it's Thursday April 4 good afternoon I'm Herman green with the midday news a
special welcome to those of you watching online at one spot Mediacom it's the day
political enthusiasts have been waiting for a nail-biting by-election fight
between the Jamaica Labour Party's anne-marie vos and the People's National
Party's Damien Crawford the TVJ News team is in the constituency and our
reporter Andrea Chisholm now joins us live for an update on the day's
proceedings so far Andrea thank you very much Herman it's a bleak afternoon here
at Port Antonio High in East Portland as hundreds of supporters from both the
Jamaica Labour Party and the People's National Party participate in by
Election Day activities it's the PNP s Damien Crawford versus
the jail B's and Marie Vaz and both candidates have been expressing optimism
as to how today will pan out now the electoral office of Jamaica says as at
11:00 a.m. voter turnout was twenty five point two
eight percent that's twenty five point two eight percent voter turnout as at
11:00 a.m. and at the last general election in 2016 the voter turnout as at
11:00 a.m. was fourteen point four seven percent so we'll see what that
translates the later on just over thirty six thousand three hundred and fifteen
people are registered to vote here in East Portland which has five divisions
and that sport Antonio prospect fairy Hill man Channel and fellowship now
earlier I spoke with miss Sonya Gonzales from the PNP and favor Williams from the
JLP at the International University of the Caribbean in Snow Hill Portland so
far we're a little hiccup earlier when the Jamaica Labour Party persons were
trying to rush the polling station but we got under control between myself and
miss Fievel Williams we are came to an agreement so we all
came back on this and she brought back our people on the
side so far it's going pretty well we noticed some strange persons that we
think don't live here but they are not getting a chance to go inside because
they electoral offices in the parrot our brain is not unusual two persons who are
from Portland what's a strategy to counteract that this morning well if you
know what this we have umbrellas we have ponchos and our commitment
confidentially oh yes how have things been going so far so far great we
started early we're here we are all set up as you can see the rain is falling
but we are ready for it because we had checked ahead of time and we knew was
gonna rain so we all set up in our raincoats and umbrellas and we have cars
and people need to get the right to get to the polling station I was told this
morning of a hiccup that you had here with the PNP earlier but it was what you
don't well though there were well both groups to be fair were too close to the
polling station and you know tempers flared but you know you got they got the
better of themselves and both groups retreated to their proper positions now
as expected it's bumper-to-bumper traffic in the tone center of a Port
Antonio so we're having a little difficulty navigating that and it takes
quite a while to traverse the town area however there's a heavy detachment of
security forces from Bodie Jamaica Constable Air Force and the Jamaica
Defence Force and they are maintaining law and order here in East Portland
earlier I also spoke with the general secretary of the JLP dr. Horace Chiang
and the general secretary of the PNP Julianne Robinson and both were pretty
confident of victory going into today's by-election so that's all for now here
in East Portland will continue to monitor activities and of course we will
bring you the results and the latest on the ground in primetime news at 7 Herman
it's back to you ok Thank You Andrea now TVJ is do an Anderson is also
covering the by-election in East Portland doing what have you been
observing so far
Thank You Herman so I'm back in Port Antonio here in Portland but for the
last six hours or so we've been roving through East Portland trying to get a
feel of what's really happening on the ground now I'll just tell you about a
couple of experiences I've had and a member and other members of the media
I've had since morning well first in Norwich in East Portland we were barred
from entering the polling station there no explanation given what we continue
with our work we then went out into an area called Draper's also in a
constituency we again we were barred from entering the polling station based
on what we've read and what we understand from the stipulations coming
from the EO j members of the media should be allowed on these premises
under normal circumstances normal circumstances speak to vote lack of
voter intimidation violence in the area from what we observed no such problems
in either area so we don't know why that was done we asked a senior officer in
the drippers area why this was the case he said no such order came from the
police I come out here in the parish and eventually we were left let on the
premises know also we spoke with a couple of party aficionados from both
PNP and JLP the PNP they seemed of be equally as upbeat but you can tell just
looking at their faces that you're slightly worried about voter turnout
most of the polling stations we went to the lines did not appear to be that long
a lot of persons are saying they are expecting a 60% turnout we have to watch
that number because from what we've seen that might not happen but we're still
watching one of the reasons that might not happen the rain this morning it was
absolutely holding down here in East Portland it has since ceased but it is
still overcast and ever so often it drizzles on so things really picking up
but not as as a high octane as persons would have hoped
until then we'll have more later but until then it's back to you guys in the
studios all right thank you do we and of course both reporters will have
comprehensive coverage in primetime news along with the results and as voting
progresses in East Portland after months of campaigning
political analyst Richard Crawford has weighed in on both candidates chances of
winning the seat he was speaking on TV Jay's smile Jamaica program this morning
polling stations for the Portland by-election opened at 7:00 this morning
and members of the public are anticipating the final results the
candidates have laid out their plans for the constituency and both had important
ideas which may appeal to the residents who want change political analyst
Richard Crawford says though the later doctor linville Bloomfield was beloved
by the people his constituency was being neglected a party pnp East Portland was
taken for granted by the PNP we win so much we don't really have to fix up the
place yeah you understand that that kind of argument and nobody really paid as
much attention to it as it should be so eventually people got
angry that the roads the water supply all the jobs all of these things are not
there he said that GOP candidate and Mary vos
appears to be an individual who will work in the constituency while PNP
candidates Damon Crawford represents where Jamaica should be heading mr.
