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The Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD) will be intensifying its efforts to ensure that children with disabilities have equal access to education. In an interview with JIS News, Acting Executive Director of the JCPD, Valerie Spence, said that with an increase in the number of disabled students being rejected by school authorities, the organisation will be more vigilant...

Assistant Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Mary Nichols, has appealed to young people to "stop and think" before they decide to become parents. "I'm really encouraging young people, who are sexually active, to stop and think about the act before you become a parent, because it is much more than the act. It is actually a life and...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, yesterday (Nov.13) informed that relative calm has returned to the local foreign exchange market. "This week, you would have noticed, barring a little upward movement by a few cents or downward by a few cents, the dollar is stabilising and it is very important that I encourage all stakeholders to support...

Debate on the death penalty continued in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (Nov. 12) with State Minister in the Ministry of Water and Housing, Everald Warmington, arguing that should Jamaica resume hangings, it would descend to the level of murderers. "I don't believe that any civilised society should descend to the level of murderers to commit the same murder...

Cabinet has approved the appointment of Heather Pinnock, Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Water and Housing, to the Board of Directors of the Housing Agency of Jamaica, which replaces the National Housing Development Corporation. The other Board members are: David Chung (Chairman); Christopher Stone; Norman Brown; Conrad Pitkin; Emory Woodstock; George Patrick Corrodus; Wayne Ebanks; Genefa Hibbert; Sylvester...

In light of recent violent attacks on children, Assistant Chief Education Officer in the Guidance and Counselling Unit of the Ministry of Education, Mary Nichols, is appealing to parents to get their children acquainted with self-defense techniques. "We should start teaching our children self defense. We have to really get into some serious self defense techniques and allow our children...

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that the Ministry will be working with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to develop a pilot for a new financing facility for farmers. The development of this model forms part of the Ministry's plans to strategically reposition itself by restructuring several bodies for which it has responsibility, and specifically to dissolve...

Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Olivia Grange, is calling on Jamaicans to join forces in the fight against gender-based violence and other obstacles that encumber the pursuit of gender equality and development. The call was made at the launch of the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the United Nations Population Fund (PIOJ/UNFPA) 2008 World Population Report, at the...

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Senator Don Wehby, is calling on Jamaicans to embrace United States President-elect Barrak Obama's campaign mantra, "Yes we can!" as together Jamaicans seek solutions to the challenges facing the country at this time. "Our challenges are great; we need economic growth, we need to protect our citizens from...

Preparations are well advanced for the establishment of the Caymanas Economic Zone in St. Catherine, with development expected to begin within a few months, with a view to begin employing persons, particularly in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, within two years. Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Karl Samuda, who made the disclosure at yesterday's (November 12), post-Cabinet...

Cabinet has approved a proposal for the establishment of a 24-hour toll free hotline, for the reporting of cases of child abuse. The three-digit emergency number, 211, will be available seven days per week. Making the announcement at yesterday's (Nov. 12) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Olivia Grange, explained that the service,...

Cabinet has given approval for the issuing of instructions to the Chief Parliamentary Counsel (CPC) to effect amendments to the Financial Administration and Audit (FAA) Act, to include monetary penalties in the procurement regulations. Speaking at the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing held yesterday (Nov. 12) at Jamaica House, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Faith...