IRIE FM

There is concern about an increase in electrical fires due to overload, as citizens plug in more appliances to deal with the unbearable heat.

Commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, Stewart Beckford noted the use of fans and air conditioning units.

He is urging residents to get an electrician to check their systems in a bid to prevent electrical fires

Meantime, Social Security Minister, Pearnel Charles Junior also appealed to residents to take every precaution to prevent fires.

A Public Order Ticket Information Management System has been developed by the Ministry of National Security and the Jamaica Constabulary Force to treat with violations, such as noise and illegal vending.

Tickets for public order violations will be issued by JCF officers, as well as by municipal corporations.

Minister of National Security, Dr. Horace Chang, said the system was developed to support the administration of fixed penalty offences.

Speaking in Parliament today, Dr. Chang stressed that greater attention must now be placed on public order.

He said the objective is to improve compliance while reducing unnecessary confrontation.

Dr. Chang said if the ticket fine is not paid, violators will face consequences, including the revoking of vending licences.

President of the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association, Dr. Jubilee Brown-Service, says Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton will update the association when the internal review of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal ruling is completed.

The association met with Dr. Tufton today.

The ruling, which relates to overtime rate for doctors, was handed down yesterday and followed a 24-hour strike by junior doctors at the weekend.

The industrial action was taken after calls from the JMDA for the ruling to be handed down.

The JMDA had been awaiting the ruling since April 1 this year. However, the matter dates back to 2023.

Speaking with IRIE FM News this afternoon, Dr Brown-Service says after the review, the parties will discuss implementation.

She noted that the health minister understands the urgency of the situation.

Principal of the Denham Town High School, Yvette Richards Thompson, has described the death of 11-year-old Jaydon Whyte as a tremendous loss.

The boy is one of two people who died in an early morning fire at North Street in Kingston this morning.

The other deceased is 60-year-old Junior Barrett.

Jaydon, who was in Grade 7, started classes last month.

Mrs. Richards Thompson says he was a caring student.

She said Jaydon was a punctual student and received an award yesterday.

He would have celebrated his 12th birthday tomorrow.

She said grief counselling sessions were held for staff and students today.

Two people are dead following a fire at North Street in Kingston this morning.

The deceased are 60-year-old Junior Barrett and 11-year-old Jaydon Whyte.

Tomorrow is Jaydon’s birthday.

Six adults and a child have been left homeless.

The house was occupied by nine people.

According to the Jamaica Fire Brigade, the upper floor of the two-storey building was destroyed while the three shops on the ground floor were left intact.

The fire caused an estimated $15 million in damage.

The cause of the fire remains undetermined.

Meanwhile, Kingston Western Member of Parliament and Minister of Local Government, Desmond McKenzie is appealing to residents in the constituency to be extra careful noting that this is the second fire in the area in under six weeks.

With the ongoing water crisis Mr. McKenzie is urging residents to take extra care to help prevent fires.

By Clement Reid and Marlene Freeman

The National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NARRA) has entered a five-year lease for its new headquarters at the Digicel Building in Downtown Kingston at a cost of $115 million annually.

According to a press release from the Office of the Cabinet yesterday, operations at the location are scheduled to begin by November 1.

The release said the Digicel Building was designed and constructed to withstand multiple environmental hazards and incorporates structural and engineering features intended to support resilience.

It said these features align with NARRA’s operational requirements particularly its mandate to maintain business continuity and critical functions during disasters and national emergencies.

The lease for the premises is valued at US$26.00 per square foot for a total annual cost of $US725,972.

The selection process reportedly included a detailed valuation by the National Land Agency (NLA).

The Office of the Cabinet says the valuation assessed the proposed cost against current market value and what other government agencies currently pay to acquire office space.

It determined that the expenditure was in keeping with existing standards and market rates.

