEPA), provides for the coordination, protection, conservation and monitoring of Jamaica's natural resources and the environment, comprising the land, sea and air as well as human and other animal life. As contained in...