标签： Jamaica

In a recent community gathering held in the coastal fishing neighborhood of Whitehouse, St James, Jamaica, Mayor of Montego Bay Councillor Richard Vernon has openly dismissed widespread rumors that the St James Municipal Corporation is specifically targeting local residents for unauthorised construction enforcement. The meeting brought together local leaders and community members to address a range of pressing local concerns, from public safety and solid waste collection to public health and long-awaited land formalisation efforts.

Vernon stressed that cease-and-desist orders for unapproved construction have been issued to property owners across hundreds of communities throughout St James over the past 12 months, covering both high-income established neighborhoods and unregulated informal settlements. “There is zero credibility to the claim that we are singling out Whitehouse,” Vernon stated in an official press release published by the municipal corporation on Wednesday. “We have taken action in Bogue Village, Rosevale, Rhyne Park, Westgate Hills, Cornwall Courts and more. This isn’t just for informal developments either — even homeowners in formal communities are served notices when they build extensions, add new structures or make major modifications without securing the required legal approvals.”

As the parish’s official local planning authority, Vernon explained that upholding construction regulations is a core responsibility of the municipal corporation. All development projects must align with the island’s official approved development order, he noted, adding that structured planning is critical not just for regulatory compliance, but to prevent unauthorised breaches and ensure all developments meet the standards required by Jamaican regulatory agencies.

When pressed on why the formalisation push for Whitehouse is happening now, Vernon framed the timing as a proactive step aligned with Montego Bay’s ongoing regional growth. “This initiative doesn’t cost residents anything beyond the standard fees associated with securing official land titles,” he said. “The St James Municipal Corporation is partnering with relevant national agencies to make this regularisation process happen, and it’s all for the benefit of Whitehouse’s residents. Getting this done now will allow Whitehouse to integrate smoothly into Montego Bay’s wider development plans for the future.”

The mayor also firmly rejected speculation that the corporation’s actions in Whitehouse are politically motivated, emphasizing that the entire effort is rooted in protecting residents’ interests. “This is a completely non-political move with one clear goal: to ensure these lands stay in the hands of Whitehouse’s hardworking residents, and that every resident gets an official land title. A title gives you power — it gives you security of tenure that can’t be taken away,” he said. The cease-and-desist notices were only issued to enforce orderly development across the community, he added.

In the coming weeks, the municipal corporation will partner with Jamaica’s National Land Agency and GeoLand Titling to conduct on-the-ground investigations to verify the legitimate current owners of all parcels in Whitehouse, before completing the legal steps to transfer full property ownership into residents’ names.

“Over the course of this project, we’ve done extensive research to confirm who the rightful owners are, and we’re ready to move forward with transferring these lands to the current legitimate residents who have built this community,” Vernon told attendees. “Owving your own piece of Jamaica with official legal documentation gives you the power to access financing from banks and carry out future development legally — that’s a game-changer for this community.”

As Montego Bay continues to experience population and economic growth, the municipal corporation has a duty to ensure all construction follows national building codes and legal requirements, Vernon said. Multiple long-established informal communities across St James, including Norwood, Rose Heights and Barrett Town, have already completed the formalisation process, and Whitehouse is next in line. “Residents have occupied and built this vibrant community here for decades,” he noted. “This effort is all about formalising the area, opening up a clear path for residents to get official building permits for future construction, and we’ve brought on expert partners to support the community every step of the way. We’re here to work with you, not against you.”

In an update on a high-profile local case, Vernon also announced that a compromise has been reached with the owner of Snappaz, a popular local seafood restaurant operating in an unauthorised building in Whitehouse, following a lengthy court battle. The court had originally ordered the full demolition of the structure and removal of all debris, due to its location posing a potential risk to air traffic at nearby Sangster International Airport.

Recognizing that the restaurant is a major local employer that supports the Whitehouse community’s local economy, the municipal corporation opened negotiations with owner and operator Milton Russell. Under the agreed compromise, Russell will carry out targeted modifications to the building in the near term that will address the air safety concerns, eliminating the need for full demolition.

This report was compiled by Trevion Manning, Damion Brown and Mayor Richard Vernon.