Crawford added that whichever candidate wins the seat there will be serious
dialogue if the other party as a loss would be a signal of trouble 44% of the
people turn out to vote for 4 to 4 to 7 percent in a national election the
people are fed up for the kind of politics all right and I also got 47% I
can bet you a significant did the turn out to vote yeah they don't just come
here because I love the two parties but the political analyst says the outcome
of the election will influence what will happen in Jamaican politics in the
coming months if the PNP wins what are repercussions for probably
giving them a gasp of breath to come again if they lose plenty of problems
you're going to have internal discussions and arguments there right if
the GOP candidate wins solidifies the GOP is position but as quickly as
possible maybe in masters TVJ news we go down to other news in an attempt to
salvage pride following anti get chance in that Kingston college
which are captured on video Calabar high school head boy Andre McKenzie and seven
other students trekked from Red Hills Road to North Street yesterday to
officially apologize that their sporting arrival amid public outrage of
indiscipline the slurs were made two days after KC were crowned champions of
the 2019 is a Grace Kennedy boys athletics championships on Saturday at
the National Stadium the caliber boys were accompanied by acting principal
Calvin rule inside a packed KC Chapel to make the address and caliber is
incumbent principal albert corto who is currently on leave was also there to
endorse the remorseful ness mr. Carter told The Gleaner that he will resume
control of a school on May 1 member of parliament for Western Westmoreland dr.
Wickham McNeill wants soldiers to be included in a call he has made for an
increase in the number of security personnel to serve Negril mr. McNeil
says 11 murders in Negril since the start of the year is way too many for
such a small town he was speaking at a stakeholders meeting in agro Negril a
small town in western Jamaica popular to both tourists and locals but all is not
well criminal activities including murders are making many business
operators nervous Western Westmoreland MP dr. Wickham McNeil held a meeting
with business operators and the police to address the concerns which he
describes as worrying the police say in 2018 Negril recorded 21 murders but a
mere three months into 2019 and they have already recorded half that number
dr. McNeil says part of the problem is that Negril security compliment is
woefully inadequate where we say security forces will mean both police
and soldiers and whatever needs to be done to make that happen should be done
because people are living in a bit of a pall of fear right now if you take just
Negril for example there are no 60 officers deployed here 60 police
deployed in Negril there about that's the information we have and we also
spoke of the sort of the closed-circuit cameras that have been installed
in and around integral for about two years or checks revealed that of the
fifty-five cameras installed only 24 are working this is totally unacceptable
totally unacceptable so the fact of the matter is that it's something that must
be looked in because the problem we face is that if you're going to solve this
murder problem that we're facing you have to catch the criminal and bring him
to justice but to catch him you need evidence hoteliers have also complained
that some cameras especially those on the main road aren't in the best
location they argue that putting cameras in front
of a property that already has private security makes little sense and that
some have been installed in poorly lit areas however the police say 70% of the
people who commit crimes in Negril use the main thoroughfare they say having
more working cameras there would help them keep an eye out for the
perpetrators dr. McNeil also spoke of the police vehicle shortage in Negril
spill we're getting these complaints where persons are calling because of
problems and the time it takes because the police just do not have the mobility
required well we have seen in the budget where there's some cars but we need them
urgency not just the cars but we also need motorcycles and in light of recent
attacks on members of a Chinese community in Jamaica several
high-ranking members of the Jamaica Constabulary force have been providing
tips on how to improve and enhance their safety national Chinese liaison officer
Assistant Commissioner of Police Bishop dr. Gary Welch addressed members
of a Chinese community at a central County mingle held in Mandeville
Manchester recently he disclosed that last year alone there were close to 100
crimes committed against the Chinese in Jamaica including two murders he urged
residents particularly Chinese living and doing business in the island to play
their part in protecting themselves from being victims of crimes
we British High Commissioner to Jamaica as if Ahmad is encouraging Jamaicans who
may qualify for compensation under the wind rush compensation scheme to make
contact as soon as possible his advice comes on the heels of Wednesday's
announcement of a 200 million pound compensation package from Britain since
