Black Immigrant Daily News

The Royal St Lucia Police Force (RSLPF), during a press conference Wednesday, disclosed that an investigation is underway into an off-duty officer seen on stage with an open-carry firearm at the recent Onyx show, which was headlined by dancehall artiste Skillibeng.

A brief clip circulated over social media featured Skillibeng being trailed by a moonlighting police officer, working as a security guard.

Reports are that the open-carry firearm in the possession of the officer did not come from the armoury of the RSLPF and was, in fact, a prohibited item.

“That particular officer was not part of the approved list signed by the Commissioner of Police,” Assistant Commissioner of Police George Nicholas told the media.

“The commissioner has advised that an investigation be launched into this matter and all the circumstances surrounding the officer being on stage with the firearm will be looked at,” he said.

The officer in question was eventually removed from the stage by ACP Nicholas, who was the senior officer overseeing the event, where the RSLPF is concerned.

Loop News understands that Nicholas was contracted by a registered private security company for the event.

Organisers of the Onyx show, Verve, have since distanced themselves from the incident.

For its part, the entertainment company has acknowledged the impact of the on-stage stunt, which came as a surprise, and has stressed that the safety of patrons was of top priority.

In a statement released following the concert, the promoters noted: “We do recognise that the on-stage optics may have given the wider public a false impression of the event and what we stand for. As such, we wish to apologise for causing any offence to the public. This was by no means intentional.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Daryl Spencer, the General Manager of the National Solid Waste Management Authority, says that households should see an improvement in their garbage collection in the near future.

Many households in a number of communities have been complaining about the infrequency of their waste collection and that the haulers have not been observing the scheduled days.

Spencer blames the challenges facing the Authority on the fact that a number of the contracted private haulers have dropped out of the system, in addition to ongoing cash-flow problems.

He adds that most of the haulers have taken downtime in order to effect repairs and service their trucks and equipment.

Spencer reports that a meeting was recently held with the private contractors, and the parties have reached a compromise to address the outstanding issues affecting them.

According to the General Manager, the downtime is not unusual. He explains that the Authority and most contractors are working with aging fleets, and waste management is a very rigorous system that can take a toll on the equipment used.

He says the public should not feel that it is being deliberately neglected; and this type of situation can be expected from time to time.

Spencer is, therefore, appealing to the public to exercise patience with the Authority, as it seeks to put the garbage-collection schedule back on track.

He advises households who are still experiencing problems with their waste collection to notify the Authority, so that the matter can be properly addressed.

SOURCE: REAL News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

“Ik vroeg mezelf af hoe ik ‘zo’ kon zijn, maar het is niet iets waarvoor je kiest. Het overvalt je

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting that the unemployment rate for July 2022 was 6.6 per cent.

This was a 1.9 percentage point decline compared to the corresponding period last year.

Director General of the institute, Carol Coy, said the data showed that in July 2022 there were 89,700 unemployed persons, 22,800 fewer when compared to July 2021.

She said the number of unemployed males decreased by 8,100, noting that there was a larger decline in the number of unemployed females of 14,700.

She was speaking during STATIN’s quarterly digital briefing on Wednesday (October 19).

“The male unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent, representing a 1.1 percentage point decline. For females, the unemployment rate was 8.2 per cent. This represents a 2.8 percentage point decline compared to July 2021,” she said.

Coy further indicated that there were 14,300 fewer unemployed persons between the age group 20 and 24 years, accounting for 62.7 per cent of the total decline in the number of unemployed persons. She added that the youth unemployment rate, that is persons 14 to 24 years, was 16.7 per cent compared to 23.9 per cent in July 2021.

She noted that for July 2022, there were 1,357,700 persons in the labour force, an increase of 30,200 or 2.3 per cent compared to 1,327,500 in July 2021.

Coy said the increase was mainly in the female labour force, which grew by 27,400, while the male labour force only increased by 2,800.

She said there were 1,268,000 employed persons in July, an increase of 53,000 or 4.4 per cent.

Coy noted that females accounted for the larger proportion of the increase in employment, 79.2 per cent or 42,200.

“There were 579,500 employed females in July, compared to 537,500 in the similar quarter of 2021. Males, on the other hand, increased by 11,000 to 688,500,” she said.

She noted that youth employment also showed strong growth, with employed youth aged 14 to 24 years increasing by 18,800.

“Of this increase, females 20 to 24 years accounted for 80.3 per cent or 15,100,” she said.

She noted that clerks, service workers and shop and market sales workers and craft and related trades workers had the largest increases in employment.

Coy said a comparison of the July quarters of 2022 and 2021 showed that the group ‘clerks’, which includes customer service clerks, contact centre information clerks and enquiry clerks, increased by 25,400 to 132,200.

“This was the largest increase in employment among occupation groups, with females accounting for the majority of the increase, 16,100 or 63.4 per cent,” she said.

The STATIN director general noted that the group ‘service workers and shop and market sales workers’ increased by 21,400, moving to 290,700.

“Again, females accounted for the larger increase, 18,100 or 84.6 per cent. Within this group, there are personal service workers, such as waiters, bartenders and hairdressers, and also sales workers, such as street food vendors, store/supermarket/shop clerks and cashier and ticket clerks.

‘Craft and related trades workers’, which includes groups such as masons and plumbers, increased by 9,600 to 157,200. Unlike the other two occupation groups, the largest increase was for males, 6,600 or 68.8 per cent,” she said.

Coy stated that employment in the industries of ‘real estate and renting and business activities’, ‘accommodation and food service activities’, and ‘construction’ accounted for the largest increase in employment.

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