Black Immigrant Daily News

The Government has sent a strong signal that it will not bow to demands from the island’s public transport operators to implement a traffic ticket amnesty, this following Monday’s withdrawal of service and at times ugly protest by the operators.

“We advise persons who have broken the law and as a result, have unpaid tickets, to pay their fines as ticketed,” said a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

Many students, teachers and other commuters were unable to get to their respective schools and other locations on Monday, as transport operators withdrew their services in a bid to force the Government to grant an amnesty to facilitate the payment of outstanding traffic tickets.

Some transport operators and their associates were also observed in videos removing passengers from taxis and buses of other operators who opted against protesting.

In expressing sympathy with those who affected by the protest action, the Government declared that it “will give no support for lawlessness and disorder,” and said it “welcomes the significant rejection of today’s protest actions and demands.”

The protest seemed to have been mainly confined to the Corporate Area and sections of St Catherine and Clarendon, with reports of pockets of taxi operators withdrawing their services in other parishes.

“All well-thinking Jamaicans are concerned that these actions have not only demonstrated a disregard for the need for citizens going about their lawful business to get to work and school, but have also demonstrated complete disdain for law, order and discipline,” the OPM statement said.

Given the high number of road fatalities so far this year, the Government said the commuting public must be protected, and said as such, the motoring public, including bus and taxi operators, must maintain discipline on the roadways.

“We call on those who are engaging in the disruption of the transport services to recognise that the Government will not relent in its efforts to build a better transport sector,” the release further stated.

The Government also implored law-abiding owners and operators of businesses and other organisations to continue providing their services to fellow Jamaicans going about their lawful business.

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

Khadija Collymore is using the month of November and Independence celebrations in a divine way.

The 24-year-old Barbadian has invited all persons through prayer, to intercede for the nation of Barbados, daily for 30 days. So far for the month, the prayer points highlighted topics such as family, thanksgiving violence, sickness, essential workers and more.

On November 30, 2022, we are in the process of planning a face-to-face Prayerfest

The call on persons is for everyone to take 10 or 15 minutes out of their 1440 minutes daily, to pray on the topic for the day.

Interviewed recently, Collymore shared her story and talked about this new challenge since she rededicated her life to God over a year ago and has seen and experienced the tremendous power of prayer.

The former student of The St Michael School decided to launch her Prayer Challenge after returning from a ministry trip in Holland at the beginning of September this year.

“Prayer changes things more than we can imagine or comprehend. If we are honest our nation needs divine intervention in many areas. Just as I was reading the newspaper, I read about two brothers who armed themselves to fight for screws. We wake up daily to hear about shooting if the shots aren’t waking us up from our sleep in the still of the night. We are in a place where most people can’t afford to live. The cost of living is high. Everyone from families to persons in Government needs an intervention. At this point, it is only God that can pull us out. A thorough program may make a dent. But it’s time to position ourselves in a place of humility and surrender so that God can do a great work in this nation according to 2 Chronicles 7:14,” she said.

We are called to war spiritually until what we pray for has been established

Collymore is the founder of Khadija Collymore Ministries and is currently pursuing a degree in Ministry at Christian Leaders Institute in Spring Lake, Michigan, United States. She expressed that the response thus far to her Prayer Challenge has been encouraging as she has joined forces with intercessors from neighbouring islands along with others from the United States of America, who reached out to become involved.

What was the catalyst that led Collymore along this path to serving God?

The founder of Khadija Collymore Ministries said she had believed there was a call on her life to start the prayer and teaching ministry.

“I felt called to intercede and teach the Word of God. I have also launched Hemmed by Faith, which is a charity that seeks to rehabilitate persons suffering from addiction and mental illness. I am also a part of a global prayer organization Prophetic Intercessors Network (PIN) based in Atlanta, Georgia where I am the Regional General for Barbados and the Youth Regional General,” she said. Collymore presides over the youth intercessors globally in this organization.

Collymore said with the current socio-economic state of Barbados, she believes that now more than ever, people need to be equipped to handle spiritual warfare.

