Caribbean News
JAMAICA: Senate Approves Extension of State of Public Emergency
#Kingston, October 8, 2018 – Jamaica – The State of Public Emergency (SOE) in sections of the Kingston Central, Kington Western and St. 
Andrew South Police Divisions will continue for another three months, until January 7, 2019. This follows the unanimous approval of the Emergency Powers No. 3 (Continuance) Resolution 2018 in the Senate on Friday, October 5.
On September 23, Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, declared the SOE in sections of the Police Divisions. Addressing the Senate, Leader of Government Business and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, said the enhanced measures will allow the security forces to bring the high levels of violence under control, while making the movement of weapons within the specific communities more difficult.
“We must support the security forces who have been and who will continue [enhancing] the law within the provisions of the law to the benefit of our citizens. The security forces have been doing well. You hear the feedback from the communities, and we have to commend them and recognise that what is happening is that as they continue to bring down murders, they will continue to bring up and build the trust,” she said.
Senator Johnson Smith said for 2017, and so far this year, several communities within the geographical areas in question emerged among the top 10 in Jamaica with respect to murders and incidents of shooting. She informed that, last year, the police divisions of Kingston West, St. Andrew South and Kingston Central recorded a combined total of 485 murders and shootings.
The Minister noted that up to October 1 of this year, the divisions recorded a combined total of 365 murders and shootings. Senator Johnson said the measures will go a long way in returning hot spot communities to a state in which they can be kept safe by normal policing.
“This will work together with the five-pillar crime strategy, which is under way and which is making progress across the island as reflected in the serious crime indices. These tools, together with the increased activities under Crime Stop and the Get the Guns Campaign, are yielding fruits. We have to use every tool available to us within the law, and we are committed to so doing,” she said.
Senator Johnson Smith reiterated that the safety and well-being of all Jamaicans will continue to be top priority for the Government.
“The tools being considered before us today for extension have been proven, thus far, to be effective in disrupting the activities of criminal gangs, disrupting the cycle of destructive violence and reprisals,” she added.
Mrs. Johnson Smith said disrupting activities such as extortion will reduce profits being made by criminal gangs, while stifling their ability to grow and expand, which in turn will weaken them and their hold on the communities. She argued that these measures will assist with the redevelopment and revitalisation activities being undertaken in the Kingston Metropolitan Region. “We need to take Kingston back from the criminals,” she said.
Senator Johnson Smith said the increased presence by the SOE offers more protection to the nation’s children.
“The gangs continue to include our children in their heinous activities. There are too many reports of children who are victims to crime and violence, not only through death, rape and injury but also through interrupting their childhood by way of including them as perpetrators and involving them in gang activities,” she noted.
“Leave the children alone; let them live out their lives free from fear or being summoned by dons when they reach puberty. They must be free to dream and study their books and go to school, knowing that a better life is ahead of them,” the Minister said. She pointed out that the extension is based on the advice of the security forces.
The Constitution provides that a period of public emergency can be declared by Proclamation if the Governor-General is satisfied that action has been taken or threatened by any person or body of persons of such a nature and on so extensive a scale as to be likely to endanger public safety.
Release: JIS
Contact: Chris Patterson
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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