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NEWS IN BRIEF Top News in the Print Media: The Jamaica Information Service, The
Gleaner & The Observer - From the Public Relations Department, Jamaica Information
Service - Monday, September 1, 2003
No Primary Fees
The Gleaner: No primary school student should be charged fees or barred from
school for non-payment of 'contributions' requested by the school, Maxine
Henry-Wilson, the Education Minister, warned last night.
With the new school year beginning today, she reiterated in a national broadcast,
the Government's stance:
"The policy is that no fees should be charged at the primary level. Where schools
request contributions for maintenance or for the functioning of special groups
such as the Parent-Teacher Association, such charges are not compulsory and cannot
result in the student being excluded from classes."
She urged administrators of primary schools to fully use textbooks provided by the
Government and not overburden parents with the additional expense of buying more
textbooks. "Our concern is the burden that the purchase of the additional texts
place on the parents, when to our certain knowledge, the texts provided by the
ministry are adequate for the specific subject areas," Mrs. Henry-Wilson said.
For those attending secondary schools, Mrs. Henry-Wilson pointed out that the
absolute deadline for applications for financial assistance through the Programme
for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) is September 15. She noted
that the schools are now being advised of the outcome of the applications which
had already been made.
Those whose applications had not been successful would have a second opportunity
through an appeals process which would review the applications, she said.
The Education Ministry had made every effort to meet the needs of schools in terms
of equipment and furniture and had supplied all the needs for grades 1 to 3, she
said. This is in addition to providing funds to effect emergency repairs to
address leaky roofs and sanitation. "We will not be able to meet all the needs
immediately but will continue to do so throughout the school year, as resources
are low," Mrs. Henry-Wilson explained.
Lottery winnings tax begins today
The Gleaner: The government's planned 15 per cent taxation on lottery winnings
will come into effect today.
The tax, imposed by Dr. Omar Davies, Minister of Finance and Planning, after what
he called a careful examination of the gaming sector, including rejection of a
$500 million revenue advance proposal from lottery company Supreme Ventures Ltd.,
is expected to bring in an additional $200 million to Government coffers.
"We are expecting a fallout for sure," said Paul Hoo, CEO and president of Supreme
Ventures. "The question is how much of a fallout there will be and that we have to
wait and see. Talk to me in another two or three weeks and we will better be able
to assess the situation."
The Jamaica Lottery Co., also, is expecting a fallout. "It's pretty much a wait
and see," Howard Mitchell, chairman of the JLC, said last week. "We still don't
feel this tax is the right way to go."
The Government had initially suggested a 25 per cent tax on all lottery sales to
help fill a budget-financing gap. Following outcry from the sector, however, this
was then adjusted downward. Dr. Davies then shifted the tax to the winnings.
PM at Parley in Cuba
The Gleaner: PRIME MINISTER P. J. Patterson went to Cuba yesterday, his office
said, to attend a major conference on sustainable development, poverty reduction
and environmental preservation.
Several other world leaders and heads of international organisations are at the
conference which is taking place in Havana, the Cuban capital. The conference is
reported to be a follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Environmental
Development, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.
Mr Patterson is to address the conference today. Accompanying him is Dean Peart,
Minister of Land and the Environment.
According to a news release from the Prime Minister's office, he and the other
participants are meeting for "the Sixth Session of the United Nations Convention
to discuss how to halt the degradation of the earth's land and water resources and
counter climatic changes which cause serious droughts and which lead to the spread
of desertification." The convention which Jamaica acceded to in 1997, was one of
the outcomes of the Rio Conference.
Mr. Patterson will return on Wednesday. Portia Simpson Miller, Minister of Local
Government, Community Development and Sport, is in charge of the government during
his absence.
C'ttee to submit proposal on jury system tomorrow
The Gleaner: Jurors who are served summonses and appear for duty but are prevented
from serving will be compensated for their time and effort if suggestions from a
sub-committee to oversee the recommendations of the National Committee on Crime
and Violence are implemented.
The persons would also be reimbursed for their expenses.
