Vaz: Demerit points still eyed for October as JPS blackout report under review

KINGSTON — At the July 15, 2026 post-Cabinet press briefing, Energy, Transport and Telecommunications Minister Daryl Vaz said Jamaica Public Service has filed its investigative report on the June 5 islandwide blackout with the ministry and the Office of Utilities Regulation on time, and that government experts are now reviewing the findings before any public disclosure.

Vaz said JPS engaged Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Dana Energy Solutions (formerly Quantum Services), Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and General Electric for technical assessments. He stressed that reliable power remains central to development and that corrective steps will be announced once the review is complete.

On road safety, he confirmed former Island Traffic Authority director general Colonel Daniel Price resigned effective June 30. Lieutenant Colonel Sheldon Brian has been seconded from the Jamaica Defence Force and is due to start September 1, with early priorities including the demerit-point regime, ITA modernisation and restoring the Black River examination depot within 30 to 45 days.

More than 1.1 million traffic tickets remain unresolved. Vaz said talks with the judiciary show the backlog must be tackled for demerits to work as Parliament intended. Stakeholders across transport, justice, national security, the courts, the ITA and related agencies are weighing more court capacity and possible transitional amendments. October 1, 2026 remains the target date, he said, though he admitted current resources make that difficult and pledged zero-tolerance enforcement once the system is ready. Any amnesty under consideration would cover outstanding fines, not licence suspensions under the new points regime.

Vaz also praised the rural school bus programme, launched in September 2025, citing about 349 schools, 86 routes, roughly 90 buses daily, some 8,000 students and more than 16,000 daily trips, with no serious student injuries in the first year and 100 per cent parent and student satisfaction. Phase two expansion remains under discussion with the Finance Ministry after Hurricane Melissa budget pressures. He announced Danville Walker as Petrojam general manager from July 1, succeeding Teroy Morgan, and said funds linked to Venezuela’s former Petrojam stake remain in escrow amid litigation.

Education Minister Morris Dixon said public schools are receiving about 55 per cent more operational funding on average — roughly $755 million extra — with larger lifts for primary and special-needs institutions, grants consolidated into one flexible allocation already partly disbursed from mid-June. She said Hurricane Melissa school repairs are slower than hoped because of contractor, labour and supply constraints, and that contract details will be published twice monthly. She clarified that Jamaica’s third-country nationals understanding with the United States covers 25 persons every two weeks in transit, not a 10,000-person intake, and that operational details are not yet final.

Top PEP performer Niraj Sahukar of Creative Kids Learning Academy headed a top-10 list of nine preparatory students and one from Park Mountain Primary and Infant School.