分类： society

ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica — Officials launched a critical water infrastructure improvement initiative this week, breaking ground on the long-awaited $148 million Santa Cruz By-pass Mains Replacement Project, a core component of the broader Santa Cruz Water Supply Improvement Programme led by the National Water Commission (NWC).

For more than half a century, the region has relied on an outdated three-inch cast iron pipeline laid in the 1970s—an asset that has long exceeded its projected service life. Under the new project, this aging network will be replaced with a robust six-inch ductile iron main built to deliver decades of reliable service. When construction wraps up in November 2026, the upgrade is projected to transform water access for roughly 1,200 individual customers, representing around 300 households across the Santa Cruz By-pass corridor and adjacent communities including New River, Brighton, Friendship Street, and Doctor Rock. Key improvements will include more consistent water flow, stronger overall system integrity, and increased water pressure across the entire service area.

Attending the official groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday was Matthew Samuda, Jamaica’s Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change, who framed the project as a foundational investment in the region’s future. “The Santa Cruz pipes, laid in the 1970s, are simply past their useful life,” Samuda told attendees. “Today is a major milestone for a project that matters to the future of Santa Cruz. We are investing just under $150 million in your water supply, and I want to assure you that the contractors will ensure you have a Merry Christmas in this area once the project is completed.”

NWC Project Engineer Neville Green explained the technical and operational benefits of the upgrade, noting that the larger, more durable ductile iron pipeline will eliminate the frequent pipe bursts that have long disrupted service. “Installing the durable six-inch ductile iron pipeline will allow us to safely increase system pressure and optimise distribution without recurring bursts,” Green said. “This upgrade will drastically reduce Non-Revenue Water losses, ensuring that the water treated by NWC reaches consumers’ taps rather than leaking into the ground.”

To address community concerns about construction disruption, the NWC has committed to fully repaving affected road segments once pipeline installation is complete, restoring full, smooth access for local motorists and pedestrians.

Samuda also used the event to respond to recent public scrutiny of the NWC’s capital budget implementation, offering new transparency into the commission’s fiscal performance. He confirmed that the NWC spent 94% of its allocated capital budget in the last fiscal year, with the remaining 6% disbursed in April this year. The delay in releasing those remaining funds was tied to after-effects of Hurricane Melissa, he added. Samuda also noted that a recent independent performance audit turned up no allegations of mismanagement or corruption, and that the NWC has already moved forward with implementing all operational and management recommendations put forward by auditors.

Decades after leaving her rural Jamaican parish of St. Thomas in search of greater opportunity, 47-year-old Michelle Jones has come home – and brought with her a relentless mission to spruce up public spaces, protect residents from flood risk, and inspire collective community action, all at her own expense.

Jones’ life story is one of persistent drive to chase better prospects. After graduating from Yallahs Primary and Seaforth High, she left St. Thomas at 18 for Montego Bay, drawn by the limited economic and professional growth available in her underdeveloped home parish. She worked a series of odd jobs in hospitality, customer service, and on a Royal Caribbean cruise line before migrating to the United States at 34. Starting out as a nurse’s aide, Jones continued to push for advancement, enlisting in the U.S. Navy at 39 – the maximum enlistment age allowed for her branch at the time.

“Boot camp was tough, but I came from a background of hard work in Jamaica, so I pushed through,” Jones recalled in an interview with Jamaica Observer Online. During her military career, she maintained aircraft, served aboard the USS Kearsarge and USS Harry S. Truman, and built a reputation for supporting peers navigating U.S. immigration and citizenship processes. A career-ending elbow injury led to her honourable medical discharge in December 2023, and she had originally planned to return to Jamaica permanently in 2027. But a sudden family crisis forced her hand: in August 2025, she arrived back in Jamaica to find her elderly grandfather living in unsafe, unsanitary conditions in Montego Bay amid a dementia diagnosis. Jones arranged for rental accommodation and cared for him until his passing in April 2026, one month shy of his 93rd birthday.

After wrapping up her grandfather’s affairs, Jones relocated to St. Thomas on May 1 – a place that felt vastly different from the underdeveloped community she left decades earlier. “The peace here is unlike anything I felt abroad,” she said. “Years ago, I never thought I’d live here again, but now it’s exactly where I want to be.” As she searched for land to buy, driving through the Albion community, she noticed a striking problem: overgrown bushes choked roadsides, sidewalks, and drainage gutters, turning public spaces into unnavigable, unsafe hazards.

