Audrey Marks rejects TCN reports as Jamaica details digital reforms and earthquake readiness

Ambassador Audrey Marks has rejected reports linking her to the United States third-country nationals arrangement, saying a broad cooperation proposal she prepared in March 2025 as Jamaica's ambassador to Washington was separate from the TCN MOU. Speaking at a workforce consultation at the Institute for Workforce Education and Development, Marks said the proposal reviewed ways to expand H-2A and H-2B opportunities, create a lawful route for skilled workers to come to Jamaica, and attract talent in technology, infrastructure, services, digital business and artificial intelligence.

Marks said the submission also explored a nearshore talent residence hub and a logistics hub built on Jamaica's location, ports, special economic zones and ties with the US. She argued that with as much as 80 per cent of Jamaica's skilled labour migrating, the country has to anticipate policy shifts abroad, manage the brain drain and identify openings for national development. Separately, FCJ chairman Litton Shirley told Prime Minister Andrew Holness that demand for warehousing and distribution space reached about 900,000 square feet last year, with the Garmex Free Zone in Kingston fully occupied and more buildout planned there and at Naggo Head in Portmore.

The National Solid Waste Management Authority has also received four 5,200-litre water trucks, one for each regional company, to wet landfills, wash town centres, control dust and help with fire suppression. Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie handed over the units in Kingston on Tuesday and said another four are to be provided this financial year, while board chairman Omar Sweeney said the supplier contract includes operator training. Jamaica Post, meanwhile, suspended outbound mail to European Union countries from June 30 after the EU ended duty-free de minimis treatment for mail from non-EU states on July 1. Public relations officer Marianique Walker said services to Great Britain and other postal operations remain unchanged.

The Education Ministry has reminded schools that summer programmes cannot be made a requirement for high-school registration and said families still recovering from Hurricane Melissa may not be able to absorb extra costs. Schools were told to keep fees low, avoid blocking any child from classes because of inability to pay, and consider payment plans, waivers and help from alumni groups. Marks also outlined the government's digital reform drive, including the Information and Communications Technology Authority, 1.1 million online motor vehicle registrations, more than 40,000 Tax Administration Jamaica app users, about 103,089 traffic ticket warrants signed electronically, and more than one million PayGate transactions after six agencies joined the platform last financial year.

She said 2026-27 plans include a digital document wallet, Gov Notify and the once-only bureaucracy system through the Jamaica Data Exchange Platform. The National Identification and Registration Authority's document recovery programme after Hurricane Melissa processed more than 47,500 applications, with mobile registration units due in the second half of 2026 and legislative changes being prepared so a national ID card can serve as proof that a motorist is licensed to drive. The programme also carried an earthquake warning from the Earthquake Unit, which said 108 quakes of magnitude four or higher occurred within 300 kilometres of Jamaica over the last decade, with 13 felt this year, including a 3.9 event on June 28. Residents were urged to plan drills, identify safe spaces, use drop, cover and hold, avoid unnecessary calls, use stairs after shaking stops, and check buildings and gas lines before re-entry.