Jamaica news roundup covers NARRA accountability, Clansman trial evidence and new CAT bond

Jamaica’s midday news agenda on Friday, May 29, 2026, centred on public accountability, court proceedings, disability inclusion and disaster financing, with National Integrity Action calling for greater openness around leadership decisions at the National Reconstruction Resilience Authority.

Dr. Gavin Myers, principal director of National Integrity Action, said public confidence would have been better served if Jamaicans had been told in advance how Major General Anthony Anderson was selected to lead the authority and what criteria guided the decision. He said the new body must now put accountability, communication and trust at the centre of its work.

In regional finance, IDB Invest said it mobilised US$13 billion in investments last year, including US$2 billion for Caribbean projects. Chief executive James Scriven said the institution is targeting areas such as infrastructure, energy, job creation, electricity access and financial services. Attorney-at-law Michael H.R. Williams also urged more Jamaicans to prepare wills, warning that dying without one often leaves relatives in drawn-out and expensive property disputes.

At the Supreme Court, a detective was recalled in the ongoing Clansman gang trial as prosecutors continued efforts to admit a statement allegedly given by deceased witness Shanise Roberts. The evidence relates to the February 2020 killing of Noah Smith at Eureka Place in St. Andrew. Justice Dale Palmer allowed a photograph already in evidence to be shown to the detective, who identified Roberts and said he had taken a statement from her at the Constant Spring Criminal Investigation Branch. Michael Wildman, Jerome “Spike” Nashon Guest and Giovani Macdonald are among those accused in relation to the alleged Tesha Miller faction of the gang.

Alister McLean, appointed Jamaica’s first disability inclusion advocate in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, said he wants stronger access measures for persons with disabilities, including better tactile infrastructure, wheelchair-friendly spaces, improved digital access and more persons with disabilities serving on public boards.

The Supreme Court was also expected to rule on whether it should review an Integrity Commission report before any tabling in Parliament, after the Firearm Licensing Authority moved to block discussion of findings into alleged corruption and irregularities involving licences, firearms and ammunition storage.

Meanwhile, economist Kenan Ffrench explained Jamaica’s new US$200 million World Bank catastrophe bond, issued on May 26, replaces the US$150 million bond paid out after Hurricane Melissa in 2025 and is intended to provide rapid liquidity after qualifying hurricanes through May 2030.