WESTERN BUREAU: National Security and Peace Minister Dr Horace Changs says body cameras are being dangerously overestimated as a cure-all for Jamaica’s deep-rooted policing challenges. “Bring me one research paper, just one, that shows cameras, by...
WESTERN BUREAU: Stephen Price, vice-president and general manager of FLOW Jamaica, is endorsing the proposed establishment of the National Regulatory Reform Authority (NaRRA), arguing that Jamaica must urgently remove bureaucratic bottlenecks,...
WESTERN BUREAU: Leaders of the country’s main utility firms are calling for a quicker turnaround on regulatory approvals and policy decisions, warning that prolonged delays are undermining investment, inflating costs and slowing the delivery of...
WESTERN BUREAU: Andrew Wheatley, minister without portfolio with responsibility for science, technology, and special projects, has warned that the Caribbean’s energy transition and digital transformation has moved “from aspirational to urgent” and...
WESTERN BUREAU: A Caymanian government official is urging Caribbean countries to provide stronger support to regulatory bodies, saying that underinvestment in these institutions could undermine the region’s development ambitions. Speaking at the...
WESTERN BUREAU: Richard Solomon, chairman of the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation and mayor of Black River, says the historic town is steadily recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, though critical gaps in infrastructure,...
WESTERN BUREAU: Seventy-year-old Parotte fisherman Basil Bennett said he stood in stunned disbelief and watched his home collapse under the brutal force of Hurricane Melissa’s Category 5 winds as it ripped through St Elizabeth last October. “It...
WESTERN BUREAU: Months after Hurricane Melissa battered Jamaica’s south coast, fishermen at Calabash Bay Fishing Beach in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, are gradually returning to the sea, signalling a slow but hopeful recovery for the coastal...
WESTERN BUREAU: Six months after the devastation of Hurricane Melissa, residents of the small coastal community of Parottee in St Elizabeth say their most urgent needs are the restoration of electricity and access to water, as recovery continues at...
WESTERN BUREAU: Treasure Beach in St Elizabeth has mounted a remarkable recovery in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, with residents and tourism stakeholders crediting not only reconstruction efforts but also the unyielding spirit of a coastal...
WESTERN BUREAU: When Hurricane Melissa battered Jamaica’s southern coastline six months ago, the fishing village of Parottee in St Elizabeth was left reeling from heavy losses. Homes were damaged, livelihoods disrupted, and small businesses wiped...
Western Bureau: As Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett tours hospitality properties along Jamaica’s south coast to assess recovery efforts and reinforce the sector’s readiness to welcome international visitors, industry stakeholders are warning that...
WESTERN BUREAU: As the local tourism and hospitality sector continues to rebound from Hurricane Melissa, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) bill will be the reset to unlock full...
WESTERN BUREAU: Claudette Bryan, western regional vice-president of the Lay Magistrates Association of Jamaica (LMAJ), has said that some individuals holding the title of Justice of the Peace (JP) “should not be holding that position”, arguing that...
Western Bureau: Young Jamaicans are being urged to harness their creative ideas so that they can develop the skills needed to shape the future of Jamaica’s tourism. Edmund Bartlett, minister of tourism, noted last Thursday that students play a...
WESTERN BUREAU: Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has acknowledged that, even while efforts are being made to professionalise the local tourism sector through training and certification, wages in the sector are unlikely to reach the levels seen in...
WESTERN BUREAU: Agriculture Minister Floyd Green is calling for animal health and welfare to be formally integrated into disaster risk reduction and management strategies across Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. In remarks delivered by Orville...
WESTERN BUREAU: The Cornwall College Cadet Unit, which is a part of the Fourth Battalion of the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force (JCCF), has been gifted a $400,000 donation by the Freemason Association of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands towards...
WESTERN BUREAU: Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has launched a scathing attack on the leadership of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), accusing the regional body of operating a “corrupt backroom operation” in relation to...
WESTERN BUREAU: Kerry Thomas, the councillor for the Mt Salem division in the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC), has served notice on the corporation that he will be tabling a resolution to have the new Western Children and Adolescent Hospital...
WESTERN BUREAU: The Howard Cooke Primary School in Montego Bay, which had its furniture, equipment and vital records destroyed when mud, debris and floodwaters associated with Hurricane Melissa devastated the institution, got a major boost in their...
WESTERN BUREAU: While most of the public health centres in western Jamaica have been returned to full service since the passage of Hurricane Melissa six months ago, residents of Catherine Hall in Montego Bay, St James, are appealing to the...
WESTERN BUREAU: The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has launched a $10-million extra-lessons initiative to assist students who will begin sitting the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination this...
WESTERN BUREAU: Sport Minister Olivia Grange says the official dedication of the statue honouring Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt in Falmouth will take place once a new date is finalised. Speaking with reporters in Montego Bay over the weekend,...
