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  • Individuals who trade in lobster now able to sell during closed season—Green

    Individuals who trade in lobster now able to sell during closed season—Green

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — In a landmark update to the Caribbean nation’s fisheries governance, Jamaica has rolled out new regulations that permit licensed industry participants to legally hold, sell, process, and export legally caught Caribbean spiny lobster during the annual closed season — a long-awaited reform meant to fix critical flaws in the old management framework.

    Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Floyd Green announced the formal entry into force of the New Spiny Lobster Regulations 2026 during an address to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, noting the policy delivers on the government’s promise to modernize the fisheries sector while protecting one of the country’s most valuable marine assets.

    “I am pleased to advise this honourable House that the Fisheries (Spiny Lobster) Regulations, 2026 were promulgated on March 20, 2026, and are now in full force and effect,” Green told lawmakers.

    For decades, Green explained, Jamaica’s existing spiny lobster rules created a confusing, counterproductive contradiction for local fishers and fishing communities. Lobster harvesters could legally catch the species during the open fishing season, investing significant time, fuel, and labor into a legitimate catch — but once the closed season began, their lawfully harvested product became commercially trapped, with no legal path to move it through the supply chain.

    “Fishers who did everything right found themselves unable to sell, store, process or export what they had lawfully caught. The system did not distinguish between illegal harvesting and legitimate stock that was already in circulation,” Green said.

    Far from advancing conservation goals, the old framework produced widespread waste, significant economic losses, and constant uncertainty across the entire lobster value chain. It also left a critical supply gap during the closed season, leaving businesses that rely on lobster sales with few legal options to source inventory.

    That market gap, Green noted, created systemic pressure that in some cases incentivized the illegal poaching that regulations are meant to eliminate — an outcome that undermined both conservation and economic outcomes for licensed industry members.

    The new 2026 regulations are designed to correct this long-standing deficiency through a structured, tightly controlled regulatory framework. Under the updated rules, lawfully harvested lobster caught during open season can be officially declared, logged into a centralized tracking system, and handled through regulated channels during the closed season. All activities including storage, processing, domestic sale, and export remain under strict ongoing oversight from Jamaica’s National Fisheries Authority to prevent abuse.

    Green was clear to emphasize that the reform does not weaken protections against illegal fishing during the closed season. The core prohibition on capturing new spiny lobster during the closed period remains fully in place, with no changes to that long-standing conservation rule. What has shifted, he said, is the intelligence of how the sector is managed.

    “What has changed is that we are now managing the system more intelligently. We are protecting the resource while allowing legitimate economic activity to continue in a way that is transparent, traceable and enforceable. This ensures balance, so that our conservation objectives are met while our fishers, vendors, processors and exporters are not penalised for operating within the law,” Green stated.

    The reform also brings greater transparency and organizational structure to the entire sector. Mandatory declaration requirements, clear notification thresholds, and strengthened record-keeping rules now allow regulators to track lobster movement through the supply chain during the closed season in a way that was impossible under the old system.

    “This is what modern fisheries management looks like. It is deliberate, it is data-driven and it is designed to protect both the resource and the people who depend on it,” Green added.

    Core conservation rules remain intact under the new regulations. The capture, possession, or sale of undersized lobster or egg-bearing female lobster continues to be prohibited during both open and closed seasons, and any accidentally caught protected individuals must be returned to the water immediately. These rules remain central to protecting Jamaica’s breeding lobster stock, allowing juvenile lobsters to reach maturity and maintain a healthy, sustainable wild population for future generations.

    Reporting by Lynford Simpson

  • PAC summons former UHWI leaders over audit findings

    PAC summons former UHWI leaders over audit findings

    Jamaica’s parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has launched a deeper investigation into operational irregularities at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), moving to summon three key current and former leaders of the institution to answer for red flags raised in a critical Auditor General performance audit.

