UDC pushes 20,000-home plan as Jamaica tracks cannabis permits, taxi crackdowns and Sumfest countdown

The Urban Development Corporation is moving ahead with plans for more than 20,000 housing units islandwide, chairman Norman Brown announced. He said the programme will work alongside other government housing agencies and expand access to shelter, with about half the homes earmarked for southwest Jamaica to aid rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa. Construction is to take place on UDC-owned land and is expected to pick up once the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority is finalised, as part of a wider push for more resilient communities.

State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce Delana Severight said Jamaica will stage a nationwide cannabis permit road tour to widen legal participation in the sector. The Cannabis Licensing Authority will join the tour to offer regulatory guidance, technical help and application support. Two new permit types are planned: a cultivators transitional special permit for experienced growers who lack full financing or technical capacity, and a special community permit allowing communities to pool resources for collective cannabis projects.

Transport Minister Daryl Vaz said every overcharging complaint will be probed after a 16 per cent fare increase. More than 200 public passenger vehicles have been seized for running outside their licences or charging too much. Transport Authority operations manager Nicola Brown Reed said undercover checks found students paying $250 on some JUTC-linked routes where the student fare is usually $50. Court fines can reach $100,000, and repeated offences can bring licence suspension or revocation. Passengers are urged to note or discreetly photograph registration plates and report the matter.

Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network project officer Natalia Burton said the #ExamReady post-Melissa drive with UNESCO focused on St. Elizabeth, where about 60 per cent of surveyed students lacked confidence ahead of CSEC mathematics. A two-day tutoring marathon covered weak spots such as IT, maths and accounts, exam confidence and AI tools to close learning gaps. The network is now running a book and school-supply drive for St. Elizabeth Technical High School, Maggotty High School, Silo Primary School and Mayfield Primary and Infant School, with donations via youthadvocateja.org/donate or drop-offs at Tri 7 Complex, Unit 8, 7 Ivy Green Crescent, Kingston 5.

Downtown Entertainment CEO Joe Budanovitsch said Taste of Reggae Sumfest 2026 takes over Plantation Cove in St. Ann on Saturday, July 18, headlined by a long-awaited Gaza-Gully reunion of Vybz Kartel and Mavado, with Queen Ifrica, Aeion, Jahmiel, Marcy Chin, Young Wild Apache, Harry Toddler and surprise guests also billed. New toll-road entry points are due by July 17 to ease traffic; a worldwide live stream is planned from about 9:00 p.m. Jamaica time, with tickets and details at reggaesumfest.com. The festival marks its 34th year and a decade of Downtown Entertainment’s stewardship.

Opposition education spokesman Damian Crawford branded the Education Ministry’s presentation of Primary Exit Profile results flawed, arguing a different exam format in 2026 makes year-on-year claims of improvement unreliable and understates learning loss. Separately, St. Michael’s Primary principal Juliet Campbell Bennett described literacy and numeracy gains from nine to 70 per cent at the Southside Kingston school beside Tower Street Adult Correctional Facility. In sport, West Indies women were dismissed for 138 by New Zealand spin at Providence, while Stafanie Taylor’s unbeaten 100 off 105 balls sealed a six-wicket win over Ireland and a 2–0 series lead.

Brightar Lottery Jamaica and the Mona Geoinformatics Institute opened their sixth free Coding and Robotics Rock Camp for Afterschool Advantage centre students aged 11 and up, covering web development, AI and robotics through July 24.