Rather than wait for municipal intervention, Jones took matters into her own hands. She purchased a heavy-duty weed whacker, protective work gear, and began clearing overgrown areas three days a week, working through the Caribbean’s sweltering heat. Most recently, she partnered with two local caretakers to clean up a neglected plot near the Morant Bay tax office, and her next priority is clearing a clogged gutter outside her alma mater, Yallahs Primary School, ahead of the Atlantic hurricane season. Jones knows firsthand the danger of blocked drainage: she has witnessed young children swept away by floodwaters during heavy rain events, and is working to clear the gutter before expected August and September downpours. She also plans to lead additional beautification projects at the school over the summer break.

To date, the entire initiative has been self-funded. Jones estimates she has already spent close to $100,000 Jamaican dollars on equipment, fuel, replacement parts, and protective gear – a cost that rises due to St. Thomas’ rocky terrain, which frequently frays and breaks cutting blades and trimming strings. Balancing her clean-up work with academic studies – she already holds a degree in criminal justice and is currently pursuing a second degree in organizational leadership – Jones fits her philanthropy around her class schedule.

Despite the challenges and expenses, Jones says the rewards of her work far outweigh the costs. “When I finish clearing an area and I look back at what I’ve done, I just feel so proud,” she said. Her grassroots effort has already resonated across the island: videos of her work shared on social media have inspired other Jamaicans to launch similar projects in their own communities, and many have reached out to ask how they can get involved. “People ask me how to get a weed whacker, how to learn to use it, and that makes me so happy,” Jones said. “That’s exactly what I want to see.”

Not all reactions have been supportive, however. Many local residents have expressed confusion over her willingness to work without pay, arguing that public maintenance is a government responsibility. But Jones pushes back on that mindset: “If we all keep waiting for someone else to do it, nothing will ever change. The government can only do so much. Change has to start with one person, right?”

Jones did publicly praise Member of Parliament James Robertson for the progress he has delivered in the St. Thomas Western constituency, and called on him to prioritize additional roadside and drain clearing ahead of the rainy season. Her long-term plans for the initiative are ambitious: she owns a full set of landscaping equipment stored at her former U.S. home, which she plans to ship to Jamaica to expand the project, and she keeps extra weed whackers on hand for any new volunteers who want to join. Jones even plans to offer incentives for volunteer clean-up teams across the island, including sponsoring quarterly weekend getaways for the most active groups, to encourage widespread participation.

For Jones, the work is ultimately rooted in a deep love for her home. While the U.S. gave her valuable professional opportunities, she says she never felt fully settled abroad. “In America, I always felt like I was walking on eggshells,” she explained. “Here in St. Thomas, I feel safe. This is where I belong.”

Beyond beautification, Jones is pushing for long-term changes to reduce flood risk and improve waste management across Jamaica, calling for expanded public infrastructure like covered garbage receptacles and greater public education about proper waste disposal to keep drains clear. Above all, she wants all Jamaicans to take collective pride in their communities. “It’s all of our jobs to keep Jamaica clean, not just the government’s,” she said. “If you have a free day, grab a few friends and clean up your neighborhood. Small acts add up to big change.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s state-owned National Housing Trust (NHT) has issued an urgent public alert, calling on residents to stay on high alert after the organization uncovered a growing wave of fraudulent social media profiles impersonating its brand. These fake accounts are actively luring vulnerable home seekers by advertising supposedly discounted NHT-developed properties for private sale, a scheme the trust has never authorized.

In an official statement released to the public this Thursday, the NHT emphasized a core, long-standing policy that consumers must remember: the agency never sells its affordable housing stock through any social media platform. All NHT housing allocation processes follow strict, transparent regulatory frameworks and internal protocols designed to ensure fair access for eligible contributors to the scheme. Any contributor seeking an NHT property must complete their application exclusively through the agency’s official, vetted application channels, the statement clarified.

Beyond warning the public of the scam, the NHT is urging all Jamaicans to take proactive steps to verify the legitimacy of any social media page, direct message, or promotional advertisement that claims affiliation with the organization before disclosing any personal or financial information. Scammers behind these fake accounts often target prospective home buyers to steal sensitive data or collect fraudulent down payments, putting victims at severe financial risk.