    The decision to call in the witnesses was formalized at the opening of the PAC’s weekly sitting on Tuesday, as committee members continued their review of the audit, which focused on three high-stakes areas of UHWI operations: procurement practices, institutional governance, and financial management.

    PAC Chairman Julian Robinson told fellow committee members that ongoing inquiry had already made one fact clear: the UHWI’s current sitting management team does not have the ability to provide satisfactory responses to a host of critical questions outlined in the Auditor General’s December 2025 report.

    “From our first meeting two weeks ago, it has been apparent to me that the current management of the university hospital is not positioned to answer many of our questions related to the facility’s day-to-day and strategic operations,” Robinson explained in remarks to the committee. “I am seeking this body’s approval to summon current CEO Fitzgerald Mitchell—who is currently on leave—former CEO Kevin Allen, and ex-board chairman Wayne Chai Chong, so we can get clear answers to the outstanding questions we have about this institution.”

    Mitchell, the UHWI’s sitting chief executive, has already been on approved leave since the public scrutiny of the hospital’s operations began. Allen led the facility’s operations in his tenure as the top executive, while Chai Chong oversaw the UHWI’s board and held ultimate governance and oversight responsibility during his time as chairman.

    The committee unanimously backed Robinson’s proposal, and parliamentary staff have already been instructed to draft and deliver formal summons letters to all three individuals ahead of the next scheduled PAC probe session.

    The damning Auditor General report, which was formally tabled in Jamaica’s parliament in December 2025, outlined a series of severe deficiencies across UHWI’s operational framework. Among the most pressing concerns highlighted in the audit are dysfunctional and high-risk procurement systems, gaping weaknesses in internal financial controls, missing or incomplete documentation for major transactions, and repeated, documented breaches of the government’s established public institutional operating procedures.

  • Jamaican dancehall artiste received $118 million via TikTok from Canadian non-profit exec, lawsuit claims

    Jamaican dancehall artiste received $118 million via TikTok from Canadian non-profit exec, lawsuit claims

    A high-stakes fraud lawsuit filed in Canada has unveiled explosive allegations: a former senior finance executive at an Indigenous-led non-profit illegally siphoned more than CA$6 million in federal public funds earmarked for Indigenous conservation programs, with hundreds of thousands of dollars ending up in the hands of a Jamaican dancehall artist. Court filings paint a detailed picture of how the former executive exploited a gap in organizational oversight to funnel public money through multiple channels, prompting the Canadian federal government to seize control of remaining program funds and roil communities that rely on the initiative for conservation work and local employment.

    According to reporting from Canadian public broadcaster CBC News, the March 20 lawsuit names Melanie Desjarlais, former financial director of the First Nations National Guardians Network (FNNGN), as the sole perpetrator of the alleged fraud. The FNNGN is a federally funded non-profit founded in 2022, based in the cross-border Mohawk community of Akwesasne spanning Ontario, Quebec, and New York. The organization was tapped in 2024 to independently administer CA$27.6 million in federal funding for 80 separate Indigenous Guardians programs across Canada, which train and employ Indigenous community members to carry out critical conservation and ecological research on their traditional territories.

    Court documents outline that when the FNNGN executive director took medical leave in August 2025, Desjarlais became the only staff member with full day-to-day control over the non-profit’s finances. Over the following seven months, through August 2025 to March 2026, she is accused of making more than CA$6.3 million in unauthorized charges on the organization’s corporate credit cards. These charges were diverted to personal spending, including multiple vacations, tickets to professional hockey games, and systematic transfers to the Jamaican artist, the suit alleges.