A routine ethics hearing at Jamaica’s Parliament descended into fractious internal debate on Tuesday, as the Ethics Committee found itself in uncharted procedural waters, unable to resolve a fundamental dispute over its authority to recall sitting Member of Parliament Dennis Gordon of St Andrew East Central. What had been billed as a session where the media would hear testimony from Gordon instead devolved into a tense, wide-ranging debate over whether the committee has the legal standing to revisit a matter already finalized by the full House of Representatives.

At the core of the standoff is the committee’s earlier recommendation on Gordon’s exemption application, which was already approved by Parliament. Newly surfaced public information has cast doubt on the accuracy of disclosures Gordon submitted as part of that original application, prompting some committee members to push for a second invitation for Gordon to appear to answer questions.

Committee chair Marlene Malahoo Forte defended the effort to reconvene Gordon, framing the request as a matter of core procedural fairness. She argued that Gordon deserves a formal opportunity to respond to the new allegations before the committee draws any final conclusions. But after Gordon rejected the invitation to attend, the debate quickly shifted to the unresolved question of whether the committee retains any jurisdiction over the case once the House has acted on its original recommendation.

Opposition MP Anthony Hylton, an attorney representing St Andrew Western, was among the most prominent voices calling for the jurisdictional question to be settled before any further action. Hylton emphasized that the committee cannot overstep the boundaries laid out in parliamentary rules, warning that the body’s authority is not unlimited. He pointedly raised the legal doctrine of functus officio, which holds that an official body has exhausted its mandate once it has completed its assigned task on a matter. “The fundamental issue for any committee has first to rest on its jurisdiction to address the matter,” Hylton said. “Our committees are not all-powerful; they are specific, they are limited to the mandates that are given to them, and we can’t do things ‘because it’s nice’.”

While acknowledging the unprecedented complexity of the situation, Malahoo Forte pushed back against the argument that the committee must drop the matter. She stressed that the body cannot simply ignore new concerns about the integrity of the information that formed the basis of its original recommendation to the House. She also expressed deep discomfort with Gordon’s outright refusal to appear, arguing that the committee has an ethical obligation to examine whether a sitting MP’s rejection of its invitation is appropriate under parliamentary rules.

“The ethical issue is not so much about what is happening in accounts, but is in relation to the truthfulness of answers provided to the committee which then grounded the recommendation of the committee to the House,” Malahoo Forte said. “So, again, it requires sensitivity, it requires fairness, it requires some reflection.” She added that the tone of Gordon’s rejection letter sat poorly with her, noting that the inquiry is not an attempt at political retaliation: “This is not about witch-hunting anyone, it’s not about pointing fingers at anyone, but it just does not sit well with me.”

Gordon’s rejection of the invitation left little room for compromise. In his formal note to the committee, he wrote: “Good day, be advised that I will not attend any such sitting. This is overreaching the committee’s mandate. It has no jurisdiction or authority to summon me without an express referral from the full Parliament.”

Committee member Natalie Neita Garvey, MP for St Catherine North Central, echoed calls for caution, highlighting the need to balance the committee’s mandate to uphold good governance with protections for the individual rights of the MP under scrutiny. Garvey argued that the committee should have clarified its procedural standing before extending a summons to Gordon, and that the body must respect Gordon’s decision to assert his rights under existing rules. “There could have been, from this committee, a clear request as to how we should proceed prior to summoning the member back here in an effort to make sure that we are protecting him as well as this House and this committee,” Garvey said.

As the debate wrapped up without agreement, Malahoo Forte acknowledged that the impasse exposes deeper procedural challenges the committee will likely face in future ethics inquiries. With no immediate path to resolution, members voted unanimously to refer the entire question to the full House of Representatives for formal guidance before moving forward.

The jurisdictional dispute has already been backed by formal legal advice from the Parliament’s own senior legislative team. In an April 21, 2026 memorandum, senior legislative counsel Tiffany Stewart laid out that under Jamaica’s Standing Orders, select committees like the Ethics Committee have strictly limited authority, confined only to matters formally referred to them by the full House.

