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The National Housing Policy produced for the Ministry of Water and Housing by a consortium from the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the University of Technology (UTech), recommends a national emergency housing programme as one aspect of creating and maintaining shelter for all Jamaicans. This policy supports the need for precautionary and mitigation measures to help persons to...

The House of Representatives has begun debating Jamaica's first National Energy Policy (NEP), which promotes creation of a modern, efficient energy infrastructure expected to boost economic development. Opening the debate at Gordon House Tuesday (October 5), Minister of Energy and Mining, Hon. James Robertson, said the policy "examines the energy situation we face and proposes a range of options and...

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, says the economy must be transformed into a private sector-led one, if Vision 2030 or Jamaica's Fiscal Consolidation Programme is to be achieved. He challenged local business owners attending the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Chairman's Club Breakfast, on (September 28), at the Pegasus Hotel, saying the...

The National Land Agency (NLA), in collaboration with Globe Insurance Company Ltd., on Wednesday (September 22), launched its groundbreaking interactive map of the island, called 'iMap Jamaica'. Persons will be able to access the programme via the web base application, eLandJamaica, which allows persons to obtain copies of land related documents, such as certificates of title, valuation roll reports and...

Jamaica's Consul General in Miami, Sandra Grant Griffiths, has commended the newly formed Coalition of Jamaican Alumni Associations in South Florida, as signal of acceptance of the need to become more engaged in a collective process for educational development at home and in the Diaspora. The Consul General was speaking to members of several alumni groups, representing nearly 50 Jamaican...

Senior Director in the Environmental Management Division of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Leonie Barnaby, is urging greater private sector participation in environmental matters of national importance, through collaborations with public sector stakeholders. This, she contends, is necessary in order to ensure the continued improvement of Jamaica's environment, and by extension, the quality of life experienced by the...

The programme of assistance to Persons with Disabilities (PWD), administered through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS), has been boosted by a US$572,000 ($49 million) grant from the Japanese government through the Japan Special Fund (JSF). The funds, secured by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), will finance the administration's "Support to Improving the Lives of Persons" initiative, with...

Mayor of Kingston and St. Andrew, Senator Desmond McKenzie, on Tuesday (September 15) unveiled Government's plan for the redevelopment of downtown Kingston to an international audience, as he addressed the 41st conference in the Lecture Series of the Americas at the Organization of American States' (OAS) headquarters in Washington, D.C. He informed that the city council has taken the lead...

The Ministry of Education is to complete the roll out of its Citizenship Education Programme (CEP) in primary and secondary schools this academic year. "The programme focuses on the end product, who it is we want to come out of our educational system. We want to have good people, good citizens who have strong values and strong morals," the CEP...

A total of US$1.2 billion in concessional financing has been provided to Jamaica in the form of long-term loans, based on oil purchases from Venezuela under the PetroCaribe Energy Co-operation Agreement. The multifaceted arrangement, which commenced in 2005, seeks to promote energy security in the region, by guaranteeing supplies of petroleum products from Venezuela through an innovative repayment system, which...

The Ministry of Energy and Mining is to collaborate with the Organization of American States (OAS) to negotiate technical support, in the area of capacity building in Jamaica's energy policy. This was noted by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Hillary Alexander, at the two-day Renewable Energy Meeting and site visits for Energy Ministers and other senior government officials from...

Programme Manager of the Planning Institute of Jamaica's (PIOJ) Plan Development Unit, Richard Lumsden, is reporting significant improvements in the four key focus areas pivotal to advancing the country's National Development Plan - Vision 2030. He cited the areas as: empowering persons to achieve their full potential; making the society secure, cohesive and just; making the Jamaican economy prosperous; and...