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Bunting bats for cops' overtime payment

Opposition spokesman on national security, Peter Bunting, has called on the Government to honour a court order and pay overtime monies the nation's cops in this month's pay.

Bunting said the payment is due for the period April to June. He said a failure to make the overtime payment could demoralise the members of the police force. Bunting referenced a recent statement by chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation, Corporal Rohan James, who expressed disappointment in the Police High Command's failure to facilitate overtime payments for rank-and-file police personnel, despite the government's approval of a system to calculate and disburse these payments.

"I sympathise with Corporal James' concerns and fully support the Jamaica Police Federation in their demand for the implementation of the court-ordered mechanism to capture and compensate overtime hours for JCF members. The court ruling in June last year clearly stated that the government should establish such a system by March 31, 2023. It is disheartening that the rank-and-file police personnel still await their rightful compensation." Bunting said.

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Yallahs to get new market

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, has announced that a new market will be built at in Yallahs, St Thomas.

McKenzie said the facility will be located at the site of the former market, which was closed years ago.

The property which housed the market was leased from the St Thomas Municipal Corporation to the Paul Bogle Foundation. Vendors now ply their wares on the streets.

"I am announcing that at the end of the current lease arrangements for this property in St Thomas, it will return to the full custodianship of the Municipal Corporation, and a new market will be established there to improve the economic and social life of Yallahs and its surrounding communities," the minister said.

He also dismissed reports that a jerk centre is to be constructed on this land.

"I want to make it very clear that no consideration has been made or permission granted for any such venture," he said.

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Vaz creates transport steering committee

A steering committee has been established by public passenger transport operators.

The committee, to include Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Daryl Vaz, will represent the operators' interests and is intended to aid in tackling issues affecting the sector.

The membership will also include other representatives from the Ministry, as well as the Transport Authority and Island Traffic Authority.

Opposition Spokesman on Transportation, Mikael Phillips, is also expected to be invited to be part of the group.

Vaz said that the committee's establishment will facilitate transport operators' inclusion in discussions pertaining to the sector.

"The bottom line is that... all of the issues, some of them long-standing, some of them very contentious... must be addressed; and the only way to do that is obviously with collaboration and consensus. We may not agree on everything. But giving them an opportunity to be a part of it is very important and that includes fare increases," Vaz said.

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Holness appeals for help in recapturing escapees

Prime Minister Andrew Holness is appealing to residents of St Elizabeth to provide any information they may have regarding the recent escape of eight prisoners from police custody in the parish.

The prisoners, who are considered highly dangerous, escaped during a jailbreak at the Black River Police Station lock-up on June 19.

One of the escapees, Anward Hinds, 34, known as 'Kirkie', from Maroon Town, St James, was facing charges for a quadruple murder. Two others, Jevaughn Simms, 25, from Copperwood, St James, and Kenneth Stewart, 30, from Beacon Hill, St Catherine, were both being held for murder.

The other escapees are Demar Williams, Oral Cole, Richard Brown, Alrick Hutchinson and Dean Simpson. They were in custody for serious crimes, including murder and aggravated robbery.

Holness, speaking during a ribbon cutting exercise to hand over a unit under the New Social Housing Programme in Oxford Settlement, Balaclava, St Elizabeth, on Friday, said it is crucial for the public to help the police recapture the men.

"If you have information about the whereabouts of these escapees, please present that information to the police... please help us to have those escapees returned to the criminal justice system," Holness said.