ONE-MINUTE READS ... News from across Jamaica

Jamaica to use sea water for electricity generation

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has revealed that the Government of Jamaica has received an unsolicited proposal to pump water from the sea for the generation of energy.

Holness, speaking in the Budget Debate last Thursday, said that a consortium of "reputable local and international companies" has offered to implement the initiative that has been dubbed the hydroelectric and water systems project.

"The project involves deep sea desalination and pumping the fresh water into reservoirs at high elevations using solar power," Holness said as he explained the venture.

He said that the fresh water will then be gravity fed downhill, through hydropower turbines generating electricity. Holness said that the water will be channelled to reservoirs downstream to be used for household purposes and irrigation.

"This transformational project has the potential to solve the water scarcity problems of the Kingston Metropolitan Area by providing a third source of stored water supply to complement the Mona Reservoir and Hermitage Dam. At the same time, it would generate a significant amount of hydroelectric power," Holness said.

PNP to participate in royal visit

The Opposition People's National Party (PNP) has sought to explain why its representatives will be present at the events being held for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

In a statement yesterday, the PNP said that Mark Golding, the leader of the Opposition, has decided that the Opposition should be present at the events to which it has been invited.

"It is in the interests of the Jamaican people that the Opposition be present and able to make our views on these fundamental issues known to the royals. Constructive dialogue is the best way to move this process forward, and attending these events provides an opportunity for this," Golding said.

The visit of William and Kate is being overshadowed by calls for Britain to apologise for its role in slavery and to pay reparations for the injustice inflicted on peoples of African descent during the centuries of the slave trade, chattel slavery and the plantation system in Jamaica and other countries.

Golding said, "The issues at hand are not about current personalities, but rather about the imperative of a principled reckoning with the past, and I intend to communicate directly our position on these issues".

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Jermaine Jackson, the National Water Commission (NWC) manager for Manchester, has appealed to residents to desist from illegally connecting to the company's systems.

"We have invested millions into the New Forest system, which serves this area, drilling new wells and doing upgrades. We pay the Jamaica Public Service Company alone $5 million per month for electricity to operate the system. But as for revenues, we are collecting less than 10 per cent. Customers and potential customers need to do their part by paying their bills and regularising their connections to our supply," Jackson said.

His plea followed last month's prosecution of two women from Alligator Pond for illegally taking water from the NWC. The women who pleaded guilty were fined $100,000 or three months in prison when they appeared in the Manchester Parish Court.

The two were charged after a disconnection exercise in the fishing community by the NWC's revenue recovery team along with members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force late last year. The same exercise reportedly resulted in 22 accounts being disconnected for arrears in excess of $1 million.

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Coding in schools project starts this month

Approximately 5,000 students who registered for the National Coding in Schools Programme are expected to begin training this month.

Michael McNaughton, managing director of the software firm, Amber Group Limited, which is partnering with the education and youth ministry to conduct the training, said that the students will be engaged in sessions two to three hours per week, over a two- or three-month period.

A total of 400,000 students from grades one to 13 in public schools across Jamaica will benefit from the initiative. It follows a successful pilot, which was conducted virtually in 20 schools, and involved the engagement of approximately 2,000 students in grades four and nine.

The objective is to equip students to compete in an increasingly technologically driven world.