The Ministry of Local Government & Community Development has seen to the removal of asbestos material from the Poor Relief building at 65 Hanover Street, Kingston. Additionally, estimates have been received for the replacement of the roof with alu steel sheeting and work is expected to begin shortly.

Following the discovery of the hazardous material in April of this year, Minister of State (MoS), Honourable Colin Fagan, along with members of the Technical Services Department of the Ministry, visited the site to assess the situation and plot the way forward.  The State Minister gave his assurance then that the team would be moving with alacrity to resolve the problem as the health and safety of the staff and patrons were of utmost importance.

The technical team was directed to source and acquire the services of a specialist in asbestos removal.  Notch Line Traders Limited, one of only four (4) registered specialists was contracted in accordance with the GoJ procurement guidelines and the removal was carried out on Saturday, August 11, 2012.

Minister of State, Fagan has expressed satisfaction with the work that has been done, ‘we had hope to have the harmful material removed in as short a time as possible but given the procurement guidelines and the fact that this is a very specialized area it could not have been done any sooner’, he said.

“It is imperative that our officers, who provide a critical service to society, are able to do so in a safe environment”, he added.

The Ministry also directed the removal of asbestos from the Trench Town fire station on July 28, 2012 and a contract should be in place for the same procedure to be effected at the Port Royal Fire station by next month.