Support Jamaica site ownership, Troy child killing and education reform top national debate

Four issues dominated Jamaica’s national conversation on Friday’s Lead Story: digital control of disaster relief systems, child safety and the sex offenders registry, education reform, and a historic win for a Jamaican legislative drafter abroad.

Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management Director General Commander Alvin Gayle told Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday that the government does not own the Support Jamaica website used to coordinate donations after Hurricane Melissa. The disclosure has fuelled concern about data governance and cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity specialist Craig Powell, chief executive of AdTellegent, said the arrangement reflected urgency during the storm, when in-house capacity and normal procurement were limited. He identified Amber, a registered government supplier with public procurement certification that already handles citizen data through services such as toll payments, as the platform operator and data controller under the Data Protection Act. Powell said privately owned disaster-relief sites are not the international norm; other governments usually retain ownership even when contractors build the systems. He argued Amber should eventually transfer ownership to the state through proper procurement, and that donors retain rights of access and erasure. He also urged clearer emergency procurement rules and a dedicated ICT voice in government so similar decisions can be made transparently in future crises.

On Tuesday, 10-year-old Shanique Coke was raped and killed in Troy, Trelawny. Reports say the alleged attacker had recently left prison after a two-year burglary sentence involving another child and had been ordered to stay away from the community. Residents later attacked the suspect and his father; the suspect died, the father survived, and one resident has been taken into custody. Trelawny Division Commanding Officer Superintendent Velanie Campbell said police visited the child’s family, offered condolences, and urged residents to stop blocking roads.

Attorney Janice Gordon said registered sex offenders must meet reporting and monitoring conditions, including notice of address changes and travel. She put the maximum sentence for rape at 15 years, subject to judicial discretion, and said making the sex offenders registry public would require legislative change. Gordon warned against mob justice, noting police typically seek to identify principal offenders and that sentencing depends on the offence proved.

More than four years after the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission issued 365 recommendations, the Education Transformation Oversight Committee reported that 43 per cent have been implemented. Consultations on the Jamaica Teaching Council Bill are complete. National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica president Stewart Jacobs said the pace is on target, citing gains in governance, early childhood, teacher standards, school support and board transparency, and noting 32 hurricane-damaged schools fully repaired for September with 214 still under works.

Separately, Jamaican attorney Michelle Daley has been elected president of the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel after defeating a United Kingdom opponent in Singapore. She is the first Jamaican, first Caribbean national, first Black woman and first person from a small island developing state to hold the post. Daley, who began in Jamaica’s Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and later worked across the Caribbean, Belize, Anguilla, Cayman and Dubai, said priorities include reforming CALC’s constitution and strengthening cooperation among small drafting offices.