Prime Minister Andrew Holness chaired the first meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) for the calendar year 2019, on Thursday, January 24, 2019. The Opposition Spokesperson on National Security, Mr. Fitz Jackson attended at the invitation of the Prime Minister. The Council continued discussions from 2018 regarding Plan Secure Jamaica and other matters of national security which will be...

More than 250 indigent persons across the parish of Hanover benefited from medical and dental care and other services at a health fair staged recently by the Hanover Poor Relief Department at its offices on Miller’s Drive in Lucea. Inspector of Poor, Neika Edram, tells JIS News that the fair, which is in its sixth year, not only targets the...

The Government has kicked off its education campaign on the ban on single use plastics, with a team from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) travelling across the island, and educating members of the public about the recently introduced measure aimed at saving the environment. A four-leg public education tour, targeting consumers as well as small and large-scale business...

The Hospitality and Tourism Management Programme (HTMP) is in full swing at Anchovy High in St. James, with 24 students enrolled in the two-year programme, which will see them being internationally certified. The beneficiaries are past students of the institution and other high schools across the parish including Herbert Morrison Technical and St. James High. They are undergoing a comprehensive...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, was actively engaged in boosting Jamaica’s profile internationally during his official working visits overseas throughout the year (2018). Making History • Mr. Holness made history as the first Jamaican Prime Minister to speak at the G7 Summit in Quebec, Canada, which he was specially invited to attend by Prime Minister of Canada, Justin...

The Government’s multibillion-dollar road infrastructure upgrades, aimed at improving traffic flow, moved apace throughout the year with a total of 66 projects undertaken in all parishes at a cost of $5.8 billion. Legacy Projects • Notable among these road improvements were the six legacy projects carried out under the five-year US$354-million Major Infrastructure Development Programme (MIDP), which have been completed...

Jamaica’s Economic Reform Programme (ERP) remains in good shape, consequent on notable gains and out-turns in 2018. These included: • Better-than-targeted Central Government Primary Balance, at seven per cent, amounting to over $44 billion. • First quarter fiscal year growth of 2.2 per cent, first quarter calendar year growth of 1.4 per cent, and third quarter calendar year growth of...

The Government continued its quest to provide job opportunities for more Jamaicans, with increased focus on training persons, particularly for higher-end activities and high-value positions. This contributed to the country’s unemployment rate falling to a new record low of 8.4 per cent – the lowest in 50 years. Record low unemployment • According to data from the Statistical Institute of...

Approximately 50,000 residents of several communities in northern Clarendon are to benefit from improved health services through the upgrading and expansion of the Chapelton Community Hospital. Beverly Nichols, a native of the district of Blackwoods, who currently resides in the United States (US), is donating US$1 million for the project through her Push Start Foundation. The one-year undertaking will include...