JMDA Backs Tufton Audit After Intern Protest Over Hours and Rest Facilities

The Jamaica Medical Doctors Association says it is encouraged by Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton's response after medical interns raised concerns about long hours, staff shortages and inadequate rest facilities. Some interns withdrew services on Wednesday, prompting the minister to order immediate audits of intern accommodation across regional health authorities and the University Hospital of the West Indies. The association says it has been invited to take part in one audit and that normal operations have resumed. First Vice-President Dr Jubilee Brown described the minister's response as a step in the right direction.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, speaking at the opening of the 2026 International Building Expo in Guyana on Thursday, signalled plans for Jamaica and Guyana to explore joint housing initiatives aimed at easing shortages and boosting construction capacity. He estimated Jamaica's housing deficit at roughly 150,000 units and said the government is committed to providing 70,000 homes, with the National Housing Trust set to build 42,000 of them. Holness said 10,000 of those units have already been delivered and thousands more are being built each year. He also praised Guyana's streamlined one-stop approval system, which he said has cut housing approval times from as long as three years to about three months, and publicly thanked the Guyanese government and the Guyana Defense Force for support in rebuilding homes and infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Melissa last year.

Chief Cybersecurity Expert at the Major Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency, Dr Patrick Linton, warned that Jamaica should brace for a surge in cyber attacks driven by artificial intelligence. Addressing the recently concluded 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference, he said deeper internet penetration has created fertile ground for more sophisticated threats. "We've been seeing a proliferation of cyber crimes and cyber incidents," he said, adding that AI-enabled crime could dramatically increase the scale and sophistication of attacks facing Jamaica and the wider world. He noted that over the past five years government systems suffered several cyber incidents and said improved awareness and outreach with system administrators, Jamaica Constabulary Force partners, communities and schools had helped reduce the threat.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force has welcomed the demerit point system set to take effect on 30 September, calling it a critical tool for strengthening road safety enforcement. Transport Minister Daryl Vaz said a Drive Safe application is expected to launch in the final week of July and will coincide with the demerit rollout, serving as a central platform for public submissions on dangerous driving. "When you see it, you take the information," Vaz said. "If you can take the infraction by video, if you can't, a license number, a picture of the car, anything at all or the motorcycle, will be sufficient for us to start an investigation."

Residents of the Malvern Park housing scheme in Davis Town, St Ann, say more than 200 households and roughly 700 people have endured unbearable sewage conditions for the past three years, with waste overflowing from a faulty septic tank. "This current situation is one that is unbearable," one resident said. "We are literally living in inhuman condition." They say they have reported the matter to the health department, the National Water Commission and the Urban Development Corporation. An attempt to transfer the septic system to NWC was refused because of the fault, leaving responsibility with UDC, which residents say has removed waste several times without lasting relief. They warn they may block roads if the problem is not fixed.

Producer prices for Jamaica's mining and quarrying sector rose 0.4% in May while manufacturing increased 2.7%, according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica. Further abroad, a report in German publication Manager Magazin said Volkswagen may cut as many as 100,000 jobs globally over the next few years, roughly 15% of its workforce; the company declined to comment. Suriname announced a major offshore gas discovery by Petronas at block 52, which officials said could support multiple energy projects with first production possible around 2030. In Venezuela, rescuers searched for survivors after a 14-storey building collapsed in Caracas following powerful earthquakes, including a 7.5 magnitude event and a 7.2 magnitude tremor seconds later. Officials said at least 164 people died, with La Guaira state among the hardest hit areas.