STOP ORDER ON ROYALTON HOTEL PROJECT CONDITIONALLY LIFTED

Posted on May 30, 2016July 2, 2019

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, has announced the conditional lifting of the 30-day Stop Order on sections of the Blue Diamond Royalton Negril hotel project in Hanover. 

The Order was imposed by the Hanover Parish Council on May 10.

This is in keeping with the recommendation of the three-member Review Committee he had established, that works found to be structurally sound should be allowed to continue, once the developers provide a written commitment to comply with the building code. In this regard, the Committee found that that all the buildings, except the one that collapsed, were structurally sound.

The Stop Order remains in force, however, for the section that collapsed, as had been recommended by the Committee. In its Report, it advised that that the developers should address 12 specific issues at the project site before any order is given for work to proceed on the structure that collapsed, injuring five workers. “They (Royalton) have to accept and give timelines as to how they will adhere to the recommendations of the Committee.”

Blue Diamond Royalton Review Committee recommends conditional lifting of Stop Order at building site

Posted on May 30, 2016July 2, 2019

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, says the Committee that investigated the collapse at the Blue Diamond Royalton hotel site in Negril, Hanover, has recommended the lifting of a Stop Order on sections of the project found to be structurally sound, once the developers provide a written commitment to comply with the building code.

The Minister revealed that the Committee also recommended that the developers address 12 specific issues at the project site before any order is given for work to proceed on the section of the building that collapsed. “They (Royalton) have to accept and give timelines as to how they will adhere to the recommendations of the Committee.”

The Minister was speaking at a special sitting of the Hanover Parish Council yesterday, at which he discussed the findings of the review Report prior to a meeting with the developers of the hotel.

On May 10, the Council issued a 30-day Stop Order on construction at the site after a section of the building collapsed, injuring five workers. At that time, Minister McKenzie had commissioned a three-man team, comprising the CEO of the National Works Agency, the City Engineer at the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation and the Chief Technical Director at the Local Government Ministry, to review the circumstances leading to the incident.

The Minister says the Committee found that that all the buildings, except the one that collapsed, were structurally sound. He also said that while the Hanover Parish Council was cleared of any missteps in granting the approvals for the construction, it had not performed creditably in monitoring the works to ensure compliance.  “Ninety-eight conditions were handed down by the Council… But if that site was being monitored as it ought to, then what took place could have been avoided.”

Minister McKenzie also disclosed that the Committee found that the technical capacity of the Council’s Building Department should be strengthened, through the employment of two new Building Officers.

PRIME MINISTER CONFIRMS WASTE-TO-ENERGY AND DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS PROCESS AS LINCHPINS IN NATIONAL GROWTH AGENDA

Posted on May 26, 2016July 2, 2019

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced that the Government will be placing special emphasis on securing private investor interest in its programme of waste to energy conversion.

In his contribution to the 2016/17 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives, the Prime Minister noted that the Government will develop partnerships with a view to creating a waste to energy Plant, using the island’s Disposal Sites as the providers of the1.6 million tonnes of garbage that is deposited in them each year.

“The Riverton disposal site is situated on over 42 hectares (100 acres) of land in the western end of St Andrew. This site which serves Kingston, St. Andrew, and St. Catherine receives approximately 60% of the national waste deposits each day. The Government of Jamaica will undertake waste to energy developments, converting the waste at the disposal sites to useful energy for the country. The Government will develop an RFP geared towards attracting investors to develop a modern and comprehensive Waste to Energy System.”

The Prime Minister added that the Waste to Energy programme will strongly contribute to national energy security, vastly improved solid waste management and the maintenance of public health.

Currently, the management of solid waste is the responsibility of the National Solid Waste Management Authority, which is an Agency of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.

Mr. Holness also disclosed the intention of the Government to increase the speed of the development approvals process, for which the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development is responsible, as an investment incentive to drive infrastructure development and job creation as part of the Administration’s Prosperity agenda.

“The Government intends to make significant strides in improving the process for land development applications and approvals. We will increase the pace of implementation of the web-based software to Automate the Development
Application and Approvals Process (AMANDA). This will provide greater transparency, improved applications tracking and management and improved customer service. The Government will very soon amend the necessary regulations to make it a mandatory requirement for the electronic submission and processing of all building and land development applications.”

Amendments to Litter Act coming soon – Local Government Minister

Posted on May 25, 2016July 2, 2019

As the Government of Jamaica continues to implement public sanitation measures to deal with the threat of the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases, Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie has announced that changes to the Litter Act are to go before Cabinet for approval shortly.

