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President of the Small Business Association of Jamaica, Edward Chin Mook, has noted that the association will be focussing on, amongst other things, increasing its membership. In an interview with JIS News, Mr. Chin Mook also stated that the association will be focussing on matters such as access to capital for small businesses; the impact of the high cost of...

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Karl Samuda, has urged employers to implement innovative and creative ways of addressing issues, which arise in the workplace, in an effort to ensure that the employees remain productive. Addressing the official launch of the Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF), Employer of Choice Competition, under the theme '...Promoting Great Jamaican Workplaces', at the JEF's headquarters...

Jamaicans wishing to access the services of the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), are invited to do so during the next six weeks in order to benefit from the cyclical summer lull and avoid the pre-Christmas rush. According to Chief Executive Officer of PICA, Jennifer McDonald, each year following the beginning of the new school term and the end...

Executive Director of the Jamaica 4H Clubs, Lenworth Fulton, has stated that school gardening can supplement academic subjects such as botany, zoology, agriculture, and mathematics, thereby reaching students who learn better through practical forms. Mr. Fulton was speaking at a JIS 'Think Tank' today (Oct. 9), on the National School Gardening Programme, which will be officially launched at Jamaica College...

Today, you are honouring Mr. Charles Henderson-Davis, one of the pioneers of the manufacturing sector. It is a most fitting and deserved recognition. Charles Henderson-Davis is part of a generation of industrialists who, more than 40 years ago, with other greats like Robert Lightbourne, shared a vision that Jamaica could become a world-class manufacturing centre, that transforming Jamaica from a...

The Government is moving to strengthen the link between agriculture and forests, that is necessary for food security and rural development. This symbiotic relationship is often lost and needs to be strengthened, according to a study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The study found that decision makers often overlook the value of forestry in poverty reduction and its...

The National Housing Trust (NHT), will undertake development of some 1,055 housing solutions, through joint venture arrangements, during the current fiscal year. This forms part of efforts to provide prospective homeowners access to affordable mortgages and terms of agreement for the solutions being provided, as outlined in the NHT's Annual Report and Financial Statement for 2007/08. In addition, 482 solutions...

Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, informed the House of Representatives yesterday (Oct. 7) that certain public sector entities are only being exempted from normal procurement procedures in respect of specific, clearly defined transactions. He explained that the exemptions relate to five Government entities which, because of the nature of some transactions in which they engage from time to time, are required...

A task force has been set up to identify appropriate initiatives and areas where capabilities need to be strengthened, in order to better protect the nation's children who are at risk. "The task force is to report to me with its recommendations by the end of the week," Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, told the House of Representatives yesterday (Oct. 7)...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, informed the House of Representatives yesterday (Oct. 7), that Cabinet has approved increases in pension to Government pensioners, including widows/widowers and dependents, with effect from July 1, 2008. This, he said, is in keeping with Cabinet's decision on July 8, 1991 in which it was agreed that Government pensioners should be...

The House of Representatives, yesterday (Oct. 7) passed an Act to amend the Loan Act, in order to increase the borrowing authority under the Act, from $700 billion to $920 billion. "Since the last time that the ceiling was raised to $700 billion we have had an increased reliance on both the domestic and international capital markets, for debt financing...

The Government is pursuing several improvement projects in the area of water distribution and sewage treatment within Kingston and St. Catherine, which when fully implemented, should take care of the 10 million gallons per day shortage of water in the Corporate Area, and reduce pollution in the Kingston Harbour. Making the disclosure, Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang,...