The release said NARRA, since its establishment, has been engaged in a series of stakeholder consultations and coordination activities aimed at strengthening collaboration around Jamaica’s reconstruction and resilience priorities as well as building out the organisational structure necessary to carry out its mandate.

It noted that recruitment for positions within the Authority is proceeding on schedule.

The new headquarters is expected to provide a centralised base from which NARRA can coordinate these efforts and advance its work to support long-term national resilience and sustainable economic growth.

Meantime, Chief Executive Officer of NARRA, Major General (Ret’d) Antony Anderson, has stated that in the next five years, the country will become more investable with better quality infrastructure.

Major General Anderson was speaking in an interview with the JIS in Vernamfield, Clarendon.

He said the development in infrastructure is expected to result in private sector development and a structured mechanism of knowledge transfer.

Major General Anderson outlined that the development of Vernamfield is crucial for receiving supplies in an event that both major airports are compromised during a hurricane or other disasters.

He stated that its central location provides the potential for significant resilience.

Managing Director of the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) Doreen Prendergast has criticized some of the island’s contractors for not performing efficiently.

She said this inefficiency is dragging out project timelines and causing delays in completing housing developments on schedule.

Mrs. Prendergast was speaking at the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development’s World Habitat Day Exposition yesterday.

Responding to a question on some challenges affecting housing supply and delivery in Jamaica, she pointed to the country’s labour force challenges especially in the construction industry.

Mrs. Prendergast explained that construction workers hired for some projects directly affect both the quality and the speed of the construction.

Jamaica’s chronic shortage of housing solutions should be considered a national emergency.

That’s the view of Chairman of the Jamaica Developers Association, Dayton Wood, as he addressed a panel discussion during the World Habitat Day Exposition at the Summit hotel in Kingston today.

Hosted by the Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development Ministry, the exposition was designed to create a platform for public education, dialogue, and engagement around the importance of adequate housing and the development of safe, sustainable, and resilient communities.

Responding to the question of the main challenges affecting housing supply and delivery in Jamaica, Mr. Wood notes that persons from overseas now want to buy homes in the country.

He says this adds to the existing demand by locals, creating more competition and driving up housing costs.

Mr. Wood points to other factors affecting housing supply in Jamaica, such as construction costs.

He says a master plan is needed to address the yearly demand of housing solutions, noting that the initiative must transcend generations and political administrations.

Meanwhile, Mr. Wood says the need for land to build houses is also essential to addressing supply.

However, he explains that there needs to be a balance between the land requirements for both agriculture and housing.

Managing Director of the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) Doreen Prendergast, has stated that land availability and bureaucratic delays are among the key issues affecting the agency’s ability to supply housing solutions.

She was addressing a panel during the Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development Ministry’s World Habitat Day Exposition today.

The HAJ is a land and housing development company that provides shelter solutions for Jamaicans.

Its core services include providing shelter solutions on the open market, mortgage servicing, and upgrading informal settlements.

Mrs. Prendergast explained that Jamaicans must be mindful that housing is a process, with several factors affecting the delivery of houses to the market.

She said, for example, squatters occupy some of the agency’s prime lands, which could impact the number of houses placed on the market.

Mrs. Prendergast noted that the process to approve developments can be lengthy in some instances.

She added that the agency also has challenges in securing finances for some projects.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Prendergast pointed to the procurement process and external issues such as the Middle East conflict, which also affects the HAJ’s ability to supply the Jamaican market with houses.

Head of the St. Andrew South Police, Senior Superintendent Damion Manderson, says for the first time since Independence the division is poised to finish the year with fewer than 50 murders.

He made the statement at a church service in the division yesterday.

According to SSP Manderson, since the start of the year, 37 murders have been recorded in the division, 40 per cent less than the corresponding period last year.

The divisional commander also thanked citizens for cooperating with the police when curfews are implemented and further called on them to work with the police to achieve peace.

SSP Manderson said the end goal is for life to be preserved, even if citizens may be financially challenged due to the implementation of security measures.