KINGSTON, Jamaica -There was a fair bit of chest-thumping by the Government recently over Reporters without Borders' ranking of Jamaica as the leading country for press freedom in the Western Hemisphere and 13th globally.
The Simpson Miller administration interpreted the rating as a vindication of its own commitment to freedom and democracy and currency in which it can trade.
Jamaica
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme Achim Steiner would say yes. In a recent presentation he made in Basel, Switzerland, on the impact of the summit on international cooperation on the environment and sustainable development, Steiner mapped the genesis of the meeting and its achievements. "The outcomes of Rio+20 may signal a new determination by and cooperation between governments to implement sustainable development as the only option for peace, security and prosperity into the future," he said.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government is moving to deal with the deficit in mathematics at the primary and secondary levels and Education Minister Rev. Ronald Thwaites says there will be an increase in allocation towards ensuring that sufficient mathematics specialists are placed in schools.
He said that only nine per cent of secondary school teachers are qualified to teach mathematics up to grade 11, while 31 per cent of primary teachers are not adequately qualified to teach the subject.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - JAMAICA'S Attorney General's Office yesterday indicated that it intends to call four witnesses to the stand as the Government began to present its case in the first sitting of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in Jamaica to hear the case against the Barbadian Government by Shanique Myrie.
The court, which is being adjudicated by a panel of seven judges, is being held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston and is hearing arguments from Myrie that her human rights were violated after she was subjected to two dehumanising cavity searches.
KINGSTON – Lawyers representing the Jamaica government yesterday served notice at the Shanique Myrie trial that they would present evidence to show that Barbados has engaged in a pattern of discrimination against visiting Jamaicans.
The evidence, according to lead attorney Kathy-Ann Brown, includes statistics compiled over the last five years and first-hand accounts from several people who said they were mistreated by Immigration officers.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez predicted, during a visit to Jamaica eight years ago, that the PetroCaribe arrangement would save participating countries billions of dollars from crude oil purchases.
Following Chávez's passing yesterday, Dr Wesley Hughes, the newly appointed chief executive officer of the PetroCaribe Development Fund, acknowledged that Jamaica has benefited significantly from the arrangement.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - FOREIGN AFFAIRS and Foreign Trade Minister Senator A.J. Nicholson yesterday said that if the late Hugo Chávez's United Socialist Party wins in another national election "we would dare to hope that the PetroCaribe and other projects would continue." In an interview on Radio Jamaica yesterday, Nicholson sought to allay fears regarding the PetroCaribe deal, noting that Venezuelan Vice-President Nicholas Maduro had made a promise "not so long ago" that the entire agreement would be extended. He noted that there were many other spin-off projects from the agreement.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC - There are no reports of fatalities in the aftermath of an accident in Cuba which involved Caribbean nationals on Saturday.
According to a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, the accident that took place close to the town Santa Clara, involved several Caribbean students studying in Havana, who were on their way to Camaguey for an Independence activity for Grenada.
WASHINGTON, CMC – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is heaping praise on a project in Jamaica that is providing new ways the transfer of cash to poor families in exchange for meeting certain conditions such as sending their children to school. The IDB said for more than two decades, several Latin American and Caribbean countries have transferred cash to poor families under the programme that has mproved the lives of millions of poor families.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - A meritocracy exists where selection and promotion of people is based on merit, more specifically, their qualifications and performance. Regrettably, there's a deficit of meritocracy in the Caribbean.
In the national political arena, selection is based on political party affiliation, amount of money donated, race, class and gender. Civil servants are mostly promoted by seniority. Longevity and patience are more important than competence and performance.