"It's a consideration whether to adjust provisions to include payment of
reimbursables for members of the jury who are summoned, duly appeared but are
unable to serve," Canute Brown, consultant to the Ministry of Justice said. In
addition, there are calls to increase the number of bailiffs and their assistants
which are attached to the courts, removing the need for police officers serving
summonses.
The recommendations are to be submitted to the Government tomorrow as attempts are
made to clean up the island's flawed jury system which now includes an inadequate
jury pool, persons who were repeatedly selected for duty, and accusations that the
police are involved in a system of handpicking persons for jury duty.
The Jamaica Justice Report (2002), a publication of local human rights group,
Jamaicans for Justice, cites designated coroner Norman Harrison as reporting that
'some jurors had been serving on and off for up to 10 years,' in what has been
called a pool of 'professional jurors' for the island's Coroner's Court.
New direction for Hampden sugar estate
The Gleaner: Players in the sugar industry are forecasting that the $370 million
redevelopment programme at Hampden Estates will bring back substantial buoyancy
into the industry. This is despite registering the lowest sugar production in 60
years in the last crop.
Hampden Estates in Trelawny was closed down on Friday,
forcing 450 employees to join the unemployment line. The redevelopment at Hampden
will kick off, when the estate opens its doors as a multi-crop complex in
mid-September. Only 150 workers will be re-employed on a phased basis.
"The selection of the new workers has not yet been complete, but we will be
bringing the people back on a phased basis in mid-September," Livingston Morrison,
chief executive officer of the Sugar Company of Jamaica told The Sunday Gleaner.
"Work at Hampden will start in earnest during the last two weeks in September
after intensive training of workers to ensure they are multi-skilled."
The multi-million redevelopment project is to include the refurbishing and
modernising of the distillery, construction of a bottling plant, the planting of
1,300 hectares of sugar cane, cultivation of 200 hectares of mixed crops including
vegetables, fruits and ground provisions, and the development of the estate as a
eco-tourism attraction.
Funding for the programme is being sourced from a consortium of European bankers
by way of the KBC Working Capital loan.
JSIF moves to increase community involvement
The Gleaner: Dr. Wesley Hughes, Chairman of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund
(JSIF), has said that the organisation was moving to increase community ownership
of and contribution to projects.
Speaking at the seventh Annual General Meeting of JSIF on Wednesday (August 27) at
the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Dr. Hughes said, among other things, the
new approach would involve the utilisation of community-based contractors. In this
way, residents would have greater autonomy over their own development, as they
would have responsibility for the management and execution of the project.
"This approach seeks to enhance the capacity of communities to identify their
physical and socio-economic needs, prioritise those needs and most importantly,
identifying possible sources of funding," he said.
Dr. Hughes, who is also Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica
(PIOJ), explained that to facilitate the smooth operation of the process, Project
Management Committees would be formed, which would share the responsibility for
the monitoring and reporting of projects with JSIF.
To further enhance community involvement in project management and execution, Dr.
Hughes informed that JSIF would be putting a pilot project in place aimed at
boosting the community's ability to execute multiple sub-projects.
To be funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the initiative seeks to
assists residents to identify those projects that "address the prioritised needs
of a community and provide a more comprehensive solution to their development
problems," Dr. Hughes said.
He said that the pilot programme would be implemented in the parish of Hanover,
with the disbursement of US$1 million in three to four communities. "This pilot is
expected to provide learning that will be used to inform national approaches to
community development," he stated.
5 medals for Ja.
The Observer: With Veronica Campbell and Tayna Lawrence sorely missed, Jamaica
wrapped up the 9th IAAF World Championship in Paris, France securing three silver
and two bronze medals.
Both bronze medals were won on the final day yesterday -- both in the mile relays.
Encouraged by Allison Beckford's solid second leg in the 4x400m relays, world
championship silver medallist, Lorraine Fenton, who ran off the final leg in third
position, darted after USA's Jamaican-born Sanya Richards and Russia's Natalya
Nazarova.
