One-Minute Reads: News from across Jamaica

Public passenger electric bus to be tried out

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) is embarking on a pilot to roll out the country's first public passenger electric bus.

Managing Director, Paul Abrahams, told JIS News that the unit, valued at US$285,000, has been provided to the JUTC for the six-month project at no cost to the company.

The unit has a seating capacity of 35 with standing room for 20 passengers. However, some seats will give way to facilities for the disabled.

Abrahams said the criteria for testing include the type of terrain that the buses operate on, maintenance, routing, and battery life.

He indicated that there is a device in the charging facility that measures the kilowatts of electricity used when the unit is being powered up.

This, he explained, will enable the JUTC to calculate the percentage of electricity relating to the facility that is used each month.

Abrahams informed that upon completion of the testing phase, discussions will be held with the Ministry of Transport and Mining on the way forward regarding purchasing the bus.

Prostate cancer test now covered under NHF

More than 371,000 Jamaicans will have access to expanded benefits, following changes to the national programmes administered by the National Health Fund (NHF).

The changes, including the addition of the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test to the NHF Card Programme, are estimated to cost approximately $516.59 million per annum and are scheduled to become effective by the end of February 2023.

Making the announcement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, said the changes cover subsidy increases and an increase to the Jamaica Drug for the Elderly Programme Drug List. Jamaican men over 40, who are enrolled with the NHF Card, will now have ready access to screening. Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the male population.

Tufton informed that the NHF Card will now see an addition of 41 new active pharmaceutical ingredients for the treatment of eight conditions, including hypertension, heart disease and epilepsy. The subsidy on the PSA test is set at $1,600 per test, with a maximum allowance of one test per year.

CAC secures $31.7 million for aggrieved customers

The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) has secured $31.7 million in compensation on behalf of aggrieved consumers for the period April to November 2022.

The disclosure was made by the commission's CEO, Dolsie Allen, at a JIS 'Think Tank', recently. Allen noted that $2.8 million was obtained due to the success of three cases in the Small Claims Court.

She indicated that the CAC has a responsibility to protect consumers and do so using a three-pronged approach, including consumer education, handling of complaints, and conducting market surveillance.

Allen further informed that for the first eight months of the financial year, 1,029 complaints were handled, of which 701 were resolved, giving the agency a 68.2 per cent resolution rate.

She pointed out that the top three categories of complaints for the period were other services (computers, medical challenges, finances and hair products), electrical equipment and appliances, and utilities.

Civics reintroduced in schools

Civics Education, which encourages good citizenship, greater respect for cultural integrity, nation-building, among other things, has been reintroduced to the National Standards Curriculum at all levels.

Minister of Education and Youth, Fayval Williams, said the reintroduction of civics comes out of deep concern at the levels of incivility and lack of respect for self, others, and authority that continues to be displayed across the country. By adding it to the curriculum, students will come to "comprehend the pride, dignity and the seriousness of being Jamaican".

"Our aim is that the guidelines provided and used by teachers will help to strengthen the foundation for a successful and balanced society in which our people appreciate the rules that govern the relations we have with fellow citizens and our Government," she said.

Chair of the National Committee on Reparations, Laleta Davis Mattis, who represented the Culture Minister Olivia Grange at the launch, said a "deficit in identity" continues to impact the behaviour of children and youth.