Montego Bay debuts automated car park as labour minister warns on child exploitation

Montego Bay has unveiled its first automated municipal car park on Harbour Street, with city officials describing the facility as a major step toward modernising downtown parking and supporting commercial growth in the resort city. The project was formally commissioned last Thursday and features automated entry and exit systems intended to make parking faster and more convenient for motorists.

Minister of Labour and Social Security Hon. Pernell Charles Jr. is urging Jamaicans to remain vigilant against child labour in their communities and to report suspected exploitation. He said such abuse can occur unnoticed nearby, and warned that pulling children out of school for work is a key warning sign. Charles Jr. stressed the long-term harm of child exploitation and said the ministry is reinforcing prevention, protection and enforcement through its child labour unit, alongside public education and social protection programmes such as PATH.

Public health pressures also featured prominently. A family is demanding answers from Cornwall Regional Hospital after a relative allegedly died following a long wait for a bed. At Kingston Public Hospital, elective surgeries were disrupted by problems with the central air-conditioning system. In a Sunday statement, KPH attributed the fault to ageing infrastructure and deteriorating components that are not readily available locally. In a Monday release, the opposition called for an independent infrastructure assessment at both institutions, a published remediation timeline and adequate funding. Opposition health spokesman Dr. Alfred Dawes argued that major health indicators are worsening despite the healthcare budget rising from about $60 billion in 2016 to roughly $90 billion today.

Planning leaders used the morning broadcast to promote the Caribbean Urban Forum 2026, opening Wednesday at the Courtleigh Auditorium before workshops at The Pegasus Hotel through Friday. Local organising co-chair Robert Hill, CEO of the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation, and Professor Carol Archer of the University of Technology, Jamaica, said the forum — shaped by lessons from Hurricane Melissa — will bring regional planners, policymakers and citizens together to rethink resilience, coastal settlement and recovery. Registration is available online or on site.

The Dream Big for Youth Foundation also outlined outreach plans, including a breakfast programme at Elite Basic School in Seaview Gardens and a Christmas visit to Bustamante Hospital for Children. Chairman Antoine Lodge said the nonprofit has worked in seven Kingston schools and aims to expand mentoring for at-risk young people.