Post-Cabinet press briefings to resume

The Government has announced that it will resume post-Cabinet press briefings shortly, following an urgent call from the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) for the weekly exercise to restart.

In a news release issued yesterday, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information said that the format of post-Cabinet press briefings was being reviewed. According to the ministry, the Government is committed to updating the country on Cabinet's deliberations.

However, the PAJ's concerns stemmed from the fact that the press briefings were last held in November 2017. "The Government seems to have effectively abandoned the post-Cabinet press briefings. This is unacceptable," charged the PAJ through its President Dionne Jackson Miller.

In its news release, the ministry said that the "Government of Jamaica is committed to open and accessible communication with the media and the public.

"In this regard, a series of communication activities, as part of a wider communication strategy, has been planned and, so far, executed to include the prime minister's quarterly press conferences, among others, and timely press conferences by government ministers buttressed by other communication activities".