While participating in the National Labour Day Project at the Gregory Park Basic School in Portmore, St. Catherine, Minister McKenzie said the proposed amendments provide for, among other things, an increase in fines for littering. “While we are working to make the country clean, we have to bring to book those who continue to spoil the beauty of the country,” he said.

He noted the significance of the national project, which included major clean-up activities in the Gregory Park and Washington Mews communities, which have a significant number of mosquito breeding sites.

“Jamaicans have to recognise and accept that we are a tropical country, so we are prone to many of the problems associated with mosquitoes and it is going to be important that as a people we are committed to having a clean Jamaica.”

Labour Day 2016 was observed under the theme: ‘For Health’s Sake…Keep It Clean’.

STOP ORDER PLACED ON ROYALTON NEGRIL PROJECT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT MINISTER FORMS SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE TO GIVE FINDINGS IN 7 DAYS

Posted on May 11, 2016July 2, 2019

A Stop Order has been placed on the construction project at the Blue Diamond Royalton Negril.

This was disclosed by Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, who has also indicated that the Order, which was issued by the Hanover Parish Council, will be in force for an initial thirty days, after which the status of the project will be reviewed.

The Minister also revealed that he has received a Preliminary Report from the Hanover Parish Council, into the circumstances surrounding the collapse of the building at the construction site.

In commending the Parish Council for its swift response, Mr. McKenzie also announced the formation of a three-member Committee, which will use the Preliminary Report as its initial point of reference to investigate the full circumstances surrounding the building collapse. The Committee will be comprised of:

• Mr. E.G. Hunter, Chief Executive Officer, National Works Agency
• Mr. Norman Shand, City Engineer, Kingston & St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC)
• Mr. Dwight Wilson, Chief Technical Officer, Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.

The Committee will have seven days in which to investigate and produce a Report to the Minister.

“The gravity of the situation requires not only quick answers but also clear and accurate ones, in the context of actions taken in relation to any Approvals given and our laws and regulations, including the National Building Code. Given what I have seen of the Preliminary Report, this period is sufficient for the completion of a comprehensive investigation. I am aware that the Principals of the project are en route to Jamaica from overseas, and so I expect that there will be clear opportunities for them and for us, the various Ministry and Agency representatives of the Government of Jamaica, to meet and to develop a clear path to the resolution of this very serious incident.”

LOCAL GOVERNMENT MINISTER ORDERS IMMEDIATE AUDIT OF HANOVER PARISH COUNCIL, ASSUMES CONTROL OF ALL DOCUMENTS OF THAT PARISH COUNCIL

Posted on May 6, 2016July 2, 2019

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, has directed that the Hanover Parish Council is to submit itself to a comprehensive audit, which is to begin today (May 26).

The Minister, who is in Hanover and is still attending a meeting with the Council, stated that a team of senior officials from the Local Government Ministry, comprised of its Chief Internal Auditor, Procurement Officer and Director of the Agency Liaison and Monitoring Division, will conduct a thorough review of the conduct of the Council’s financial and administrative affairs. He said the Audit team will also be investigating the issue of the Council’s lands being sold to persons without approval from the Ministry.

The team will report to Mr. McKenzie in three weeks, and will present him with an interim Report in seven days.

According to the Minister, “The Ministry of Local Government with immediate effect is taking full control of all documents here at the Hanover Parish Council,” He also stated that he has advised the Chairman of the Hanover Parish Council, Wynter McIntosh and Secretary/Manager, David Gardner, to ensure the audit team is given “uncompromising support”.

The Minister chided the political and administrative arms of the Council for failing to carry out the mandate of Local Government with integrity, and added that it has flouted the recommendations of the Office of the Contractor-General (OCG), which were published in its Special Investigative Report of 2015.

Minister McKenzie also ordered that all Councillors at the Hanover Parish Council must provide proof they have made their annual submissions to the Corruption Prevention Commission, and said the Ministry will also be looking at the conduct of administrative staff members, as the OCG had raised concern about their role in aiding and abetting certain activities of the Councillors.

There has been increased attention on the Council since the OCG revealed in its most recent Report that two Councillors – Lloyd Hill of the Sandy Bay Division, and Anthony Walker of the Cauldwell Division – recommended government contracts valued at millions of dollars to family members and political affiliates. In 2015, the OCG cited former Mayor of Lucea, Shernet Haughton, for similar practices in its Report.