Dwayne Vaz quits PNP roads portfolio as police hunt Westmoreland assault suspects

Central Westmoreland Member of Parliament Dwayne Vaz has stepped down as the People’s National Party’s shadow spokesperson on roads and works. The PNP confirmed the move at the weekend, saying it fully backs the decisions taken by the MP. A party media statement said the change followed talks with Opposition Leader Mark Golding. Vaz will concentrate on constituency work and will no longer hold the roads and works shadow brief. The party thanked him for his service in the post.

Newly named Opposition Spokesman on Land and Works, Member of Parliament Lothan Cousins, is pressing the government to disclose how projects were chosen for phase two of the $25 billion SPARK main roads programme. He and colleagues say the published allocations raise questions about fairness and balanced investment across Jamaica. Cousins also warned that some works appear to have begun before essential engineering assessments were finished. He rejected any suggestion that responsibility for the affected communities should shift to the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NARA). He wants the full selection methodology published, consultation with MPs restored, and future spending shared more evenly nationwide.

In Westmoreland, police have launched a manhunt for three men accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in Savanna-la-Mar on Saturday night. About 7:45 p.m., the child’s mother sent her to a nearby shop. A silver Toyota Mark X pulled up beside her on the roadway; two masked men forced her into the car while the driver moved to another part of the community. After the assault, they left her by the roadside. A report was made and she was taken to hospital for medical care. Officers have set up roadblocks and spot checks in and around Savanna-la-Mar.

Separately, 23-year-old Shamona Bailey, also known as Sham, of King Karan District in Darliston, died after a motorcycle crash on the Dean’s Valley main road at White Horn, Westmoreland, on Sunday. About 4:35 p.m., she was the pillion passenger on a bike ridden by 24-year-old Rubel Waldo Mars, also called Waldo, travelling from Darliston toward Savanna-la-Mar. Near the Dean’s Valley main road and Thompson Lane junction, Mars appeared to see a vehicle ahead signal a turn, continued, and struck the right side of that vehicle. Both riders were thrown off. Mars died at the scene. Bailey suffered serious head and body injuries, was admitted to intensive care at Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, and later died.

In St. Elizabeth, a man was shot dead during a police operation in Balaclava about 3:00 a.m. Saturday. Officers responding to a mini-mart break-in near Junction confronted four armed men; a shootout followed and one gunman was hit. He was taken to Black River Hospital and pronounced dead. A search continues for the other three. In related activity under Operation Rest, police seized two more firearms in Oxford and Burnt Savannah and arrested two suspects linked to break-ins and robberies across the parish.

More than 200 public passenger vehicles have been seized by the Transport Authority since a new fare structure took effect, as officials crack down on overcharging and illegal operations. The 16 per cent fare rise, rolled out in two phases in June and July, heightened fears that some operators would exploit passengers. Authorities say approved fares are being enforced, including in parts of the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region where hackney carriage operators were found running as route taxis contrary to their licences. Several operators have been prosecuted. The Authority says it will keep a zero-tolerance stance—fines, licence suspensions and possible revocations for repeat offenders—and urges passengers to report overcharging.