The Auditor General’s Department is conducting a real-time audit to assess the transparency and accountability of resources received and utilised under the Hurricane Melissa relief initiative. The Pamela Monroe-Ellis-led department is seeking to...
A leading disaster-mitigation specialist and a social-development specialist have both cautioned against placing the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM),...
At least one economist has indicated that the damage to the country’s infrastructure, spanning housing, water, electricity, telecommunications, and roads could reach an estimated US$16 billion (J$2.5 trillion) or potentially up to at least 75 per...
Almost a week after Hurricane Melissa delivered a catastrophic blow to sections of southern and western Jamaica, the Government reported yesterday that there are still 25 marooned communities. As the cry for food, water and other items of need gets...
Information Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon has confirmed that Jamaica’s catastrophe bond has been triggered following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa. The Government is expected to announce today whether there will be a full payout of US...
There was a pall of gloom hanging over Black River, St Elizabeth, yesterday, as four bodies, three men and a woman, were discovered after being washed up by floodwaters generated by the fury of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa. Many people were trapped...
The Government says it is ramping up its preparation efforts as Tropical Storm Melissa approaches Jamaica, with various state agencies and ministries working to ensure that essential services remain available to the public. Forecasters warn that...
Principal Director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica Evan Thompson says he is not ruling out the possibility of Tropical Storm Melissa making landfall in Jamaica. However, Thompson argued yesterday that even if the system, which is projected...
As tensions between the United States (US) and Venezuela build, a senior retired diplomat is cautioning that if it escalates into open conflict, trade in the region and tourism, on which most CARICOM states, including Jamaica, depend heavily would...
Constitutional expert Dr Lloyd Barnett says the appointments to fill two vacant posts for directors at the Integrity Commission (IC) should be done promptly, owing to the critical importance of their roles to the anti-corruption body. The respected...
More than 100,000 Jamaicans who had committed minor offences with non-custodial sentences more than two decades ago could have their criminal records erased if new legislation being debated in Parliament is passed by the legislature. Minister of...
Karl Samuda, who was the leader of government business when then PM Bruce Golding handed the chairmanship of parliamentary oversight committees to the Opposition, has suggested that the experiment did not sufficiently serve its purpose. His...
The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has recommended that a senior officer from the rank of inspector or above should be present on all planned police operations. The police oversight body argued that constables to the rank of...
With more than a decade and a half at the Jamaican Bar, Zuleika Jess, newly appointed opposition spokesperson on justice, says she is ready for the task. The new parliamentarian told The Gleaner that she had no idea that Opposition leader Mark...
The Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) says it is deeply alarmed by a directive given by Commission of Police Dr Kevin Blake, ordering that Chairman of the Police Officers’ Association (POA), Senior Superintendent Wayne Cameron, vacate...
When the new parliamentary term gets under way in a week or so, there will be 17 first-time members of parliament (MPs) sitting in the House of Representatives. Of the newcomers, there are six women and 11 men split between 12 from the People’s...
The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) is warning that a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) proposal to double the minimum wage on a phased basis could result in job losses or increased costs being passed on to consumers. The private-sector body urged the...
Following several bomb threats to government buildings in the Corporate Area and in rural areas, members of at least three private sector bodies have called for the security forces to put measures in place to strongly discourage and respond to...
As Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Mark Golding come face-to-face tonight in the leadership debate, issues around constitutional reform, the fight against corruption, and FINSAC are among several questions being posed by...
At least one civil society group has suggested social policy issues that representatives of the two major political parties should address when they meet in the first political debate on Saturday. Although police data shows a 42 per cent reduction...
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has signalled that his administration is prepared to make a “credible and reasonable offer” to public-sector workers that will not damage the economy going forward. His remarks come against the background of an...
Corruption watchdog National Integrity Action (NIA) says it strongly supports proposed reforms of the Integrity Commission Act (ICA), including the publication of statutory declarations by all members of the Executive and a review of the...
Suffering the pangs of emotional distress after discovering she had contracted HIV from a man she was cohabiting with over a period of time, a distraught woman, who asked to be identified only as Anica, visited a medical facility, which confirmed...
It is often said that ‘third time’s a charm’ and this proved true for Fione Joy Collins, the deputy director of nursing services at the Percy Junor Hospital in Manchester, who was overwhelmed on Saturday when she was named Nurse of the Year during...
The legislative restraint imposed on the Integrity Commission (IC) in how it conducts its investigations could be partially eased under a new People’s National Party (PNP) administration. Leader of the Opposition and PNP President Mark Golding said...