On the final stretch Fenton closed in on both, missing the silver by one hundredth
of a second and failing to defend their crown.
UDC examine bids to develop Two-Sisters Cave
The Observer: THE state-run Urban Development Corporation (UDC) is sifting through
four proposals for the contract to develop the Two Sisters Caves in the Hellshire
Hills, St Catherine, as part of a larger development plan for the Hellshire and
Sand Hills Bay beach areas.
The Two Sisters Caves were once a favourite haunt of nature-loving Jamaicans who
would journey from the nearby Hellshire Beach to enjoy its natural ambiance.
Today, the infrastructure surrounding the caves is in a state of neglect. Rotting
walkways and a heavy overgrowth of brush paint a picture of decay.
The UDC, through its tender offer, is seeking to perk up the site with modern
amenities. While the value of the contract has not been released by the
corporation, the contractor who wins the right to develop the site will be
required to construct duplex vending kiosks, random rubble stone walls, and sewage
collection and disposal system.
"The contract will also cover refurbishing the damaged reception office, the
pavilion, the steps to the caves and viewing platforms and paving the driveway and
parking areas," said UDC spokeswoman, Doreen O'Connor.
New rules for US visas
The Observer: The facility under which some Jamaicans were able to apply for a
United States non-immigrant visa without visiting the US embassy in person, will
end as of October next year, as America continues its relentless drive to tighten
its borders against terrorists.
"After October 26, 2004, non-immigrant visa applicants from countries from which
the Government requires visas, including Jamaica, will have to appear in person at
the US Consulate for an interview and for the collection of biometric
information," Orna Blum, director of the US embassy's Office of Public Affairs in
Kingston, said in an e-mail response to a Sunday Observer query.
The US Congress has authorised the introduction of an almost foolproof
identification system called biometric technology, designed to confirm the
identity of travellers by scanning faces, fingerprints and other physical
characteristics.
That information, when collected, will be inserted in travellers' visas and will
help the Americans, still nervous after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks,
keep out suspected terrorists or immigration violators.
NYS Targets 300,000 unattached youth
JIS: Over 300 young people between the ages 17 and 29 years old turned out at the
Mannings High School in Westmoreland on Tuesday (Aug. 26) for the second in a
series of Youth Opportunity Fairs, being staged by the National Youth Service
(NYS) in collaboration with Heart Trust/NTA and the Jamaica Business Development
Centre.
Executive Director of the NYS, Rev. Adinhair Jones, told JIS News that the fairs
were being used to reach approximately 30,000 unattached young people across the
island, to provide them with information about available jobs and entrepreneurial
opportunities and highlight services at the parish level.
Businesses in the parishes are invited to set up display booths to inform the
young people about the services that they offer.
Rev. Jones said the plan was to have one such fair in every parish by the end of
March 2004. He pointed out that the first fair was held last week at the St.
Elizabeth Technical High School, with the next one to be held at the College of
Agriculture, Science and Education in Portland on September 12.
"We believe the August period up to about March next year is going to be very
critical in terms of finding these young people, bringing them to a particular
centre and help them to look at their lives and come up with a five year plan, get
recruited into HEART Trust, the NYS or seek business with the JBDC and all the
other agencies that exist in the parish and in wider Jamaica", he said.
Currency
Selling rate
US$1 = J$59.39
Cdn$1 = J$42.32
GBP = J$93.26
Contact: Angela Hamilton
For further information about any of these news
items, contact the Public Relations Department at [email protected] .The Jamaica
Information Service web page address is www.jis.gov.jm .Telephone: (876) 929-1919 /
926-3590-8, Fax: (876) 926-6715
COMMENTARY - Monday, September 01, 2003
THE OBSERVER
A Bit of avdise for mayor mckenzie
We have noted the concern raised by the mayor of Kingston, Mr Desmond McKenzie,
over the inadequacy in the collection of property taxes and trade fees in the
Corporate Area, thus leaving the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) short
of money to do its work.
By Mr McKenzie's calculation only about half of the property taxes in Kingston and
its allied St Andrew parish is being collected and only about 40 per cent of the
trades people were in compliance with their licence fees.