the windrow scandal broke in 2018 of Commonwealth citizens who've lived in
the UK for decades being deprived off benefits or deported mr. Ahmed says he
has been working to find your may cons who were affected with the help of the
Jamaican government we've been able to track down a huge number of people and
some 3,600 people have actually had their British citizenship afforded to
them so they haven't had to wait for many months for that important step to
be taken our officers here have been processing visas for people who've been
deemed to be eligible to return to the United Kingdom and there's a steady flow
of those going on over the last few months under the new compensation scheme
persons who believe they are eligible for compensation are encouraged to make
an application Jamaicans may seek information by contacting the office
through the wind rush helpline or by sending an email they may also request a
callback if required claim process itself is going to be open for two years
so it's not something that we're gonna be announcing today and the windows will
shut within a few weeks and or days over the next 24 months people can read and
digest the the rules they can put forward their claims and then there will
be processed the st. elizabeth police are still trying to piece together the
circumstances which led to a fatal bike crash along the park main road in the
parish wednesday evening dead is 30 year old Anil Essen farmer of ginger Hill in
the parish it's reported that sometime after 7:30
mr. Essen was traveling behind a toyota prado along the park main road from
santa cruz towards likova it's believed that mr. Essen attempted to overtake the
toyota prado which was turning right he slammed into its right side and it was
thrown from his motorcycle into the path of a Honda CRV mr. Essen received
several head injuries and was taken to the Black River hospital where he was
pronounced dead we go down to news in sports Jamaica's world number three runs
sunshine girls will be looking to improve on their position at this year's
netball World Cup in Liverpool England but the team is now in fundraising mode
to make that dream a reality the details in this report being the most successful
team sport for Jamaica netball Jamaica is oftentimes left seeking funds to
facilitate the team's participation especially in overseas tournaments the
local based sunshine girls and the Association have been working overtime
to make their trip to this summer's netball World Cup possible now four
months away and a 42 million dollar target to make their trip netball
Jamaica has taken matters into their hands refusing to rely solely on
assistance from the government we want to reach out to the regular Jamaican to
try to support the sunshine girls rota Liverpool and that is we're approaching
60 at least 60,000 Jamaicans and each of them are asking for $500 to contribute
$500 to the campaign if we're able to get 60,000 and that's thirty million
dollars out of the 42 that we need and so this is going to be in partnership
with first global bank who will provide the platform the bank account for us to
use where people can go in make contributions where people can transfer
money from their bank accounts to first group a bank account just over a month
and a half ago the sunshine girls also started an initiative to garner funding
from members of the public I believe that we will get our target seed money
because oh I carry my weight into Gibson it was really really well received with
our teens like everybody was excited to come on board and put something in our
tea when he went into my work please they
were excited to contribute and they said that we got $95,000 from that just I'm
going to give some so I'm happy that Jamaicans are on board and willing to
support us the sunshine girls who were fourth at the last World Cup in 2015
will be one of sixteen teams participating in this summer's edition
of the prestigious tournament Jamaica will play in Group C alongside Fiji
Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa at the July 12 to 21 event try Shona
McGowan TVJ sports and before we go we join our reporter doing Anderson who is
covering the by-election in eastern Portland thanks guys so just a bit of
breaking news are updating human in terms of what's happening here on the
ground in East Portland so I just spoke to a og officials here in the parish and
they told me that so far 25 percent of persons registered to vote have cast
their ballots 25 percent why is this important because at the same point up
to 11 o'clock in 2016 14 percent of persons registered would had voted and
so far we've been speaking with party aficionados and they've been complaining
that things are low and slow in terms of water turn or turnout so while they're
complaining about that it's not so bad so we are we have to keep an eye on what
is happening in this regard but as soon as we get anything else in terms of
information we'll be sure to send it to you guys
until then it's back to you all right thank you doing and that wraps up the
midday news I'm Herman green remember to join us at 7:00 for the prime time news
package on behalf of the newsperson production teams good afternoon