The 8th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT), will take place on June 16 – 20, 2019 at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston. Conference Objectives Themed ‘Jamaica and the Diaspora: Building Pathways for Sustainable Development’, the main objectives of the Conference are to: 1. Finalise and endorse the draft...

A PPV licensed vehicle can be identified by a red plate and a special sticker on the windscreen. Holders of this licence have the legal authority to carry passengers in their vehicles, along stipulated guidelines. Applicants for PPV Licences are required to: • Be age 21 old years or older • Complete the application form – available on the Transport...

Every birth that occurs in Jamaica must be registered with the Registrar General’s Department (RGD). This affords the individual the right to an official identity and nationality. The Registration Process Jamaican law dictates that registration be done within the first six weeks of the birth. The RGD makes provisions for: Registrations to be done at hospitals and birthing centres following...

The Windrush Generation refers to immigrants from Caribbean countries such as Jamaica; Trinidad and Tobago; and Barbados, who went to the United Kingdom (UK) to supplement the labour force between 1948 and 1971. The name Windrush is derived from the name of the ship, the SS Empire Windrush, which transported the first set of immigrants on June 22, 1948. These...

Jamaicans on April 1 began experiencing the impact of several new tax measures as announced by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke in opening the 2019/20 budget debates at Gordon House in Kingston on March 7th. These included: the abolishment of the Minimum Business Tax, Stamp Duty reduction, a reduction in Transfer Tax and...

From April 17th to May 1st, Jamaicans may purchase shares in Wigton Windfarm Limited, Jamaica’s wind energy facility. Eleven billion shares are being offered at 0.50 cents each under its Initial Public Offering (IPO). The minimum number of shares that can be purchased under this IPO is 2000. Details of the offer can be found in the Wigton Windfarm prospectus,...

World Intellectual Property Day is observed annually on April 26th. Intellectual property is any original work resulting from an individual’s creative expression. Various expressions are ranked as intellectual property, these include: - Artistic works, such as designs, photographs, paintings, sketches, musical compositions, and choreography. - Inventions – usually tangible items, such as devices, as well as methods or processes for...

Every year following the Budget Debate, the House of Representatives – the Lower House – engages in another round of presentations known as the Sectoral Debates. Later in the year their counterparts in the Senate ¬– the Upper House – engage in the State of the Nation Debates.   Sectoral Debate The Sectoral Debate is based on a Motion brought...

Influenza A (H1N1), also known as swine flu, is a highly contagious respiratory infection. It is caused by a virus and can range from asymptomatic (present without symptoms), to severe. Up to April 2019, 116 cases have been confirmed in the island. Symptoms: As it is caused by an influenza virus, H1N1 manifests symptoms similar to other influenza virus-caused illnesses....