Jamaica expands disaster radio network and clarifies US third-country nationals transit limits

Jamaica is strengthening national emergency communications and early-warning capacity while the government addresses public concern over a United States third-country nationals transit arrangement and continues to promote wider use of electric vehicles.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPM), in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is installing wireless equipment so first responders and government agencies can coordinate during hurricanes, floods, landslides and other crises. Officials said dedicated radio links provide redundancy when mobile networks fail, noting that storms have previously knocked out cellular towers in parts of the country. The digital network is designed to maintain island-wide links even if individual nodes go offline, with coverage estimated at roughly 98 per cent.

Equipment includes mobile, base-station and handheld radios for the Jamaica Fire Brigade, Jamaica Constabulary Force, Ministry of Health, local authorities and other public bodies. Early-warning installations under the programme are in Old Harbour Bay and along the Bog Walk to Angels Quarter corridor in St. Catherine, as well as in Port Maria, St. Mary. A hub at Cooper's Hill serves the corporate area and can operate on battery power for up to five days if mains supply is lost. Firefighters worked alongside Japanese engineers during installation and continue to staff the digital emergency communications centre.

Information Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon said the government understands alarm after reports cited figures as high as 10,000 in connection with the transit programme. She said the memorandum of understanding with Washington limits transiting persons to 25 at a time, up to twice per month, for individuals being returned to their home countries via Jamaica.

"The US would have come to us on that third country nationals program," she said, noting Washington has approached multiple partners. Dixon said talks involving Minister Marks about skilled workers from countries including Cuba, the Philippines, Ghana and Nigeria were separate and had been conflated in early reporting with the transit deal.

Persons with criminal antecedents will not pass through Jamaica under the arrangement, she said. The International Organization for Migration will monitor compliance, and the programme will end if more than 10 transiting persons apply for asylum locally. Housing and other operational details remain under negotiation, and the MOU is expected to be published within days.

On transport policy, government concessions on duties and general consumption tax for electric and hybrid vehicles continue alongside charging infrastructure expansion. The Jamaica Urban Transit Company has introduced electric buses, and officials argue Jamaica’s travel distances suit battery-powered motoring, with charging partnerships involving Jamaica Public Service and Evergo.