So the mayor estimates that about half the arrears, over the past three years or
so, for these two taxes is perhaps $1 billion. That's a lot of money which could
do a lot of things for the city and the Greater Kingston area. If it could only be
collected.
One of the matters, the collection of property taxes, is not under the direct
control of the KSAC. These taxes, once the rates are settled in conjunction with
the local government ministry, are actually collected by the Inland Revenue
people, who are part of the finance ministry. The central government then
allocates the property taxes and a proportion of motor vehicle taxes to the
Parochial Fund for distribution to the parish councils.
In the face of the shortfall in the property taxes, the finance minister, Dr Omar
Davies has invited Mayor McKenzie to help work out a programme to improve
compliance. This is a good move.
It provides an opportunity, in our view, for the KSAC, whose incompetence, under
the previous leadership, to begin to prove to us that the local government system
is worth persevering with and for narrow, partisan politics to be taken out of an
issue that is important to the city.
In February last year when the private sector revolted against the government's
attempt to tack a levy on people's electricity bills to finance the cost of public
lighting, they had more than tacit support from Mr McKenzie's party, which was
then in Opposition at both the national and local levels. Mr McKenzie's Jamaica
Labour Party was also hardly embracing of the increases in property taxes when the
government abandoned the electricity levy and opted for this measure to raise the
funds to meet its obligation to provide public lighting.
In June Mr McKenzie's party won most of the local government authorities, although
narrowly, in the parish council elections. It is in his interest, therefore, to
work with the central government to raise the funds to do the job if he wishes to
bring improvement to city. For this, in part, will help to determine whether the
JLP can retain its current hold on local government and could help, if there is
good performance, to propel the party from its long-term stint in Opposition at
the national level.
But we offer Mr McKenzie a bit of advice which we gave freely over and over to his
predecessor and gave once before to the current mayor: the KSAC and other local
government authorities can do much more with available resources. They, like the
rest of Jamaica, have fallen into the trap of believing that it requires a
tremendous amount of money to do the simplest of things. If it does it is because
of the multitudes who have to sup at the trough of political pork.
That is where Mr McKenzie might start -- by running a clean system and putting the
extortionist to flight. And he must ensure that there is value for money for work
done. It does not, in the first place, require all those millions of dollars to
clean the May Pen Cemetery, in an area Mr McKenzie knows well, and then the job is
improperly done. Neither does it require all those millions to cut the verges and
clean community drains.
It can be done far cheaper. What is required is a strong dose of will and decent
management. And human decency.
Except for the views expressed in the columns above, the articles published on
this page do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Jamaica
Observer.
THE GLEANER
Support the police
Attacking police stations or shooting at policemen is a sad reversal of the
attitudes of fear or respect with which these guardians of law were once held.
This is manifested at the most basic level where lawmen confront criminal gangs
often equipped with illegal weapons of high quality.
The reported shoot-outs suggest pitched street battles as between forces on par.
The impression is given of criminal sophistication outpacing the capacity to
contain it.
This view of the matter is supported at the highest level confirming that
international linkages with drug trafficking, for example, are part of the local
crime problem. Indeed the billions of dollars involved in that kind of traffic
make credible the claim by the Minister of National Security about serious levels
of corruption in the constabulary.
The inference, of course, is that the corruption is not confined to police ranks
but must of necessity spread more widely elsewhere in the society to be effective
and profitable.
What effective anti-crime plans must seek to achieve is not simply to restore fear
and respect for policemen. That in large part must come from updated basic
training for a higher calibre of recruit. At the management levels of the Force we
expect that sophisticated training in the latest technologies will come from the
latest overseas contacts in Britain and North America.
The whole complex of jurisprudence, including the Office of the DPP and the
operations of the courts, must all be seen as part of the containment of crime.