    The court filings detail a multi-step alleged money laundering scheme. Desjarlais is accused of spending nearly US$2.78 million of the non-profit’s funds to purchase TikTok coins, the platform’s virtual currency that users can gift to content creators during live streams. Gifted coins convert to diamonds, which creators can cash out for real funds, and court documents note that this system can be exploited as a vehicle for illicit money movement. In addition to the TikTok coin transfers, direct PayPal records show more than US$750,000 was sent directly from Desjarlais to the dancehall artist. Some of these transfers included personal messages such as “Happy early birthday!” and one CA$5,000 transfer was labeled: “This is the last payment, the other one was an error. Love you and I’m sorry for everything.” Court documents also note court filings indicate Desjarlais and the artist may have had a romantic relationship. The Jamaican artist’s name is being withheld at this time by media outlets covering the case.

    Further records show Desjarlais traveled to Jamaica twice on the non-profit’s dime, once in October 2025 and again in January 2026. By late November 2025, the non-profit had depleted so much funds that scheduled payments to local Indigenous Guardians programs across the country halted due to insufficient balances, according to court filings.

    To date, none of the allegations against Desjarlais have been tested or proven in court. Desjarlais has declined to comment on the allegations through her legal representation.

    The revelation of the alleged fraud has already triggered major administrative and regulatory changes. The Canadian federal government, through Environment and Climate Change Canada, which originally provided the program funding, has stepped in to take over all future distribution of Indigenous Guardians funds allocated to FNNGN. A government spokesperson confirmed Ottawa was notified of the unauthorized transactions and is expanding a routine audit of the non-profit’s financial practices.

    The FNNGN’s legal counsel, Matthew Sammon, told reporters the organization is actively and aggressively working to recover the misappropriated public funds. Sammon emphasized that the alleged financial misconduct stems from the actions of a single individual and does not reflect the core mission or values of the network.

    Canadian courts have already taken emergency action to protect potential recovery of the funds: an injunction freezing all of Desjarlais’s global assets was granted last month and extended by the court on April 2. The lawsuit itself seeks CA$10 million in combined damages and restitution on charges of deceit, conversion, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment.

    For Indigenous communities that rely on the program for funding and employment, the allegations have sparked acute concern. Elder David Scott, who trains young Guardians at Manitoba’s Swan Lake First Nation, told CBC the funding is critical to the success of local conservation work, leaving the program’s future in his community uncertain as the case moves forward.

  • Five police officers detained as probe continues into deadly stampede in Haiti

    Five police officers detained as probe continues into deadly stampede in Haiti

    PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti entered a period of three national days of mourning starting Tuesday, after a fatal crowd crush at the iconic Citadelle Laferrière last weekend claimed the lives of at least 25 people. The 19th-century mountain fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, holds profound cultural meaning for Haiti: it was constructed in 1820 by the newly independent Haitian state to fend off a feared French re-invasion, and stands as a lasting monument to the freedom won by the formerly enslaved people who led the world’s first successful slave revolt to found an independent nation.

    The deadly incident unfolded last Saturday during an unsanctioned annual cultural gathering held at the landmark in the northern Haitian town of Milot. In the wake of the tragedy, law enforcement officials have taken seven people into custody, a group that includes five active police officers and two employees of the National Institute for the Preservation of Heritage (known locally by its French acronym ISPAN), the government agency charged with managing and protecting Haiti’s historic landmarks. Investigators have also seized six mobile phones and six official security badges from the suspects as they build their case.

    Initial official death counts put the fatalities at 30, but authorities have since revised the toll downward to 25 confirmed deaths. Multiple conflicting accounts have emerged about the chain of events that led to the stampede. Local mayor Wesner Joseph told Haitian outlet Magik9 Radio that his municipal administration had no advance notice of any event being held at the citadel that Saturday. Investigations have revealed the gathering was organized organically after a local disk jockey promoted the event to thousands of followers on the social media platform TikTok.

