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Today, as the members of the Cabinet are sworn in, it is both my duty and honour to give the charge. I do so with the utmost sense of sobriety and hope. I first want to say that we need to embrace a certain philosophy of governance, one far removed from the plantation model which we have inherited historically. The...

Periodically, there are singular moments and occurrences that are defining in their scope and character. These extraordinary moments are not always identified and recognised at their point of occurrence, but must be followed to their destinations if their significance is to be understood. The swearing in of Member of Parliament, the Most Honourable Portia Simpson-Miller, as the seventh Prime Minister...

Cornwall College in St. James has benefited from a US$500,000 endowment fund, which will provide a continuous source of development assistance for the institution. The fund was set up by the recently formed Cornwall College Trust Limited (CCTL), which is comprised of local and overseas alumni chapters. At the launch of the fund held on the school grounds recently, CCTL...

The Blue Mountain Coffee Co-operative has received three new machines valued at some $12 million, for use at the Co-operative's operations in Yallahs, St. Thomas. Funding for the equipment, including grading and hulling machines as well as a 5-ton rotary dryer with a furnace, was provided by the European Union under the Eastern Jamaica Agricultural Support Programme (EJASP). Manager of...

The Environmental Health Unit of the Ministry of Health will begin the first round of baiting activities, under its rodent control project, in some 25 select communities and public health buildings islandwide, beginning in the first week of April. Medical Entomologist, Sherine Huntley, told JIS News that communities were selected based on where there were high levels of rodent infestation...

Outgoing Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson, has asked that his legacy not be judged solely by achievements up to March 30, when he officially demits office, but by the foundation laid for developments, which would unfold thereafter. Mr. Patterson, who was speaking at the launch of two books: 'The Transforming Landscape of Jamaica' and 'PJ Patterson in the Eyes of the...

This is a great and very special day for our country and I consider myself wonderfully privileged to be a part of it. I am proud to have contributed to the evolution of our democracy and of the political process which enable us to celebrate in grand Jamaican style a change of leadership by orderly and peaceful means that cannot...

Former Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Howard Cooke, is urging Jamaicans to assess and document "our history and achievements as a people and as a nation". Sir Howard, who was speaking at the launch of the books: 'The Transforming Landscape of Jamaica' and 'PJ Patterson in the Eyes of the World,' at the Office of the Prime...

Gender is a critical aspect of water management and sanitation and plays a key role in achieving adequate access to potable water by 2010, in keeping with the Millennium Development Goals. This was the general consensus of stakeholders at a workshop to examine the findings and recommendations of the gender and sanitation study and its policy implications. The workshop was...

Traffic lights were commissioned at two intersections in Spanish Town yesterday (March 29), to better regulate traffic flow in the area. The lights have been installed in front of the Spanish Town Hospital at the intersection of Burke Road and Barrett Street, and at the intersection of the Sligoville and Twickenham Park main roads. Minister of State in the Ministry...

Tomorrow, our nation begins a new chapter in governance when my political colleague of over thirty years, the Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, takes the reins of office as the seventh Prime Minister of Jamaica. She does so on a tremendous wave of popular support within Jamaica and beyond. As I have done on several public occasions within the last four...

Members of both Houses of Parliament yesterday (March 28) bade a fond farewell to Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, who is retiring after a 30-year political career, 14 of which were spent as Prime Minister of Jamaica. Prime Minister-designate, Portia Simpson-Miller, in a moving tribute, said it was undeniable that Mr. Patterson had left a remarkable legacy, which could be used...