Ordinary citizens, be they members of lobby groups or watchdogs of human rights,
must maintain their vigilance; but they should always be mindful that the good
policeman represents the ultimate bulwark of public safety. They need the support
of good citizens.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE
VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
Gleaner & The Observer - From the Public Relations Department, Jamaica Information
Service - Monday, September 1, 2003
No Primary Fees
The Gleaner: No primary school student should be charged fees or barred from
school for non-payment of 'contributions' requested by the school, Maxine
Henry-Wilson, the Education Minister, warned last night.
With the new school year beginning today, she reiterated in a national broadcast,
the Government's stance:
"The policy is that no fees should be charged at the primary level. Where schools
request contributions for maintenance or for the functioning of special groups
such as the Parent-Teacher Association, such charges are not compulsory and cannot
result in the student being excluded from classes."
She urged administrators of primary schools to fully use textbooks provided by the
Government and not overburden parents with the additional expense of buying more
textbooks. "Our concern is the burden that the purchase of the additional texts
place on the parents, when to our certain knowledge, the texts provided by the
ministry are adequate for the specific subject areas," Mrs. Henry-Wilson said.
For those attending secondary schools, Mrs. Henry-Wilson pointed out that the
absolute deadline for applications for financial assistance through the Programme
for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) is September 15. She noted
that the schools are now being advised of the outcome of the applications which
had already been made.
Those whose applications had not been successful would have a second opportunity
through an appeals process which would review the applications, she said.
The Education Ministry had made every effort to meet the needs of schools in terms
of equipment and furniture and had supplied all the needs for grades 1 to 3, she
said. This is in addition to providing funds to effect emergency repairs to
address leaky roofs and sanitation. "We will not be able to meet all the needs
immediately but will continue to do so throughout the school year, as resources
are low," Mrs. Henry-Wilson explained.
Lottery winnings tax begins today
The Gleaner: The government's planned 15 per cent taxation on lottery winnings
will come into effect today.
The tax, imposed by Dr. Omar Davies, Minister of Finance and Planning, after what
he called a careful examination of the gaming sector, including rejection of a
$500 million revenue advance proposal from lottery company Supreme Ventures Ltd.,
is expected to bring in an additional $200 million to Government coffers.
"We are expecting a fallout for sure," said Paul Hoo, CEO and president of Supreme
Ventures. "The question is how much of a fallout there will be and that we have to
wait and see. Talk to me in another two or three weeks and we will better be able
to assess the situation."
The Jamaica Lottery Co., also, is expecting a fallout. "It's pretty much a wait
and see," Howard Mitchell, chairman of the JLC, said last week. "We still don't
feel this tax is the right way to go."
The Government had initially suggested a 25 per cent tax on all lottery sales to
help fill a budget-financing gap. Following outcry from the sector, however, this
was then adjusted downward. Dr. Davies then shifted the tax to the winnings.
PM at Parley in Cuba
The Gleaner: PRIME MINISTER P. J. Patterson went to Cuba yesterday, his office
said, to attend a major conference on sustainable development, poverty reduction
and environmental preservation.
Several other world leaders and heads of international organisations are at the
conference which is taking place in Havana, the Cuban capital. The conference is
reported to be a follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Environmental
Development, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.
Mr Patterson is to address the conference today. Accompanying him is Dean Peart,
Minister of Land and the Environment.
According to a news release from the Prime Minister's office, he and the other
participants are meeting for "the Sixth Session of the United Nations Convention
to discuss how to halt the degradation of the earth's land and water resources and
counter climatic changes which cause serious droughts and which lead to the spread
of desertification." The convention which Jamaica acceded to in 1997, was one of
the outcomes of the Rio Conference.
Mr. Patterson will return on Wednesday. Portia Simpson Miller, Minister of Local
Government, Community Development and Sport, is in charge of the government during
his absence.
C'ttee to submit proposal on jury system tomorrow
The Gleaner: Jurors who are served summonses and appear for duty but are prevented
from serving will be compensated for their time and effort if suggestions from a
sub-committee to oversee the recommendations of the National Committee on Crime
and Violence are implemented.
The persons would also be reimbursed for their expenses.
