The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) is employing the use of technology to effectively carry out its mandate, which is focused on trade facilitation, revenue collection and border protection, during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Chief Executive Officer/Commissioner of the JCA, Velma Ricketts Walker, tells JIS News that several business processes have been fast-tracked to enable the entity to safely and efficiently...

Not many persons across the globe can boast of achieving a Guinness World Record. Jamaican, Brandon Chin Loy, can do so, as he and five other members of a multi-national team, achieved the most chest to ground burpees (12,502) ever recorded in 24 hours, set in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on May 3 this year. The goal or...

Public- and private-sector stakeholders have endorsed the new ISO 22000:2018 Food Safety Management System (FSMS) that was recently unveiled by the National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ). The Standard, which was launched by Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, is the NCBJ’s latest product/service offering. It outlines food-safety requirements for all interests along the food production and distribution...

Residents in the resort town of Ocho Rios, St. Ann, are excited for the free Wi-Fi hotspot, which was commissioned into service on December 4. The installation was undertaken by the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology (MSET), through the Universal Service Fund (USF). Following the launch of the service, scores of residents in the busy town centre stopped to...

There is a plan to assign a mentor to every adolescent mother who enrols at the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF). The WCJF, a division of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, was established in 1978 to provide continuing education for girls who drop out of school due to pregnancy. The plan is one of the recommendations...

The National Education Inspectorate (NEI) has implemented several strategies to ensure that the inspection of schools to assess the quality of learning and the provision for learning in Jamaica’s schools continue. This was stated by Chief Executive Officer and Chief Inspector of the NEI, Maureen Dwyer, during an interview with JIS News. “We are concerned about accountability, about excellence and...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says interventions undertaken in Mount Salem, St. James, since the community was declared a Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO) in 2017, have significantly transformed the area. “We have removed zinc fences…we have repaired roadways, we have cleared drains, we have regular waste collection in the area, we have given the citizenry access to...

Residents of Russia in Westmoreland are grateful for the water warden programme, which has the objective of ensuring more reliable access to water supply in the community. Under the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP), persons have been equipped with skills in plumbing, with leak detection and water conservation expertise. They will work with the National...

When newly minted Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) COVID-19 Ambassador, Krystal Francis, heard that she was selected to play a national role in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), she was excited. Excited, because she sees the programme as a platform that will help the tourism sector to recover, which could also help her colleagues who...