Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, says the Government is committed to lower electricity rates, notwithstanding the increase given to the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), recently. In an interview on the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) television programme, ‘Issues and Answers Programme’, he said the JPS was granted an average 2.6 per cent rate increase...

Members of civil society are being encouraged to be more proactive in helping to reduce teenage pregnancies in Jamaica. Education, Youth and Information State Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, is inviting persons with knowledge of teenage or adolescent girls being sexually molested to report this to the relevant authorities, including the police. His call comes against the background of data from...

The Government remains committed to ongoing implementation of strategies to eliminate gender-based violence and discrimination. Notable among these are provisions in the National Policy for Gender Equality; the proposed National Action Plan to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence; as well as the Caribbean Community/United Nations Population Fund (CARICOM/UNFPA) Integrated Strategic Framework, which targets a 20 per cent reduction in adolescent/teenage pregnancies in...

Manager of the Population and Health Unit at the Planning Institute of Jamaica, (PIOJ), Toni-Shae Freckleton, says Jamaica is well on its way in attaining several goals in the Vision 2030 development plan. Speaking at the inaugural Caribbean Civil Registration and Identity Management conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James on July 7, Mrs. Freckleton said some...

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says that education is the key to Jamaica’s social and economic prosperity and is a major priority of the Government. He said the administration “is doing everything” to ensure that the populace has full and complete access to learning. “Education is associated with better skills, higher productivity, and enhanced...

Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says two of the main goals of the Ministry are to ensure that teachers are well trained and are given the necessary tools to carry out their tasks. Speaking recently at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) CONFINTEA VI Sub-Regional Follow-up Meeting for the Caribbean, in...

The Government has received $3.79 billion (US$30 million) from the World Bank to further boost disaster and climate risk management in Jamaica. The loan will support the administration’s ongoing programme to reduce the incidence of environmental hazards over a six-year period under the Bank’s Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (DVRP). The DVRP, which will be implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment...