• Your Excellencies the Most Honourable Sir Patrick Allen, Governor General and the Most Honourable Lady Allen; • Your Excellencies Colleague Heads of State and Government; • Dr. Peter Phillips, Leader of the Opposition and Mrs. Phillips • Chief Ministers and Ministers of Government • Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, CARICOM Secretary-General • Newly installed President of the CCJ Justice Saunders •...

Chairman of the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ), Lyttleton Shirley, says the country’s rural and coastal towns are being targeted as Government moves to boost economic and social opportunities for citizens. He said that Port Antonio, Falmouth, Port Maria, Lucea, Savanna-la-Mar and Morant Bay are some of the towns that have been earmarked for development. “The Prime Minister, in what...

The Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD) is encouraging young persons with disabilities to take advantage of scholarships being offered at both the secondary and tertiary levels. Executive Director of the JCPD, Dr. Christine Hendricks, told JIS News that scholarships available to persons with disabilities include the Margaret Moody Scholarship, the Jamaica Society for the Blind Scholarship and the...

Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) Managing Director, Milverton Reynolds, says he expects support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for its Innovation Grant from New Ideas to Entrepreneurship (IGNITE) programme. The second phase of the programme was launched at the Spanish Court Hotel, in New Kingston, on Friday (April 27). “I am pleased to announce...

Several social-intervention programmes are currently under way in the Denham Town community in West Kingston, which is currently a Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO). Speaking in the House of Representatives on April 11, Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said the Zinc Fence Substitution and Integrated Infrastructure Project is being implemented. He noted that the project, which had seen...

Mr President as I rise to lead and contribute to the tabling of the Appropriation Act, 2018, I first wish to thank The Most Honourable Prime Minister, Andrew Holness for allowing me to continue to serve the people of Jamaica in this esteemed Chamber. Even more so Mr President I am sure I speak on behalf of the members of...

The Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) is reporting a 47 per cent increase in loan applications for tertiary courses, for which the interest rate on repayments is significantly discounted. Executive Director, Monica Brown, told a recent JIS Think Tank, which was held at the Agency’s head office in Kingston, that the areas include agriculture studies, engineering, information technology, and maritime and...

New classrooms are to be constructed at the Black River High School in St. Elizabeth and the Portland-based Fair Prospect Primary School at a total cost of  $31 million (US$257, 595). The project is being undertaken through grant funding from the Government of Japan under the Japan Grassroots Human Security Project. Four classrooms are to be added at Black River...

Twenty young entrepreneurs from communities within the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park are to benefit from $1 million in grant funding to enhance their operations. The support is being provided by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport under an initiative to assist residents of Portland, St. Andrew and St. Thomas to tap into the business and...

The Government has programmed $87.3 billion for implementation of new or ongoing public-sector investment projects within Central Government and public bodies during the 2018/19 financial year. Another $336.8 billion is projected to be spent on similar engagements over the next four fiscal years, ending 2022/23. This is according to the Government’s 2018/19 Fiscal Policy Paper (FPP), which was tabled in...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has lauded the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) on its performance in 2017, during which the main market’s listings yielded returns averaging 50 per cent, with the junior market averaging 43.9 per cent. “That’s amazing. I congratulate the Jamaica Stock Exchange for its stellar performance. It shows that there is confidence in the economy,...

Twenty Jamaicans will benefit from the Caribbean Climate Innovation Centre’s (CCIC) J$18.7-million (US$149,000) entrepreneurial mentorship programme, which is providing assistance to over 200 persons across the region. The programme, which is funded by the Caribbean Development Bank, will commence in Barbados in 2018 with 28 heads of supporting organisations participating in a ‘train the trainers’ session to facilitate the initiative’s...