    Jean-Hérold Pérard, a former ISPAN director who worked as the site’s lead engineer, shared detailed observations with the Haitian Times, noting that one of the citadel’s only two public entrances had been blocked by personnel who were collecting entry fees from arriving visitors. When a sudden rainstorm hit the site, crowds trapped outside began pushing to force their way into the fortress. Pérard also alleged that unknown actors fired gunshots into the air and deployed tear gas amid the growing chaos. “People were pushing against one another, and many died of asphyxiation, especially after tear gas was thrown into the crowd,” Pérard explained. Pre-event videos circulated on social media showed that the gathering drew large numbers of children and young people, many of whom completed the steep, strenuous hike up the mountain to reach the historic fortress.

    Caribbean regional bloc the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has already issued an official statement extending its sincere condolences to the people and government of Haiti in the wake of the tragedy. Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has also acknowledged the loss of life, confirming the stampede occurred at a tourist event that drew a large crowd of young attendees to the landmark site.

  • Alleged Jamaican gangster facing charges after dragging Florida trooper with car

    Alleged Jamaican gangster facing charges after dragging Florida trooper with car

    A transnational fugitive with ties to a Jamaican criminal street gang, who was wanted for a murder in his home country, has been taken into custody by joint law enforcement teams in northeast Florida following a dangerous confrontation that left a state trooper injured.

    The suspect, identified as Ragar Mandela Allen, an unauthorized immigrant and documented member of Jamaica’s Craig Town Gang, now faces a raft of severe felony charges stemming from the March 31 incident, law enforcement officials confirmed this week.

    The operation that led to Allen’s arrest began on March 27, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received a critical tip from the agency’s attaché based in Kingston, Jamaica. The alert confirmed that Allen, who had already been deported from the U.S. once before, had unlawfully re-entered the country and was actively wanted by Jamaican authorities on homicide charges.

    Acting on the intelligence, ICE special agents teamed up with troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) to launch a targeted interdiction, stopping a vehicle Allen was operating two days after receiving the tip. What followed was a brazen, violent attempt to evade custody: Allen pressed his vehicle forward to flee, catching the responding FHP trooper on his vehicle and dragging the officer into a nearby perimeter fence before the vehicle was stopped.

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed in an official statement released Tuesday that the injured trooper was rushed to a local medical facility for treatment. The trooper’s injuries were categorized as non-life-threatening, and officials confirmed the officer is expected to make a full recovery. Footage capturing Allen’s aggressive attempt to escape has been publicly released by DHS on the X social media platform for transparency.

    A search of Allen’s vehicle following his arrest turned up two additional pieces of incriminating evidence: a quantity of illegal narcotics and a handgun that had been reported stolen.

    Authorities have confirmed that Allen is being prosecuted in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida and the Florida Attorney General’s office. The charges he faces include aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, felony fleeing and eluding custody, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a firearm by an unapproved alien, illegal re-entry after deportation, and a number of other related criminal offenses. ICE has also filed a formal detainer with Duval County jail officials, which requires that once Allen completes any state or federal criminal proceedings, he will be turned over immediately to ICE custody for eventual removal from the United States.

    DHS officials also shared Allen’s prior immigration history with the public Tuesday. Allen was first taken into federal immigration custody back in December 2021, near San Ysidro, California, after he attempted to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally to enter the country. He was placed in formal immigration removal proceedings, received a final order of deportation from an immigration judge in February 2022, and was officially removed from the U.S. to his home country that April. It remains unclear when or where Allen crossed the border to illegally re-enter the U.S. following his deportation, officials confirmed. Under U.S. federal law, illegal re-entry after a prior deportation is classified as a felony offense.

    Lauren Bis, Acting Assistant Secretary for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division, praised the interagency collaboration that led to Allen’s arrest, noting that the operation removed a violent, wanted fugitive from U.S. communities. “This gang member wanted for murder in his origin country is out of our communities because of ICE and our Florida partners,” Bis said in the official statement.

    Bis also emphasized the threat Allen posed, adding: “This criminal illegal alien was in illegal possession of a firearm and drugs at the time of his arrest. He attempted to evade arrest by weaponizing his vehicle and dragged a law enforcement officer, injuring him.”

