Chang presses Americas partners on crime fight as Jamaica advances health, traffic and justice reforms

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace Dr Horace Chang has renewed Jamaica’s call for closer regional cooperation against transnational crime, speaking for Prime Minister and Defence Minister Dr Andrew Holness at the 17th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas in Cusco, Peru, on Wednesday.

Chang said Latin American and Caribbean states must tighten collective security and rely more on one another as criminal networks move drugs, illegal guns and people across weak borders and facilitate money laundering. He pressed delegates to share intelligence, expand joint military training and exercises, promote technical exchanges and build stronger laws to prosecute cross-border offenders.

At home, about 18,000 residents of Craighead and nearby Northeast Manchester communities regained upgraded primary care after the Craighead Health Centre reopened last week following a $46-million refurbishment under Operation Refresh. Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said the Type 2 facility now offers wheelchair-friendly access, improved bathrooms, greater patient comfort and expanded services for an ageing population.

“What that should say to all of us here is that we cherish and value this community, and we want community health to be a part of the fabric of the community,” Tufton said.

Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, addressing Kingston and St Andrew traffic-ticket public days at the National Arena on Wednesday, said the government still intends to introduce the demerit points system and that clearing a large backlog of unpaid tickets—cited as 1.5 million—is essential before a possible October 1 start. Justice Minister Delroy Chuck urged drivers to settle tickets within 30 days of summons dates or face warrants.

The Urban Development Corporation will lead the Kingston Harbour Walk, a planned 25-kilometre linear park from downtown Kingston to Port Royal in three phases. UDC deputy general manager Loy Malcolm said design contracts for the first two phases are nearly ready and framed the corridor as both public space and a buffer shielding waterfront assets.

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green announced government funding for an architectural redesign of the Denbigh Show Ground in Clarendon into a year-round farming hub, with further details due at the August Denbigh Show. He also reaffirmed support for the Jamaica Agricultural Society, including a Hanover parish office, generators, tractor aid and expanded farm stores.

Prime Minister Holness attended CARICOM’s 51st Heads of Government meeting in St Lucia from July 5 to 8, where leaders backed consumer protection, free movement progress, a regional ferry plan, food-import reduction targets, AI and climate-linked insurance work, health cooperation and a 10-point reparations plan. Holness, accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson-Smith, voiced Jamaica’s support for Guyana’s nomination of Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett as United Nations Secretary-General and thanked Jamaican Sandals staff relocated to St Lucia after Hurricane Melissa.

The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs outlined 2026–2027 priorities including new courthouses in several parishes, recovery from Hurricane Melissa damage, an integrated electronic case-management system developed with Rwanda, wider expungement access and stronger alternatives to court such as mediation and restorative justice.