"It's a consideration whether to adjust provisions to include payment of
reimbursables for members of the jury who are summoned, duly appeared but are
unable to serve," Canute Brown, consultant to the Ministry of Justice said. In
addition, there are calls to increase the number of bailiffs and their assistants
which are attached to the courts, removing the need for police officers serving
summonses.
The recommendations are to be submitted to the Government tomorrow as attempts are
made to clean up the island's flawed jury system which now includes an inadequate
jury pool, persons who were repeatedly selected for duty, and accusations that the
police are involved in a system of handpicking persons for jury duty.
The Jamaica Justice Report (2002), a publication of local human rights group,
Jamaicans for Justice, cites designated coroner Norman Harrison as reporting that
'some jurors had been serving on and off for up to 10 years,' in what has been
called a pool of 'professional jurors' for the island's Coroner's Court.
New direction for Hampden sugar estate
The Gleaner: Players in the sugar industry are forecasting that the $370 million
redevelopment programme at Hampden Estates will bring back substantial buoyancy
into the industry. This is despite registering the lowest sugar production in 60
years in the last crop.
Hampden Estates in Trelawny was closed down on Friday,
forcing 450 employees to join the unemployment line. The redevelopment at Hampden
will kick off, when the estate opens its doors as a multi-crop complex in
mid-September. Only 150 workers will be re-employed on a phased basis.
"The selection of the new workers has not yet been complete, but we will be
bringing the people back on a phased basis in mid-September," Livingston Morrison,
chief executive officer of the Sugar Company of Jamaica told The Sunday Gleaner.
"Work at Hampden will start in earnest during the last two weeks in September
after intensive training of workers to ensure they are multi-skilled."
The multi-million redevelopment project is to include the refurbishing and
modernising of the distillery, construction of a bottling plant, the planting of
1,300 hectares of sugar cane, cultivation of 200 hectares of mixed crops including
vegetables, fruits and ground provisions, and the development of the estate as a
eco-tourism attraction.
Funding for the programme is being sourced from a consortium of European bankers
by way of the KBC Working Capital loan.
JSIF moves to increase community involvement
The Gleaner: Dr. Wesley Hughes, Chairman of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund
(JSIF), has said that the organisation was moving to increase community ownership
of and contribution to projects.
Speaking at the seventh Annual General Meeting of JSIF on Wednesday (August 27) at
the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Dr. Hughes said, among other things, the
new approach would involve the utilisation of community-based contractors. In this
way, residents would have greater autonomy over their own development, as they
would have responsibility for the management and execution of the project.
"This approach seeks to enhance the capacity of communities to identify their
physical and socio-economic needs, prioritise those needs and most importantly,
identifying possible sources of funding," he said.
Dr. Hughes, who is also Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica
(PIOJ), explained that to facilitate the smooth operation of the process, Project
Management Committees would be formed, which would share the responsibility for
the monitoring and reporting of projects with JSIF.
To further enhance community involvement in project management and execution, Dr.
Hughes informed that JSIF would be putting a pilot project in place aimed at
boosting the community's ability to execute multiple sub-projects.
To be funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the initiative seeks to
assists residents to identify those projects that "address the prioritised needs
of a community and provide a more comprehensive solution to their development
problems," Dr. Hughes said.
He said that the pilot programme would be implemented in the parish of Hanover,
with the disbursement of US$1 million in three to four communities. "This pilot is
expected to provide learning that will be used to inform national approaches to
community development," he stated.
5 medals for Ja.
The Observer: With Veronica Campbell and Tayna Lawrence sorely missed, Jamaica
wrapped up the 9th IAAF World Championship in Paris, France securing three silver
and two bronze medals.
Both bronze medals were won on the final day yesterday -- both in the mile relays.
Encouraged by Allison Beckford's solid second leg in the 4x400m relays, world
championship silver medallist, Lorraine Fenton, who ran off the final leg in third
position, darted after USA's Jamaican-born Sanya Richards and Russia's Natalya
Nazarova.
On the final stretch Fenton closed in on both, missing the silver by one hundredth
of a second and failing to defend their crown.
