Holness accepts Esri award as education funding rises and JPS blackout review advances

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has accepted the 2026 Esri Presidential Award recognising Jamaica’s integrated national geospatial infrastructure and use of geographic information systems to support data-driven governance. The honour was conferred on Monday at the Esri User Conference in San Diego, California.

Holness said GIS proved vital after Hurricane Melissa, giving aid partners a shared picture of where help was most needed. Real-time dashboards tracked shelters, blocked roads and damaged buildings, while a satellite assessment classified more than 960 structures within days. He credited years of investment, training and collaboration, and thanked public officers, emergency responders, GIS professionals, community volunteers, international partners and the diaspora.

At Wednesday’s post-Cabinet briefing, Education Minister Dr. Dana Morris Dixon said funding for all public schools will rise by an average of 55% for the coming school year, with larger lifts for primary and special-needs institutions. The monies consolidate topped-up grants into a single operational grant: 25% for administration, 20% for repairs and maintenance, 30% for teaching and learning, 15% for STEAM and TVET, and 10% for student welfare. Schools already received a first 30% tranche in the second week of June; a second 15% is due in September and a third 20% in December, bringing first-term coverage to 65%.

Energy, Transport and Telecommunications Minister Daryl Vaz said his ministry and the Office of Utilities Regulation are jointly reviewing Jamaica Public Service’s investigative report on the June 5 islandwide blackout, which JPS attributed to intense lightning and which collapsed the national grid for several hours. An inter-ministerial team and technical experts are assessing root causes, system adequacy and corrective steps. JPS drew support from Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Danova Energy Solutions, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and General Electric. Findings and required actions will be made public after the review.

Traditional cannabis growers are being invited into the regulated medicinal industry through the Cannabis Licensing Authority’s first Special Permit Road Show, which opened Friday at Newell High School in St. Elizabeth. The Special Community Permit allows groups to form cooperatives or businesses, while the Cultivator Transitional Special Permit helps growers enter the regulated space while progressing toward full licensing. Industry, Investment and Commerce State Minister Delano Seivright said the CLA has strengthened customer-service outreach, with stakeholder groups including a ganja coalition offering guidance. Agriculture Minister Floyd Green said farmers are being trained in crop nutrition, post-harvest handling and other practices, with RADA extension officers also being equipped. More than 200 licences have been issued and about 25 cultivation farms are active islandwide.

Culture Minister Olivia Grange announced Jamaica’s 64th Independence anniversary calendar under the theme “United in Celebrating Resilience,” including the 60th Festival Song Competition results show on July 25, Jamaica Gospel Star, a National Emancipation and Independence Thanksgiving Service on July 26 at Olson Memorial Church of God in St. Andrew, the Seville Emancipation Jubilee in St. Ann on July 31, Independence Village at the National Stadium Complex from August 1 to 6, and the Independence Grand Gala on August 6.

On Tuesday the House of Representatives paid tribute to former Cabinet ministers Professor Oswald Harding and Dean Peart, former St. James West Central MP Arthur Nelson, and coach Stephen Francis, who died on July 4. Harding’s funeral is set for July 27 at the UWI Chapel; a Cabinet submission for an official funeral for Peart is planned; and Francis’s celebration of life is scheduled for August 15 at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

Marking World Youth Skills Day, officials also highlighted STEAM learning at Alpha Primary through a partnership with STEM Builders Learning Hub, HEART/NSTA Trust’s Tertiary Learn, Earn and Prosper (LEAP) part-time work programme for tertiary students, a contractor incubator with Development Bank of Jamaica financing, planned tuition relief for HEART programmes up to Level 5 for Jamaicans in the most difficult circumstances, and continuing work at refrigerant recovery, recycling and reclamation centres supporting the HCFC phase-out under the Montreal Protocol.