Dear Editor,

Quite a number of prominent Montego Bay business leaders, including the former president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nathan Robb, and St James Central Member of Parliament Lloyd B Smith, have publicly called on the Government to erect an equipped, modern and new court building for the city of Montego Bay, and by extension western Jamaica. This would accommodate all the various divisions of the court system, including the resident magistrate’s court, gun court, traffic court, supreme court, civil court, petty sessions court, and supreme court registry.

The present Montego Bay court building has long outgrown its useful purpose in terms of size, and there is the need for the Minister of Justice Senator Mark Golding to take the requisite steps to build a court complex for the region. This new court complex would also accommodate offices for the residents magistrates, the clerk of the court and their deputies, and for the police. It should also have a well-equipped cell block for both males and female inmates. A fully functioning canteen would also be needed at the court complex. A law library would also be needed at such a court facility. It is prime time that the minister recognises the necessity of such a new court complex for Montego Bay and proceed expeditiously to have this accomplished.

I wish to take this opportunity to unreservedly commend the hard-working resident magistrates assigned to the Montego Bay courts, and for performing consistently at the highest judicial levels, giving justice to all those who appear before them. They are very truly committed to their jobs and serve with the highest levels of integrity and character, and I salute their hard work.

We, as a country, oftentimes take for granted the extremely hard work that judges perform throughout the court system, and they need our full support every step of the way. The St James justices of the peace also carry out important functions and responsibilities within the court system and are quite dedicated to their jobs in Montego Bay.

Robert Dalley

Montego Bay, St James

robertdalley@outlook.com