    Beyond the details of Allen’s arrest, Bis used the incident to highlight a growing safety crisis for law enforcement officers working immigration enforcement. She noted that assaults on ICE officers, particularly vehicle-based attacks, have skyrocketed in recent years. “As our officers put their lives on the line to arrest the worst of the worst, they are facing a more than 1,300 percent increase in assaults and a 3,300% increase in vehicle attacks,” Bis said. “The arrest of this fugitive murderer would not have been possible without the help of our Florida law enforcement partners.”

  • US Treasury chief says IMF, World Bank on right track after criticism

    US Treasury chief says IMF, World Bank on right track after criticism

    One year after publicly leveling harsh criticism at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has offered a positive assessment, saying both global financial institutions are now moving forward in a productive, constructive direction.

    Bessent shared his updated views during remarks delivered Tuesday on the sidelines of this year’s IMF and World Bank spring meetings, a high-profile annual gathering that draws hundreds of global finance ministry officials and financial leaders to Washington, D.C. Speaking at an event hosted by the Institute of International Finance alongside the main meetings, Bessent offered public congratulations to the leadership of both institutions for the shifts they have made over the past 12 months.

    Highlighting work at the IMF, Bessent noted the fund is currently taking steps to reintegrate Venezuela into the global financial framework to support the country’s return to a functional, normalized economy, adding that he expects the institution to play a critical, meaningful role in that process. Turning to the World Bank, the Treasury Secretary stated the institution has regained strong momentum in its core work expanding energy access, unlocking development resources, and building economic stability for the world’s lowest-income nations.

    Last year at the same spring gathering, Bessent made waves by arguing that both the IMF and World Bank had strayed from their core mandates, claiming they should prioritize expanding global economic growth rather than devoting significant resources to social policy issues. At the time, he specifically called out the IMF for allocating what he called “disproportionate time” to high-profile social and environmental topics including climate change and gender equity. For the World Bank, he argued the institution should refocus its efforts on its foundational missions: helping developing nations grow their economies, cut extreme poverty, and attract greater cross-border investment.

    On Tuesday, Bessent acknowledged meaningful progress, saying the World Bank has successfully made a positive policy shift, particularly around nuclear energy development. The bank previously announced last year it would re-enter nuclear energy financing for the first time in nearly 30 years, a change designed to help meeting rapidly growing electricity demand across developing economies. Today, Bessent said the World Bank now holds a far more supportive stance toward expanding “energy abundance” and has refocused on its founding mission of lifting vulnerable communities out of poverty. He reiterated his long-held criticism, noting that an overemphasis on social and climate issues amounts to what he calls “luxury beliefs” that distract from the institutions’ core work.

  • New helmet standard targets road deaths

    New helmet standard targets road deaths

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — As motorcycle usage surges across the island, fueled by the expansion of delivery services and informal transit networks, Jamaica has launched a groundbreaking national safety standard for road user helmets, responding to alarming data that links substandard head protection to billions in annual economic losses and thousands of preventable deaths.

    At the official launch of JS 374:2025, the new Jamaica Standard Specification for Protective Helmets for Road Users, hosted by the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) in Kingston, road safety advocates have framed helmet regulation as both a life-saving public health intervention and a critical pillar of long-term economic stability. Sydoney Preddie, lead for youth and education programs at the JN Foundation, told attendees that the cumulative costs of unregulated motorcycle safety gear are draining Jamaica’s resources at an unsustainable rate.

    Drawing on regional economic data, Preddie explained that road traffic incidents cost between 3% and 5% of annual GDP across Latin American nations. For Jamaica, that scale of loss translates to more than JMD $100 billion in crash-related expenses every year — funds that could otherwise be directed to upgrading public infrastructure, expanding education access, and driving inclusive job creation. The economic toll extends far beyond immediate emergency response, she emphasized, compounding across direct medical costs, lost workforce productivity, long-term disability support, and missed income for affected families.

