ONE-MINUTE READS ... News across Jamaica

MoBay gets new traffic signals

Four new traffic signals that have been installed in Montego Bay, St James, will be commissioned into service tomorrow.

The lights were installed along a route that is used to bypass the city of Montego Bay. The traffic signals were installed at the intersections of Middle Road and the Felicity roadway; Felicity and Sun Valley Road; Felicity and Salt Spring Road; and Salt Spring Road and Vernon's Drive. These signals are expected to regulate the flow of traffic at these intersections and to improve the safety of road users.

Congestion has been a serious concern in the city of Montego Bay, and the Government is now undertaking the Montego Bay Bypass project to alleviate the congestion in the city centre. In the interim, motorists have been using roadways on the outskirts of Montego Bay as a bypass of the city centre. One such route takes commuters through the community of Ironshore, along Dr Horace Chang Boulevard, Middle Road, and several other communities, before exiting onto Westgate Boulevard.

Digicel, UNICEF give voice to Jamaica's young people

An innovative partnership between Digicel and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is setting the stage for a new era in youth empowerment and development in Jamaica. Using the power of its high-speed LTE mobile network, Digicel will provide zero-rated SMS messaging access to UNICEF's U-Report social messaging platform - a powerful, global digital portal that encourages open expression among young people between the ages of 13 and 29.

U-Report, which UNICEF operates in 95 countries, empowers adolescents and youth to have a voice about issues impacting their lives, while ensuring anonymity and confidentiality.

As a U-Report participant, young people can actively engage in vital issues of national importance and become advocates for change. Their feedback will be shared with government officials, key decision-makers, civil society organisations, and the public to help influence policies, programmes, and laws that impact children and youth.

------------

50,000 households to get water tanks

The Government is set to launch a rural water resilience programme as it moves to ramp up rainwater harvesting among Jamaicans, where and when appropriate.

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator Matthew Samuda, made the announcement at the commissioning ceremony for rainwater harvesting and upgraded irrigation systems at the Forestry Department in St Andrew.

The minister said the Government understands that not every Jamaican will have the resources to address the need for rainwater harvesting. He said that the Government will, over the next two to three years, distribute and install water tanks in 50,000 households islandwide.

"That's a major, major investment in water resilience at the household level," he said.

Samuda said the distribution of the water tanks will be done "very carefully" and that social assessments will take place to ensure that the tanks go to the families most in need.

------------

JUTC slowed by bus shortage

Despite the addition of 50 buses to its fleet, the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) does not have enough buses to manage the demand for seats.

Transport Minister Daryl Vaz said there is a need for a daily roll-out of 400 buses, far more than the 140 buses that were being put on the roads up to a few weeks ago. He said that 125 buses were recently rehabilitated, which will increase the number of buses the JUTC is able to roll out daily.

"With the 50 new buses, we will have 315 buses on the road for back to school. This will alleviate a lot of the frustration and the waiting time, which has been up to two and a half hours for certain routes," Vaz said.

The minister was speaking during a post-Cabinet press briefing held yesterday at Jamaica House. He announced that 20 compressed natural gas buses have been ordered through a framework agreement.

"We are hoping to get six here by November and the other 14 by January 2024," Vaz said.

The Government has committed to buying 100 new electric buses in 2024-25 fiscal year, and another 100 in 2025-26 budget year.

---------

Farmer receiving assistance under drought-mitigation programme

Farmers have begunreceiving assistance under the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining's $200-million drought-mitigation programme.

Portfolio minister Floyd Green advised that $104 million was allocated for trucking water, $48 million is earmarked to purchase three trucks, while other sums are programmed for the provision of mulch, seeds, planting material and fertiliser, among other inputs. Additionally, he said $10 million has been allocated to provide irrigation drip kits to some farmers.

Green advised that the ministry is also working with farmers to identify areas to harvest rainwater in ponds.

"The good news is that we have got some rains and also our drought-mitigation programme is reaching some of our farmers," he said.

The sector recorded more than 800,000 tonnes of domestic crop production in 2021 and more than 700,000 tonnes in 2022.