UDC examine bids to develop Two-Sisters Cave
The Observer: THE state-run Urban Development Corporation (UDC) is sifting through
four proposals for the contract to develop the Two Sisters Caves in the Hellshire
Hills, St Catherine, as part of a larger development plan for the Hellshire and
Sand Hills Bay beach areas.
The Two Sisters Caves were once a favourite haunt of nature-loving Jamaicans who
would journey from the nearby Hellshire Beach to enjoy its natural ambiance.
Today, the infrastructure surrounding the caves is in a state of neglect. Rotting
walkways and a heavy overgrowth of brush paint a picture of decay.
The UDC, through its tender offer, is seeking to perk up the site with modern
amenities. While the value of the contract has not been released by the
corporation, the contractor who wins the right to develop the site will be
required to construct duplex vending kiosks, random rubble stone walls, and sewage
collection and disposal system.
"The contract will also cover refurbishing the damaged reception office, the
pavilion, the steps to the caves and viewing platforms and paving the driveway and
parking areas," said UDC spokeswoman, Doreen O'Connor.
New rules for US visas
The Observer: The facility under which some Jamaicans were able to apply for a
United States non-immigrant visa without visiting the US embassy in person, will
end as of October next year, as America continues its relentless drive to tighten
its borders against terrorists.
"After October 26, 2004, non-immigrant visa applicants from countries from which
the Government requires visas, including Jamaica, will have to appear in person at
the US Consulate for an interview and for the collection of biometric
information," Orna Blum, director of the US embassy's Office of Public Affairs in
Kingston, said in an e-mail response to a Sunday Observer query.
The US Congress has authorised the introduction of an almost foolproof
identification system called biometric technology, designed to confirm the
identity of travellers by scanning faces, fingerprints and other physical
characteristics.
That information, when collected, will be inserted in travellers' visas and will
help the Americans, still nervous after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks,
keep out suspected terrorists or immigration violators.
NYS Targets 300,000 unattached youth
JIS: Over 300 young people between the ages 17 and 29 years old turned out at the
Mannings High School in Westmoreland on Tuesday (Aug. 26) for the second in a
series of Youth Opportunity Fairs, being staged by the National Youth Service
(NYS) in collaboration with Heart Trust/NTA and the Jamaica Business Development
Centre.
Executive Director of the NYS, Rev. Adinhair Jones, told JIS News that the fairs
were being used to reach approximately 30,000 unattached young people across the
island, to provide them with information about available jobs and entrepreneurial
opportunities and highlight services at the parish level.
Businesses in the parishes are invited to set up display booths to inform the
young people about the services that they offer.
Rev. Jones said the plan was to have one such fair in every parish by the end of
March 2004. He pointed out that the first fair was held last week at the St.
Elizabeth Technical High School, with the next one to be held at the College of
Agriculture, Science and Education in Portland on September 12.
"We believe the August period up to about March next year is going to be very
critical in terms of finding these young people, bringing them to a particular
centre and help them to look at their lives and come up with a five year plan, get
recruited into HEART Trust, the NYS or seek business with the JBDC and all the
other agencies that exist in the parish and in wider Jamaica", he said.
Currency
Selling rate
US$1 = J$59.39
Cdn$1 = J$42.32
GBP = J$93.26
Contact: Angela Hamilton
For further information about any of these news
items, contact the Public Relations Department at [email protected] .The Jamaica
Information Service web page address is www.jis.gov.jm .Telephone: (876) 929-1919 /
926-3590-8, Fax: (876) 926-6715
COMMENTARY - Monday, September 01, 2003
THE OBSERVER
A Bit of avdise for mayor mckenzie
We have noted the concern raised by the mayor of Kingston, Mr Desmond McKenzie,
over the inadequacy in the collection of property taxes and trade fees in the
Corporate Area, thus leaving the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) short
of money to do its work.
By Mr McKenzie's calculation only about half of the property taxes in Kingston and
its allied St Andrew parish is being collected and only about 40 per cent of the
trades people were in compliance with their licence fees.