    The public health system already bears the brunt of this burden: treating a single severely injured motorcyclist costs an average of JMD $3 million, stretching thin an already overstretched public healthcare network. Motorcyclists are already one of the most vulnerable groups on Jamaican roads, accounting for more than 30% of all annual road fatalities. From 2012 to 2025, the country has recorded more than 1,600 motorcycle-related deaths, including 126 fatalities in 2025 alone.

    The root of much of this harm, Preddie revealed, lies in the widespread sale of uncertified, substandard helmets that offer almost no protection in a crash. A 2024 mystery shopper study conducted by the foundation found that just 1 out of 16 helmets purchased from local retailers met international safety benchmarks — even though every single product tested was labeled as certified. Common flaws included flimsy, weak chin straps, insufficient impact-absorbing padding, and deceptive marketing that put riders at unnecessary risk. Preddie warned that without strict regulation, Jamaica could follow the path of other developing nations that have become dumping grounds for low-quality, unsafe safety gear, noting that a similar study in Kenya found more than 90% of tested helmets failed to meet safety requirements.

    However, regional examples prove regulatory action can deliver transformative results. Preddie pointed to Guyana, where the implementation and strict enforcement of national helmet safety standards cut motorcycle fatalities by more than 80% — a dramatic outcome that demonstrated both the life-saving and economic benefits of proactive regulation.

    Dr. Velton Gooden, BSJ’s executive director, noted that the new national standard will close critical regulatory gaps by increasing inspection and oversight at ports of entry, ensuring only certified, safety-compliant helmets can enter the local market. “This represents a critical step toward reducing preventable deaths while safeguarding the country’s economic future,” Gooden said.

    Delano Seiveright, State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, echoed that sentiment, framing the new standard as a landmark moment for national road safety and consumer protection. “Today marks a critical milestone in Jamaica’s ongoing efforts to strengthen road safety, consumer protection and our national quality infrastructure,” Seiveright said. “The launch of JS 374:2025 represents far more than the introduction of a technical standard. It represents a decisive step by Jamaica to protect lives through science, regulation and coordinated national action.” Seiveright added that too many lives have been lost or permanently altered by both the failure to wear helmets and the widespread availability of unprotective substandard gear, echoing Preddie’s core message that regulation will serve both people and the broader national economy.

    For advocates, the new standard is a long-overdue intervention that addresses both public health and economic priorities. “We are not only protecting motorcyclists,” Preddie emphasized, “we are protecting Jamaica’s economy.”

  • Lisa Hanna unveils premium skincare line

    Lisa Hanna unveils premium skincare line

    After nearly two decades in Jamaican politics and a decades-long legacy as a globally recognized beauty icon, Lisa Hanna is making a new splash in the global beauty industry with the launch of her own luxury skincare brand, crafted to reframe common cultural narratives around growing older. Named Lisa Hanna Beauty, the brand’s debut collection features seven carefully formulated core products tailored to address common age-related skin concerns: a Hydra Dew Elixir, Advanced Balance Cleanser, targeted Fade Balm for hyperpigmentation and dark spots, a dual-action refining and hydrating serum, a rich Moisture Crème, and a multi-use shimmering oil formulated for both face and body. As first reported by Caribbean National Weekly, every product in the line is infused with the brand’s proprietary quantum ReCP technology, a cutting-edge active blend of lipids, stabilized vitamin C, and matrikin peptides. The proprietary formulation is engineered to support the skin’s natural regeneration process, while boosting long-lasting hydration and improving overall skin texture and tone. In comments published by *Women’s Wear Daily (WWD)*, Hanna shared the refreshing perspective that drives her new brand, pushing back against the popular beauty industry narrative that frames aging as a flaw to be reversed. “People generally want to erase the evidence of [aging] — you’re told to fight, to correct, to reverse,” Hanna explained. “I believe you’re not less with time, you’re more. I wanted to build a product that understands and can communicate with your skin at a deeper level.” Priced at accessible luxury points ranging from $50 USD to $130 USD per product, the entire Lisa Hanna Beauty collection is currently available exclusively at The Spa by Equinox Hotels, with potential for wider retail expansion in the coming months. Hanna’s transition from public service to beauty entrepreneurship comes as no surprise to industry observers. The Jamaica native first rose to international fame when she claimed the Miss World title in 1993 at just 18 years old, before pivoting to a career in public service that saw her serve 18 years in the Jamaican Parliament, stepping down from political office earlier this year in 2025. Beyond her political and now professional beauty work, Hanna remains active in philanthropy through the Lisa Hanna Foundation, which runs community initiatives focused on expanding access to education, improving mental health support, and expanding affordable housing access for communities across Jamaica.

