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More parents are registering their children's births, leading to a decline in non-registration from 1.7 per cent to 0.13 per cent over the seven-year period from 1998 to 2005. "We have reduced the number of births that go unregistered from 881 in 1998 to 60 in 2005, so we have moved from 1.7 per cent of unregistered births within a...

The Government will be underwriting more than $24 million to provide birth certificates for 18,000 children, whose names are not on birth records at the Registrar General's Department (RGD). This was disclosed by Minister of Health, Horace Dalley, on August 17, at the official opening of the RGD's Portmore Regional Office located at Portmore Pines, St. Catherine. The 18,000 children,...

Several communities across the island are benefiting from necessary works to rehabilitate roads and bridges, and alleviate the effects of possible flooding, under the Ministry of Housing, Transport Water and Works' Flood Control and Disaster Mitigation Programme. Some $3.5 billion has been allocated to the project for road and bridge repairs, de-silting of rivers, drain cleaning and works to critical...

More government entities are responding positively to recommendations made by civil society and private sector groups, particularly as they relate to social policy development. The process of feedback is being facilitated by the Jamaica Social Policy Evaluation (JASPEV) Project, which was implemented in 2002 under the theme, 'Getting citizens involved for the best results'. Speaking at a recent JIS 'Think...

Fourteen new Justices of the Peace (JPs) were sworn in to serve St. Mary during a ceremony held at the Port Maria Civic Centre on August 16. This brings to 280, the number of JPs serving the parish. The function, which was presided over by Custos of St. Mary, Hon. A.A. Bobby Pottinger, was attended by a wide cross section...

Jamaican artist, Errol 'Elgo' Lewis has paid tribute to Jamaican international reggae artist, Annette Brissett, in an art exhibition now on show at the African American Art Research Library and Cultural Centre (AARLCC) in Fort Lauderdale. The exhibition, which will last until September 15, features 25 paintings done by Elgo, forming a range of works inspired by Brissett's songs, each...

New York City Council member, Charles Barron (42nd CD, Brooklyn), on August 16 became the latest in a growing list of persons calling for a full pardon for National Hero, the Rt. Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, from the US Government. Speaking from the floor of the New York City Council in Manhattan, Mr. Barron called on his colleagues to join...

Minister of State for Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, Dr. Wykeham McNeill, has said that government, through the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCO) was developing a sustainable growth plan for the craft industry, which would be implemented by year-end. Dr. McNeill, who was addressing a special meeting of stakeholders in the craft industry at the Holiday Inn Sun Spree Resort in...

The Manchester Wellness Foundation (MANWELL), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Mandeville, is seeking to raise $1.2 million for the purchase of a ventilator for the Percy Junor Hospital. One of the main fundraising events will be a wellness festival from August 25 to 27. The festival will get underway at 10:00 a.m. on August 25, with a health fair at...

The 2006 bird-shooting season will open this Saturday (Aug.19), with Minister of Local Government and Environment, Dean Peart having signed the necessary orders under the Wild Life Protection Act for hunting to begin. Zadie Neufville, Public Education Officer at the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) told JIS News that the season would end on Sunday, September 24 and shooting...

Some 44 representatives from the judiciary across the Caribbean are participating in the third annual Judicial Enforcement Management Systems (JEMS) now underway in Ocho Rios, St. Ann. The five-day conference, which commenced on Tuesday (August 15) at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort, is being held under the theme: 'Caribbean Court Technology Users - establishing a foundation for the effective use...

On this special day, when we salute the memory of the Rt. Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, National Hero, let us be grateful for the storehouse of wisdom, experience and extraordinary qualities that he has bequeathed to Jamaica and the world. We should ask ourselves how it was, that a black man born in humble circumstances in 19th century Jamaica came...