Madam Speaker, Today I will speak to three topics, namely, the tragic incidents involving some of our students, an update on the Missing Children’s report and an update on a partnership with Microsoft. Madam Speaker, I must note that unfortunately, we continue to mourn the atrocities meted out to our children. This week our hearts ache for two (2) more...

Madame Speaker, I take this opportunity to update the House on two subject areas: - the first week of the pilot face-to-face in-school teaching project - Registration for the eVouchers under the OYOD Initiative. 1. EVALUATION OF PILOT OF FACE TO FACE RESUMPTION OF SCHOOL During the two week pilot, the process is being monitored. The goal of the monitoring...

Madame Speaker, As Minister with portfolio responsibility for Gender Affairs, I rise in this Honourable House to acknowledge the commemoration of International Men’s Day (IMD), which is celebrated annually on November 19. International Men’s Day was first celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago and is now celebrated in other countries such as Canada, the UK, Singapore, USA, Australia, Haiti, India. As...

Madame Speaker, It is with great sadness that I report the deaths of a few of our children over the past few days: • Jade-Ann Mclean, 13-year-old student who attended Brown's Town High School (daughter of Kadean Howard) • Rihanna Howard 14-year-old student who attended Marcus Garvey Technical High School along with their relatives Kadean Howard 34-year-old (sister of Rihanna)...

Madame Speaker, Over the past several weeks, Jamaica has been experiencing poor weather conditions which have been influenced by significant weather systems including the most recent Hurricanes Zeta and Eta. As previously mentioned in Cabinet, the continuous torrential rainfall has dealt quite a blow to the Agricultural sector with exponential damage to produce, livestock and infrastructure. I now wish to...

Madam Speaker, I rise to update this honourable house and the people of Jamaica, on the recent developments surrounding COVID-19 and its impact on residential institutions, namely nursing homes, infirmaries and prisons, which house some of the vulnerable members of our society. Madam Speaker, as early as January 2020, the public health team began to develop protocols that would help...

Madame Speaker, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted fish production and the fisheries value chain with varying degrees of negative impacts. Losses from both local and overseas markets have resulted in higher input costs causing significant increases in operational expenses. It is estimated that the fisheries sector may lose up to US$23.1 million during 2020, due to COVID-19, as per the...