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Members of the White Horses, Botany Bay and Pamphret Development Benevolent Society in St. Thomas, recently benefited from a two-day workshop to prepare them for the management of a water supply system, which is established under the Rural Water Programme.The workshop, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Transport, Water and Works, was held at the Jamaica Crest Hotel...

A Bill to allow the linking of service in the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), in order to facilitate pension payments to officers who have served in both arms of the Force, is to be introduced in Parliament. Minister of Information and Development, Donald Buchanan yesterday (October 23), informed the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing...

A special Committee has been established to review the procedures for granting work permits, particularly to migrant workers. Making the announcement at yesterday's (October 23) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Minister of Information and Development, Donald Buchanan said that although there was yet no conclusive evidence that persons granted work permits were victims of trafficking, the Ministry of Labour...

Training of volunteers selected for the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) West Indies 2007 will commence by December. Manager of the Volunteer Programme, Vilma McDonald, told JIS News that training would proceed after 1,923 applications of potential volunteers underwent security screening by the ICC. "I know that we will not have many rejects in that area," she said. Following this...

I speak to you this morning wearing many hats. Formally, I am capped as the Minister of Tourism Entertainment & Culture, and I have been presumably been invited to be the main speaker at this morning's forum because we will be grappling with one of the most thorny issues affecting the tourism industry in particular, and by extension aspects of...

The National Water Commission (NWC) increased its customer base to more than 400,000 in 2004/05, due to the implementation of initiatives aimed at "delivering superior customer service". According to the company's annual report for the period, which was recently tabled in the House of Representatives, the improvements were in keeping with its three-year transformation plan, which is designed to turn...

Surveys conducted by Market Research Services have shown that commercial and domestic customers, served in the 2004/05 financial year by the National Water Commission (NWC), the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) and Cable and Wireless Jamaica Limited, were more satisfied with customer service provided by the NWC. In the NWC's 2004/05 Report tabled in the House last week, it...

The National Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons (NATFATIP) has embarked on a public education campaign, which is geared at sensitizing Jamaicans about illegal trafficking in persons. A human trafficking educational forum was held in Ocho Rios, St. Ann on Thursday, October 19 at the St. John's Anglican Church Hall, where a number of residents, including members of the business...

Persons caught transporting agricultural produce without receipts for the goods in their possession, could face prosecution under the Agricultural Produce Act. President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant, said that come November 1, the leniency now enjoyed will end and persons could face fines of $250,000 and/or six months in jail, for transporting goods without a receipt....

The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) St. James branch is moving to introduce greenhouse technology in the parish, with the first facility to be constructed in the Mafoota area at a cost of approximately $600,000. The facility will benefit farmers, who are involved in the production of vegetables for the hotel sector. Acting Parish Manager for (RADA) in St. James,...

The Sports Development Foundation (SDF), on October 20, handed over multi-purpose courts to the students and staff of Hampton School for Girls and a football field to the residents of Braes River in St. Elizabeth.The multi-purpose courts were constructed at a cost of $2.8 million, while the football field was established at a cost of $4.4 million. Speaking at the...

Jamaica's Ambassador to the United States, Professor Gordon Shirley, has lauded the efforts of Women At Real Risk (WARR), in Washington, D.C., for their outstanding contribution in the fight against breast cancer. Addressing WARR's seventh annual breast cancer awareness fund-raising gala on October 21, at the Washington Court Hotel, Professor Shirley said among the achievements the organization has made since...