  • MLSS seeks to clarify ROOFS disbursement process amid queries

    MLSS seeks to clarify ROOFS disbursement process amid queries

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — In the wake of public controversy over a misrepresented grant amount at an official ceremony, Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) has issued a formal explanation of how funding is allocated under the Restoration of Owner or Occupant Family Shelters (ROOFS), a major post-hurricane housing recovery initiative.

    The public confusion emerged after photos circulated showing beneficiary Angela Allen holding a ceremonial cheque for JMD $500,000 at a February 25 handover event in Hanover, but Allen ultimately only received a disbursement of $200,000. The discrepancy sparked widespread discussion online and prompted criticism from opposition members of parliament, who have raised accusations of potential unfair targeting of beneficiaries under the programme.

    In a detailed media statement released Tuesday, the ministry pushed back against the criticism and laid out the full context of the Hanover ceremony incident. Officials explained that Allen was not among the pre-selected beneficiaries scheduled to be highlighted during the public event. Before she took the stage, MLSS representatives explicitly notified her that the oversized ceremonial cheque used for photo opportunities would not reflect her actual approved grant amount. Immediately after the ceremony concluded, Allen received an official text notification confirming her $200,000 award, and she relayed receipt of that notification to on-site ministry staff at the time. Ministry representatives reaffirmed to Allen then that the value displayed on the ceremonial cheque did not match her eligibility tier.

    The MLSS emphasized that all actual grant disbursements under the ROOFS programme follow a strict tiered structure, with award amounts determined exclusively by the verified classification of damage to a beneficiary’s home. Damage is categorized into three tiers: minor, major, and severe structural impact, with corresponding grant amounts aligned to each level.

    Official disbursement only moves forward after a formal damage assessment is completed, verified, and approved. Beneficiaries receive formal notification of their approved grant amount through official digital channels, including text messages that include a unique voucher code and a scannable QR code link to access further details.

    Addressing ongoing concerns about the programme’s implementation, Minister of Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr. defended the initiative’s structure, noting that ROOFS integrates innovative digital systems and strengthened accountability mechanisms designed to streamline post-hurricane housing recovery for Jamaican households. To date, the ministry has completed damage assessments for approximately 113,000 households across the island and is continuing to scale up operations to address unmet demand. As of the latest update, the programme has disbursed a total of $9.5 billion in grant funding to all fully verified and approved beneficiaries.

  • ‘I CAN DO IT’

    ‘I CAN DO IT’

    For football, a decade can rewrite a coach’s trajectory – and for Jamaican football tactician Miguel Coley, eight years of high-level coaching across Asia has transformed his skills, preparing him far better for a role with the Reggae Boyz than his first national team stint a decade earlier.

    As first reported by the Jamaica Observer last week, Coley and fellow interim coach Rudolph Speid have emerged as the leading candidates for the senior men’s national team roles of assistant coach and head coach respectively, with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) scheduled to cast its final decision this week. The pair stepped into interim positions last November, after former head coach Steve McClaren and his entire technical team parted ways with the federation following their failure to secure an automatic qualification spot for the 2026 FIFA World Cup during the final round of Concacaf qualifiers.