So the mayor estimates that about half the arrears, over the past three years or
so, for these two taxes is perhaps $1 billion. That's a lot of money which could
do a lot of things for the city and the Greater Kingston area. If it could only be
collected.
One of the matters, the collection of property taxes, is not under the direct
control of the KSAC. These taxes, once the rates are settled in conjunction with
the local government ministry, are actually collected by the Inland Revenue
people, who are part of the finance ministry. The central government then
allocates the property taxes and a proportion of motor vehicle taxes to the
Parochial Fund for distribution to the parish councils.
In the face of the shortfall in the property taxes, the finance minister, Dr Omar
Davies has invited Mayor McKenzie to help work out a programme to improve
compliance. This is a good move.
It provides an opportunity, in our view, for the KSAC, whose incompetence, under
the previous leadership, to begin to prove to us that the local government system
is worth persevering with and for narrow, partisan politics to be taken out of an
issue that is important to the city.
In February last year when the private sector revolted against the government's
attempt to tack a levy on people's electricity bills to finance the cost of public
lighting, they had more than tacit support from Mr McKenzie's party, which was
then in Opposition at both the national and local levels. Mr McKenzie's Jamaica
Labour Party was also hardly embracing of the increases in property taxes when the
government abandoned the electricity levy and opted for this measure to raise the
funds to meet its obligation to provide public lighting.
In June Mr McKenzie's party won most of the local government authorities, although
narrowly, in the parish council elections. It is in his interest, therefore, to
work with the central government to raise the funds to do the job if he wishes to
bring improvement to city. For this, in part, will help to determine whether the
JLP can retain its current hold on local government and could help, if there is
good performance, to propel the party from its long-term stint in Opposition at
the national level.
But we offer Mr McKenzie a bit of advice which we gave freely over and over to his
predecessor and gave once before to the current mayor: the KSAC and other local
government authorities can do much more with available resources. They, like the
rest of Jamaica, have fallen into the trap of believing that it requires a
tremendous amount of money to do the simplest of things. If it does it is because
of the multitudes who have to sup at the trough of political pork.
That is where Mr McKenzie might start -- by running a clean system and putting the
extortionist to flight. And he must ensure that there is value for money for work
done. It does not, in the first place, require all those millions of dollars to
clean the May Pen Cemetery, in an area Mr McKenzie knows well, and then the job is
improperly done. Neither does it require all those millions to cut the verges and
clean community drains.
It can be done far cheaper. What is required is a strong dose of will and decent
management. And human decency.
Except for the views expressed in the columns above, the articles published on
this page do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Jamaica
Observer.
THE GLEANER
Support the police
Attacking police stations or shooting at policemen is a sad reversal of the
attitudes of fear or respect with which these guardians of law were once held.
This is manifested at the most basic level where lawmen confront criminal gangs
often equipped with illegal weapons of high quality.
The reported shoot-outs suggest pitched street battles as between forces on par.
The impression is given of criminal sophistication outpacing the capacity to
contain it.
This view of the matter is supported at the highest level confirming that
international linkages with drug trafficking, for example, are part of the local
crime problem. Indeed the billions of dollars involved in that kind of traffic
make credible the claim by the Minister of National Security about serious levels
of corruption in the constabulary.
The inference, of course, is that the corruption is not confined to police ranks
but must of necessity spread more widely elsewhere in the society to be effective
and profitable.
What effective anti-crime plans must seek to achieve is not simply to restore fear
and respect for policemen. That in large part must come from updated basic
training for a higher calibre of recruit. At the management levels of the Force we
expect that sophisticated training in the latest technologies will come from the
latest overseas contacts in Britain and North America.
The whole complex of jurisprudence, including the Office of the DPP and the
operations of the courts, must all be seen as part of the containment of crime.
Ordinary citizens, be they members of lobby groups or watchdogs of human rights,
must maintain their vigilance; but they should always be mindful that the good
policeman represents the ultimate bulwark of public safety. They need the support
of good citizens.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE
VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.