Warning System
• An upgraded Rio Cobre Early Warning System (RCEWS) that will assist in the management of potential water-related disasters was launched.
• The Met Service developed a one-to-five-day forecast tool to predict the likely outbreak of bush fires in Jamaica.
• Major mitigation, sanitation, drain-cleaning and beautification programme under- taken at a cost of $1.3 billion. The programme, being executed up to February 2020, is being implemented by the National Works Agency (NWA) and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), with the Ministry of Health and Wellness providing guidance.
• An MoU was signed to undertake the removal of between 1.5 and two million tyres from the Riverton City landfill.
New Look NLA
• The Land Administration and Management Programme (LAMP) was merged with the National Land Agency (NLA). The merger is in keeping with the Government’s Public Sector Rationalisation Programme, which seeks to streamline the services offered by public bodies through mergers, closures, privatisation or reintegration into the public sector.
• The NLA launched a queue management system and an Online Surveyor Search Request Service (OSSRS), which are aimed at enhancing customer service delivery.
• The NLA and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) signed an MoU to facilitate hydro- graphic surveys of the seabed in the country’s territorial waters.