    Coley and Speid guided the Reggae Boyz through last month’s intercontinental play-offs hosted in Guadalajara, Mexico. The campaign ended with a narrow defeat to DR Congo in the decisive final match, crushing Jamaica’s hopes of earning a spot in this summer’s World Cup tournament. A permanent appointment would mark Coley’s second spell as national assistant coach; he previously held the role between 2014 and 2016 under German head coach Winfried Schaefer, a tenure that included a run to the 2015 Concacaf Gold Cup finals. During his first national stint, Coley also served as head coach at Jamaica College, the dominant powerhouse of Jamaican high school football.

    Since leaving Jamaica College in 2017, Coley has spent the past eight years building his resume at top-tier club programs across Asia, while also earning his UEFA Pro Licence – a rare achievement among coaches from the Caribbean region. In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Coley emphasized that this extended international experience has sharpened both his tactical acumen and team management skills, improvements he says were already visible during the Reggae Boyz’s recent play-off run.

    “Looking back, I’m a far more qualified coach now than I was 10 years ago,” Coley explained. “I’ve grown a lot in the global football space, and I have far more confidence to communicate exactly what I need from players in clear, concise terms. Over the years, I’ve learned to read the dynamic of a locker room, to pick up on players’ body language and address their needs far better than I could earlier in my career. Ten years ago, I was very young – I started coaching at an early age. But I adapted quickly to the international game, which is why I became one of the first Caribbean head coaches to work at the top level in Asia. All the experience I’ve gained since then has made me a better coach and a better leader, and that’s translated into real quality in my work.”

    Before his interim appointment last November, Coley was repeatedly linked to a return to the Reggae Boyz technical staff but was repeatedly passed over. Some Jamaican football stakeholders questioned his qualifications, pointing to his role in Schaefer’s unsuccessful 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign and the perception that his biggest achievements had all come at the high school level. But Coley pushes back on that narrative, pointing to a consistent track record of success at every stop of his career.

    “One thing I can say for certain is that I’ve won wherever I’ve coached,” he said. “I won titles at Jamaica College, I won at Barbican, I won in Iran, I won in the UAE, I lifted trophies in Qatar, and right now I’m through to the semi-finals of the Champions League in Iraq. People can say whatever narrative they want, but they only need to look at my results to see the proof.”

    Coley acknowledges he does not have top-flight coaching experience in Europe, which is widely seen as the global gold standard for the sport. But he argues that the high quality of competition in Asian leagues has been just as valuable for his professional growth. “Asia has some of the best football facilities in the world,” he noted. “If you look at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, those facilities are second to none. We have top international players competing in Asian leagues now – while they may not arrive in their early 20s anymore, more and more elite players are coming to play in their late 20s and early 30s, so we work with a ton of high-quality professional talent every day.

    “We also have some of the best coaches in the world working in Asia right now. When Christophe Galtier left PSG, he went to coach in Qatar. When Roberto Mancini stepped away from the Italian national team, he took a job in Qatar. Brendan Rodgers, former manager of Liverpool and Celtic, is also coaching in Asia now. To compete against these elite-level coaches as a Jamaican, the experience I’ve gained is irreplaceable.”

    Since returning from Guadalajara after the play-off defeat, Coley has not rushed to lock down his future with the national team, even though he has already received public backing from JFF President Michael Ricketts. Even so, he says he is ready to become a long-term core asset for the Reggae Boyz if given the opportunity.

    “I would love the chance to take on this role, because I know I can get the job done,” Coley said. “Over the years, I’ve prepared myself in every possible way to lead this team. I know what style of play works best for Jamaican football, I understand our people, I understand the disappointment of missing out on another World Cup. I draw strength from the passion and the pressure of this moment – knowing my country needs this pushes me to be better. As a patriot and an ambassador for Jamaica, I will get this done.”