Published:Thursday | January 5, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Indicating that he has the political will to implement the long-awaited public-sector transformation exercise, including job cuts, Andrew Holness, the head of the Government, yesterday announced some far-reaching measures to overhaul the public...
Published:Wednesday | January 4, 2017 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Even as the Government targets April this year to pass the long-awaited Pensions (Public Service) Act, the main union representing public-sector workers says that state employees still have concerns about aspects of the proposed law.Under the new US...
Published:Thursday | January 5, 2017 | 7:40 PMEdmond Campbell
With the Government yesterday outlining plans for the implementation of the public-sector transformation programme this year, unions representing workers in the service have said that they are on board.Helene Davis Whyte, president of the Jamaica...
Published:Thursday | December 29, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
President of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA) O'Neil Grant is crying foul at what he describes as the discriminatory treatment of officers in the Fiscal Management Group (FMG) of the public sector who are often required to reapply for...
Published:Tuesday | December 27, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Three months before the widening and upgrading of a 2.4 kilometre section of Marcus Garvey Drive, residents of Greenwich Farm, a community which the road passes, are demanding that an overhead pedestrian crossing be part of the project, apparently...
Published:Monday | December 12, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
There are jitters in the marketplace that the country could be faced with a severe shortage of rice for the Christmas season, with one major importer of the product arguing that if the freeze imposed on the distribution of rice on the wharves is not...
Published:Wednesday | December 7, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
While indicating that he would not offer a comment on the absence of Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller from yesterday's signing of the Partnership for a Prosperous Jamaica Agreement at King's House, Prime Minister Andrew Holness signalled that...
Published:Tuesday | December 6, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Millions of dollars more have been earmarked for spending on bush-clearing work and drain cleaning across the country as members of parliament (MPs) submit Christmas work projects for approval. This comes fast on the heels of the Government's $600...
Published:Monday | December 5, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Political commentator Martin Henry says while the last cycle of the Portia Simpson Miller administration might be viewed as a watershed moment in Jamaica's longer-term history, her performance as a member of parliament is woefully lacking and her...
Published:Tuesday | November 29, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Minister of Local Government Desmond McKenzie says he expects the new slate of mayors to hit the ground running after they are sworn into office on December 8.In a press release yesterday, McKenzie advised that all 228 councillors, along with mayor...
Published:Monday | November 28, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
With the February 25 general election win providing well-needed momentum for its candidates, the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) yesterday overturned the People's National Party's (PNP) stranglehold on municipal corporations and took control of...
Published:Thursday | November 24, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
As the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) pores over an application by the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) for a rate increase affecting residential, small, and large commercial customers, at least one sector group is expressing great concern that if...
Published:Wednesday | November 23, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte is working feverishly to provide the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) with advice ahead of Monday's local government elections, particularly in relation to a Supreme Court ruling, which effectively...
Published:Tuesday | November 22, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
An intense race is on between first-time councillor candidate for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Paul Thompson and incumbent Elaine Osbourne for the Manchioneal division in Portland, with a win by either contender likely to determine which side...
Published:Monday | November 21, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Even as the Government yesterday announced a three-pronged approach to overseeing the new arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), co-chairman of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC), Keith Duncan, is assuring Jamaicans...
Published:Friday | November 18, 2016 | 4:06 PMEdmond Campbell
Allegations that some candidates and their campaign teams are planning to embark on a vote-buying scheme in the upcoming local government elections, have prompted head of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) Dorothy Pine McClarty to warn...
Published:Wednesday | November 16, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Fred Ewers, an elderly resident of Amity Hall, St Thomas, was unfazed by the sweltering heat of the sun as he moves his hand in a circular motion with a 'float', skilfully creating a level surface on the fresh concrete he had earlier poured to fill...
Published:Thursday | November 17, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
With the rapid erection of orange and green flags across constituencies in the run-up to the November 28 Local Government Elections, at least one councillor in St Thomas says he has no plans to engage in a cloth war.Councillor Rohan Bryan of the...
Published:Tuesday | November 15, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Less than two weeks before Jamaicans go to the polls to elect their local representatives, the Opposition People's National Party has gone on the offensive over garbage, accusing the Government of playing politics with the issue.At the same time,...
Published:Thursday | November 3, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
At least two key sector leaders want the two major political parties to carry out campaigns in a civil manner that will not disrupt productivity in the run-up to the local government elections announced yesterday for November 28.Warren McDonald,...
Published:Tuesday | November 1, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Member of Parliament (MP) for St Andrew East Rural, Juliet Holness, is calling for Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis to probe allegations that some medical practitioners are bleeding the resources in the public health sector to care for their...
Published:Thursday | October 27, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Despite an allocation of $55 million in the budget of the Ministry of National Security to acquire drone technology to aid in the fight against escalating crime and violence in Jamaica, it appears that local law enforcement might have to wait for a...
Published:Wednesday | October 26, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
A member of the Police High Command yesterday shelved diplomacy and took aim at the head of the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), Terrence Williams, indicating that the manner in which the commissioner of the oversight body carries...
Published:Wednesday | October 26, 2016 | 12:00 AMEdmond Campbell
Deputy Commissioner of Police Novlette Grant says members of the police force have raised concerns about personal costs they incur when they appear before the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) for a hearing.According to Grant,...