“Until we see the promises of blessings, abundance and overflow over our nation we must have persons praying and interceding over our land. We are called to watch and pray. We are called to war spiritually until what we pray for has been established. We are away from this establishment so yes, we need more persons who are called as intercessors to rise up to guard our gates and watch and pray for our land,” she said.

Persons desirous of becoming a part of the National Prayer Challenge can do so by following

Khadija Collymore on Facebook or Khadija Collymore Ministries on Instagram.

“Each day we meet on Facebook to pray the general prayer points at 6 pm. Topics are posted daily on all social media in various areas in need of divine breakthrough. On Friday, November 25 we are hosting a virtual prayer conference live on my Facebook page from 7pm to 10 pm. On November 30, 2022, we are in the process of planning a face-to-face Prayerfest for intercessors or anyone believing that God can change the trajectory of our island,” she said.

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

The Ministry of Education Technological and Vocational Training (METVT) is assuring staff, parents and students of Belmont Primary School that the school’s inner security remains unbreached and intact despite the outer gate being damaged in a recent shooting.

The METVT advises “there remains an inner security fence and gate that, over time, has protected the students, teachers, support staff and buildings of the school from outside interference. The inner security fence and gate have not been compromised in any way.”

This comes after the Education Officer for Belmont Primary School today held a meeting with teachers and at the meeting, some teachers expressed grave concern for their safety due to the damaged gate. The report is that the damage and resultant debris arose from circumstances related to a shooting incident that occurred in the environs of the school, on Friday, November 11. Others cited experiencing psychological trauma due to the recent spate of gun-related crime in the school’s neighbourhood.

Their comments and feeling echo the sentiment of the constituency representative Trevor Prescod who told Loop News that residents in St Michael East, where Belmont Primary is located, are very concerned about the recent spate of shootings, not just Sunday’s shooting.

Following the meeting today, of the 18 teachers present, 15 indicated that they were unwell and subsequently left the compound. Given the reduced teaching complement, permission was granted to close the school for the duration of the day.

Chief Education Officer, Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, and other Ministry officials toured the compound at 11:15 am and engaged the Principal in a discussion about the concerns of the teachers.

Following that discussion, it was determined that the Chief Education Officer will have a meeting with the teachers at the school tomorrow, Tuesday, November 15, at 9:00 am.

Although the meeting will be held at the Belmont Primary School, parents are advised that there will still be school for students tomorrow. The Ministry of Education assures parents that all students will be adequately supervised while the meeting is ongoing.

The Ministry of Education, Technological, and Vocational Training reiterates that “the safety of all members of staff and students is paramount and will do all in its power to secure the school’s compound.”

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

– Advertisement –

The Government of Saint Lucia through the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs and the Universal Health Coverage Project is set to launch a fact-finding survey.

The survey will serve as a digital data collection tool imperative to the imminent launch of the Universal Health Coverage Project.

There are five key components to the nationwide survey namely;

Demographic information
Public knowledge on Universal Health Coverage
Services to expect under Universal Health Coverage
Willingness to register
Public preference on information dissemination

Nationals will be invited to participate in the survey via a user-friendly digital platform. The aim of Universal Health Coverage is to make healthcare more accessible to all segments of the population and facilitate a more inclusive health care system.

– Advertisement –

This includes the full range of essential health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care.

Minister for Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs, Hon. Moses Jn Baptiste says UHC forms a part of the Government’s mandate in improving health systems and ensuring that affordable and equitable health care is provided to Saint Lucians.

Hon Moses Jn Baptiste says “This government has taken concrete actions to cause Saint Lucia to have a sustainable Universal Healthcare system. We are creating more opportunities for access to good quality healthcare at every level of the healthcare system and we want all the people to understand the system.  The views of our people on Universal Healthcare is critical to the ongoing process of refining the system which we will eventually create.”

SOURCE: Ministry of Health, Wellness & Elderly Affairs

– Advertisement –

NewsAmericasNow.com