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To improve its customer service, the Land Titles Division of the National Land Agency (NLA) recently introduced simpler legal forms to assist customers in their application process. Registrar of Titles and Director of Land Titles at the NLA, Alfred McPherson made this disclosure at a JIS Think Tank on January 28. The simpler forms are intended to hasten the time...

A group of nine Early Childhood Education (ECE) students from a Canadian college are doing field placement work at several basic schools in Western Jamaica. The group will stay in Jamaica for one month during which time the student teachers will participate in teaching practice sessions at West End Basic, White Hall Preparatory and Negril Basic schools in Westmoreland. Led...

The US$39 million Great River to Lucea Water Supply project in Western Jamaica, which is being done through two contracts, is progressing ahead of schedule and within budget. Minister of State for Water, Harry Douglas, gave this update during a press conference at the Great River Water Treatment Plant on the border of St. James and Hanover, on Friday, January...

The Manchester Parish Development Committee (PDC) on Friday (Jan. 30) handed over four emergency response vehicles valued at $5 million to the residents of Manchester. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Minister of Health, John Junor observed that it was truly a "red letter day" for the parish. "On behalf of the people of Manchester I would like to extend our...

State Minister in the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, Dr. Wykeham McNeill has said that Jamaica and the wider Caribbean should adopt new and responsive regional measures to ensure survival and competitiveness. He said that the ability of governments to control their fortunes entirely, even within the domestic economy, was steadily diminishing, while the role and significance of the international...

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, in a verbal offensive against the recent flare up of violence in Spanish Town last week, charged parents not to shelter their sons who they know had committed crimes, and warned criminals that they would be caught. During a radio broadcast to the nation today, a few days after gunmen took the lives of seven persons...

The Hague Agricultural Show, to be held in Trelawny from February 24 to 25, will be observing its 49th anniversary this year. Dubbed, 'The Power of 49', the show will be staged under the theme: 'We are what we eat - eat Jamaican'. Organisers expect to spend about $1.7 million to stage the show. Addressing a press launch on January...

The Land Titles Division of the National Land Agency (NLA) is projecting that the public should start seeing the benefits of the Land Registration System by April with significant improvement in turnaround time by June. The improvement will come by way of the Land Registration System (LRS), which will transform the largely manual process at the Office of Titles to...

Government's move to protect brand Jamaica has been advanced with Parliament passing the Geographical Indication (GI) Law on January 14. The law gives recognition and protection to Jamaica as a brand, ensuring that persons do not misleadingly pass off their products as originating from the island. Commerce, Science and Technology Minister, Phillip Paulwell, commenting recently on the passing of the...

Her brother was transformed from a laid-back young man to a motivated and disciplined individual. It was this dramatic turn-around in her sibling Gary, that inspired Donnaree McKenzie to enrol in the National Youth Service (NYS) training camp. Now, after attending a rigorous four-week NYS training camp in early childhood education, Donnaree says she has seen a vast improvement in...

At a time when many persons are sitting idly by, complaining about the lack of employment opportunities, there is one Jamaican who, through hard work and dedication, has created a successful poultry business in the hills of St. Ann. On a visit to the 1,700-chicken farm in the community of Chester, owned and operated by Lenford Peart, it becomes obvious...

A major challenge facing civil society groups is the lack of a thorough understanding of sustainable development, says Judith Wedderburn, Deputy Chair for the Inter-American Development Civil Society Advisory Committee (CSAC). Ms. Wedderburn observed that many community-based organizations and non-governmental organisations that were involved in various activities and projects were not even aware that they were supporting the sustainable development...