The trust also called for collective public action to curb the scam: anyone who encounters these fraudulent accounts or misleading advertisements is requested to report the activity to the relevant platforms and the NHT immediately. According to the agency’s update, its internal teams are already actively monitoring social media spaces to track down these unauthorized operations. The NHT is also working through formal, appropriate regulatory and platform channels to remove the fake accounts and put a stop to the improper use of its official name and registered branding.

For accurate, up-to-date information on NHT housing developments, housing products, and public services, the agency reminded residents that only information posted on its official website and other pre-approved authorized communication channels can be confirmed as legitimate.

WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — Nearly 30 days after the Williams family was thrown into chaos when they said Doyley’s Funeral Services could not produce the body of their 90-year-old relative Roy Williams, a long-awaited breakthrough has come — but it has only opened the door to a fresh, contentious conflict between the grieving family and the local funeral home.

On Thursday, funeral home representatives turned over a body to the family for genetic testing to confirm identity, bringing a temporary end to the family’s weeks-long search for answers. But the two sides are already at odds over two key details: whether a DNA sample was collected on Thursday, and whether the body now provided is the same one displayed at Roy Williams’ funeral service last month.

In an interview with local media, a senior executive at Doyley’s Funeral Services flatly denied that any DNA testing procedure had taken place that day. The executive also asserted that the body presented this week is identical to the one brought to Savanna-la-Mar Seventh-day Adventist Church for the May 17 funeral service.

That account is categorically rejected by the Williams family. Roy Williams, a former resident of the Savanna-la-Mar Infirmary, had been missing from the funeral home’s custody for nearly a month prior to Thursday’s development. His sister, Andrea McDonald, told reporters that the body turned over this week bears no physical resemblance to the corpse the family viewed during the May service.

Despite the ongoing dispute, McDonald acknowledged the family is relieved to finally have a body they believe matches their late relative. “It makes no sense they try to play us. This is not it. This is not the body that we had before. But we are happy that they have located him where he was and we’re happy that they brought him to us,” McDonald said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

McDonald explained the family holds concrete photographic and video evidence that proves the two bodies are not the same. She was present in Jamaica for the May funeral, and captured images of the corpse displayed at the service — including photos of the face and full body. She also noted that footage from the funeral ceremony itself further documents the mismatch between the first body and the one provided on Thursday. “I have both pictures. This is two different people,” McDonald emphasized.

Roy Williams’ brother, Bishop Dr. Oliver Williams, backed up the family’s claim that a DNA test was completed Thursday, saying McDonald witnessed the entire procedure firsthand. “She witnessed everything,” Williams stated.

McDonald shared that upon first seeing the new body, she believed its resemblance to her brother was strong enough that genetic confirmation might not be needed. But the family’s legal counsel advised them to follow through with the planned DNA testing to resolve the ongoing controversy once and for all. “Because of the controversy, the lawyer said yes, let’s go through with it,” McDonald explained.

She also described the visibly deteriorated condition of the body provided Thursday, noting it showed clear signs of decomposition that matched a corpse that had recently been disinterred. “It looked like it was being exhumed from somewhere. It looked like a mummy’s body. Just like how you see a mummy look. You could see where parts of it had been decomposed — the neck, the hands, the feet,” McDonald said.

As the family waits for the DNA results that will allow them to lay Roy Williams to rest properly, they are now pressing for answers about the identity of the first body displayed at the May funeral. The funeral home has maintained that it only has one body, which it claims is Williams’, leaving the family with unresolved questions. “Resoundingly we said yes, this is the body that we were missing. But where is the other body that they had before? Where is it? Where is the previous body? We still haven’t seen that body today (Thursday) because they said they don’t have another body, they said this is the body. But thank God we have pictures of the body that they gave us before,” McDonald said.

Looking back on the weeks of uncertainty and grief that have stretched over the past month, McDonald acknowledged the ordeal has taken a devastating emotional toll on the entire family. “For right now let’s take it step by step. But trust me, we have gone through hell with this,” she reflected.

The attorney representing the Williams family had committed to returning a request for comment from the Jamaica Observer, but no response had been received as of the publication of this report.