Cabinet has approved the disposal of 75 per cent of the ordinary shares of Seprod Limited, held by the Coconut Industry Board, Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator Ruel Reid dislcosed at last week’s post-Cabinet press briefing held at the Office of the Prime Minister, in Kingston.

Reid said proceeds of the sale would be turned over to the Accountant General as a special distribution in keeping with the financial distribution policy for public bodies.

He also reported that Cabinet had approved the change of name from the Bureau of Women’s Affairs to the Bureau of Gender Affairs following a request submitted by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange, in support of International Women’s Day.

Grange noted that a key feature of the agency would be the “re-establishment of the male desk, because it is not just about us, it is not just about women. It is also about our men, particularly our young men affected by marginalisation”. More emphasis, she added, would be placed on the National Policy for Gender Equality (NPGE), which was developed through a series of widespread consultations among key stakeholders, using a mainstreaming approach, and was approved by Cabinet on March 1, 2011.

“The NPGE was designed to establish a framework for a more comprehensive and coordinated approach to fully integrate gender in every area of national life.

The implementation of the policy is therefore geared towards achieving equal treatment for women and men,” Grange said.

— JIS