The Ministry of Youth and Culture is taking steps to strengthen its technical capacity with the aim of improving performance within the Ministry and its agencies.

In this regard the Ministry is providing greater and more direct communication support to several agencies within its portfolio. Two members of the Ministry’s communication staff, Mr. Oliver Watt and Mr. Kenrick Barnaby, have been reassigned to assume responsibility for the public relations operations and development communications of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) and the National Library of Jamaica respectively.

The Minister of Youth and Culture Hon. Lisa Hanna views these two entities as important gateways though which Jamaicans can be made to better understand their history and rich cultural traditions. As such, a communication programme and accompanying personnel are being put in place to ensure that information about the important work of the JNHT and the National Library is disseminated to all Jamaicans on a consistent basis, particularly during this significant year of Jamaica’s 50th anniversary celebrations as an independent nation.

In a statement today, Minister Hanna expressed confidence that the human resource changes would result in greater levels of performance from the Ministry on behalf of the people of Jamaica.

“The Ministry of Youth and Culture aims to provide service of the highest calibre and to deliver the best possible value in the management of the youth and culture portfolios,” Ms. Hanna pointed out.

She noted that the Ministry of Youth and Culture is committed to contributing meaningfully to the economic development of Jamaica and to the building of a progressive and prosperous nation with the Jamaican people, and its youth in particular, being in the forefront of the development effort.