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An Agricultural Committee for St. Elizabeth was launched on March 21 by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke. This Committee, comprising the 15 councillors in the parish, signals an alignment with the goals of the agricultural plan in the Vision 2030 national development plan, which has national food security and long term development as some of its goals....

The functions of the Regional Health Authorities will be among the issues put under the microscope, when the Ministry of Health begins discussions on health care reform. Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, told members of the Jamaica Association of Health Service Executives (JAHSE) on Wednesday, March 13, that he intends to undertake the process of health care reform...

A total of 1,000 residents of St. Ann, St. Mary and Portland are to receive titles to the properties they occupy. The provision is being made under the Cadastral Mapping and Land Registration project, which involves collaboration between the Government and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The first nine residents from communities in the three parishes, were on Friday...

Two publications by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), which address the issue of climate change, are to be tabled in Parliament shortly by Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change Minister, Hon. Robert Pickersgill. The two documents - ‘2012 State of the Jamaican Climate, Information for Resilience Building’ and ‘2012 State of the Jamaican Climate, Information for Resilience Building, Summary...

The Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ) is retrofitting more than 63,000 square feet of space at the Montego Bay Free Zone for outsourcing and other operations. Making the announcement on Thursday, February 28, at a breakfast forum in Montego Bay, State Minister for Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes-Abrahams, said the move is part of continued efforts by the...

Thousands of students from across Jamaica gathered at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium on Friday February 22 to celebrate Jamaica Day 2013, in a colourful display of dance, music, speech and song. It was the first national gathering to mark the day intended to foster a spirit of patriotism. The festivities, held under the theme ‘Celebrate Jamaica: We On It’, saw...

Improvement works, totaling $35.4 million, have been completed at the Newlands Basic School in Portmore, St. Catherine. The project was jointly funded by the Government and the European Union (EU) under its Poverty Reduction Programme II (PRP II) facility. Residents of Newlands and neighbouring communities also contributed the equivalent of approximately $11.9 million to the overall cost. The Jamaica Social...

The Hope Zoo Preservation Foundation (HZPF) has received a well-needed donation of some $4 million, which will go toward protecting animals that are found only in Jamaica. The funds are being made available under the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme, and will go toward the Zoo's biodiversity project, ‘The Establishment of Sanctuaries for Protected...

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) is reporting an increase in the number of Jamaican workers with professional or vocational certification last year. Programme Director for the PIOJ's Plan Development Unit, Richard Lumsden, said that figures from the 2012 Statistical Institute of Jamaica's (STATIN) Labour Force Survey, showed that 23.7 per cent of the labour force has such qualification. The...

Some 2,000 fisher folk from six parishes have benefitted from the donation of safety gear, as part of the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI). The beneficiaries will also receive training under the initiative which is spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. An additional 400 fish vendors will receive igloos and training in food safety and sanitation, under the...

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, says conserving energy and reducing the country’s energy bill, will become critical to the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “The Government has to spend less, has to use less energy, has to be a more efficient user of energy going forward, and we are going to commit to...

Government Senator, Lambert Brown, is supporting a call for legislation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which seeks to safeguard the welfare of persons in the workplace. “The Occupational Safety and Health Act is essential in protecting the workers and their families. It is good for employers (as it) will save them from having to face compensation (and) lost...