THE State of Public Emergency, which became effective on Sunday night with the approach of Hurricane Dean, was lifted yesterday.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, in a statement yesterday, said that she had instructed Governor General Kenneth Hall to issue a proclamation terminating the emergency with immediate effect.

“This afternoon, I met with the heads of the security forces, who gave me the unequivocal assurance that there would be special security measures in effect in those areas that continue to have no electricity, and especially those with specific security challenges,” the statement said.

The declaration of the emergency on Sunday was met with a chorus of criticisms led by the Leader of the Opposition Bruce Golding, suggesting that it was unnecessary.

“The declaration of a State of Emergency is ill-advised, given the fact that the power of curfew and provisions for the deployment of the military already exists to deal with the possibility of looting,” Golding said in a statement Monday.

He further reiterated, at a press briefing on Tuesday at the JLP’s Belmont Road head office, that his party’s consultations with the leadership of the police had affirmed its position.

The criticism was supported by the press and several groups, including Jamaicans for Justice, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), who called for the immediate termination of the emergency.

“The continuation of the State of Public Emergency will negatively impact on Jamaica’s image and affect tourism and other important business sectors and, even more importantly, raises concerns for the protection of the rights of our citizens,” the PSOJ said last night.

In a statement announcing the declaration on Sunday, the prime minister said that it would enable the government to ensure that human life and property are protected and that damage to property is minimised.

In a later response to Golding’s criticisms, the prime minister said that the decision was taken after extensive and careful consultations with the heads of the security forces and other agencies. She said that it followed reports of “looting and attempted looting” in urban and rural areas, as well as sightings of groupings of armed gangs in some areas.