FLA Integrity Commission report sparks calls for Parliament tabling as residents and motorists raise road, insurance concerns

Public commentators Dr. Naen Spence and Granville Knight say Parliament should table an Integrity Commission report on the Firearm Licensing Authority, after the Supreme Court refused the FLA’s request for disclosure of the document last Friday. The report concerns alleged corruption, impropriety and irregularities in firearm and ammunition storage, as well as the granting of firearm licences at the authority.

The ruling, delivered by Justice Tar, found that the report remains confidential under the Integrity Commission Act until it is formally laid in Parliament. The presiding officers of Parliament had earlier opted not to table it before the court’s decision, while Parliament was scheduled to sit the following day.

Spence argued that the court’s review cleared the way for the report to enter Parliament, where the public could learn what it contains and respond. Knight said the matter was not a government-versus-opposition dispute, but one of accountability, public confidence and precedent. He warned that delaying the document could weaken trust if urgent issues at the FLA require action.

The Court Administration Division said the court also granted leave to appeal and that a substantive application for leave to seek judicial review is set for September 17, 2026. Knight rejected the suggestion that Parliament should wait until then, while Spence said Parliament has its own procedures and should not avoid its responsibility unless there is a lawful reason.

The programme also heard from Patrick Davidson, president of the Morris Meadows Citizens Association, after residents in Portmore, St. Catherine, filled potholes along Grange Lane. Davidson said the work was a temporary response to crashes, burst tyres and damage to vehicles since Hurricane Melissa, and that the association used marl rather than asphalt or concrete.

Motorist Delroy Smith also complained that police repeatedly stopped him after licence-plate checks wrongly showed he had no insurance. Smith said he now carries printed proof, and said the issue needs an urgent response from the police or the agencies managing the system.