Stewart noted that the committee’s original mandate was limited exclusively to reviewing and reporting on Gordon’s exemption motion, a process that concluded when the motion was approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate earlier this year. Once the House adopted the committee’s final report, Stewart wrote, the committee exhausted its authority on the matter, falling under the functus officio doctrine. Without a new formal referral from the full House, the committee has no standing to reopen the case, even when new information emerges.

Citing longstanding parliamentary principles laid out in the authoritative guide Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice, Stewart’s legal opinion stressed that any effort to reconsider the matter, regardless of new evidence, requires a fresh substantive motion from the House of Representatives. “Committees are creatures of the House and possess no independent authority to amend or revisit decisions already sanctioned by Parliament,” the memorandum clarified. Stewart added that the proper procedural path, when new concerns arise after a report is approved, is for the House to either issue a new referral sending the matter back to the committee, or to rescind its original decision before any further review can proceed.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — In a pointed address during Tuesday’s 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in Jamaica’s House of Representatives, opposition energy spokesperson Phillip Paulwell, a former energy minister under the previous People’s National Party (PNP) administration, has publicly challenged the ruling government to set aside empty public relations and force United Oil and Gas to uphold the binding terms of its Jamaican oil exploration licence.

During Tuesday’s 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in Jamaica’s House of Representatives, National Security and Peace Minister Dr. Horace Chang, who also serves as deputy prime minister, delivered a charged address holding civil society organizations directly responsible for the recent fatal shootings of two retired police officers from his constituency. The minister, who has a long history of tense clashes with advocacy groups – most notably Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), which he has previously accused of accepting “blood money” – doubled down on his scathing criticism, arguing that unfounded public claims of unjustified police killings created a culture of retaliation that led to the officers’ deaths.

Dr. Chang detailed the circumstances of one killing to the chamber, identifying the victim as Mr. Brown, an elderly retired officer described as a quiet, unassuming man. Brown was shot dead by gunmen while driving his aged Toyota Corolla, after slowing down to navigate a pothole. The minister emphasized that just one week before the attack, public claims had circulated that police had killed an unarmed civilian without justification, creating a hostile narrative that criminals exploited to target vulnerable retired officers. “These were retired, so they [gunmen] found the soft targets,” Dr. Chang told lawmakers.

While maintaining that Jamaica remains a robust democracy rooted in the rule of law, and asserting he welcomes legitimate criticism of Jamaica’s security forces, Dr. Chang pushed back against repeated calls from civil society for independent investigations into police-related fatalities. He noted that multiple domestic oversight bodies already monitor, evaluate and regulate the conduct of police officers and public servants, dismissing repeated demands for extra independent reviews as “foolishness.”

Citing official data from the July 2024 report from Jamaica’s Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom), Dr. Chang backed his argument with empirical evidence. Between 2011 and 2023, Indecom investigated 1,936 fatal shootings involving security forces, and only 66 of those cases proceeded to criminal prosecution – a prosecution rate of just 3.4%. Since the start of 2024, 11 police officers have been charged in connection with fatal shootings; of those, 8 were off-duty at the time of the incident, with only 3 facing charges for events that occurred while on active duty.

In a sharp rebuke of JFJ and other advocacy groups that push for increased police accountability measures including mandatory body cameras, Dr. Chang challenged activists to experience the intensity of armed policing first-hand: “Sometimes some of these people who are calling for the police to always have cameras, they should go out there and go to Twickenham Park [training school] and let the JCF fire some rounds and let them hear what the M16 bullets really sound like.”

Dr. Chang remained unapologetic for his stance, stressing that law enforcement officers should not be placed in unnecessary danger because of unfounded “verandah talk” – a colloquial term for unsubstantiated public gossip. He argued that civil society groups and public opinion should not interfere with the work of established oversight bodies, noting that when false narratives portray police as routinely killing civilians without cause, criminals become emboldened to retaliate against easy targets like retired officers. “If criminals come to believe that police officers are killing persons wantonly they will retaliate and attack other officers whom they perceive as soft targets. These groups must adhere to the evidence reflected in the data. It is wrong to do otherwise. It is dangerous, and it is immoral,” Dr. Chang insisted.