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Four girls from the Aabuthnott Gallimore High School in St. Ann have been crowned champions of the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute's (CFNI) regional Quiz Competition. The students are: Andrene Barrett, Dacoda Cummings, Yessan Cummings and Natassia Henry. Principal of the School, Geoffery Sharpe told JIS News that in previous encounters, the girls were successful in the first and second...

Repair work is to commence in January on the Grange Lane and Freetown to Alley main roads in St. Catherine and Clarendon, respectively. The contracts for the projects were signed in Kingston today (December 14), by Minister of Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill. Mr. Pickersgill warned that contractors who were unable to complete road works in the assigned time and...

On Wednesday, December 15 the public will be able to travel via another segment of Highway 2000 with the opening of the new dual carriageway toll road between Kingston and Bushy Park in St. Catherine. Making the announcement at yesterday's (Monday, Dec. 13) post cabinet press briefing in Kingston, Transport and Works Minister Robert Pickersgill said commuting times on the...

The United States government has donated equipment valued at $8.6 million to the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), to assist in the fight against fires and to improve its response to emergencies. The equipment include a fire truck, which was used during the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan; a 28-passenger bus, and firefighting support items. Minister of Local Government, Community Development and...

Building materials and supplies valued at about $4 million have been donated to the residents of Portland Cottage in Clarendon by the German Government. The beneficiaries were severely affected by Hurricane Ivan, which devastated the island on September 10. The handing over ceremony took place yesterday (December 13), in the community. In a JIS News interview, Dr. Christian Hausmann, German...

Cabinet has approved a revised strategy to divest the assets of the Cotton Polyester Textile Company Jamaica (Limited). With the arrangement, antiquated machinery and equipment will be sold and the textile building modified for rental to investor/s for various economic activities. Making the announcement at the weekly post Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House on Monday (Dec. 13), Information Minister...

The Government has re-opened the bidding process for the management of Caymanas racetrack in St. Catherine.Making the disclosure at a post Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House on December 13, State Minister in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Fitz Jackson said the bids submitted by the two interested groups had fallen below the 73.5 threshold level. He explained that...

In keeping with its commitment to the development of the nation's young people, Alumina Partners of Jamaica (ALPART) will, over the next 10 years, be spending some $17 million on the provision of 70 scholarships. The scholarships, which can be accessed by persons from the company's immediate mining area, will be tenable at the University of the West Indies (UWI),...

Governments in the region are being urged to seriously tackle the issue of land degradation to ensure food security and prevent deaths from natural disasters such as flooding. Dr. Richard Cox, Secretariat to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Drought (UNCCD), put forth this challenge at the opening of a three-day conference on Sustainable Land Management today at...

The Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) parish office in St. Catherine is reporting an increase in the number of requests from farmers to utilise a tractor available for land preparation in the parish. The vehicle is one of six operating under the JAS' tractor tillage service, which was financed by the Development Bank of Jamaica at a cost of $14 million....

To provide its own electricity, the Blue Mountain Coffee Co-operative is constructing a bio-digester plant at the Moy Hall coffee factory in Cedar Valley, St. Thomas. The project, which will be completed in two phases, is being funded by the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ), at a cost of approximately $5.4 million. The Scientific Research Council (SRC) is assisting with...

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wesley Hughes, has said that if Jamaica failed to capitalise on inflows of foreign direct investments, which would be pumped into the island over the next few years, then the country might enter into an economic slump as soon as those investments have ceased. Dr. Hughes, who was speaking at...