MONTEGO BAY, St James — A foot injury that left him using a crutch for the last few weeks has shown Government Senator Charles Sinclair just how important it is for him and other councillors in St James to ensure that buildings in the parish are in compliance with the Disabilities Act. He has, therefore, vowed that they will ramp up their efforts in 2024.

“The first and immediate thing is to get the inspections done and done as quickly as possible so that they can make various assessments and recommendations,” he told the Jamaica Observer on Thursday. “Under the legislation, public buildings and commercial buildings should install features that allow for greater access for the disabled.”

Sinclair, who is also an attorney, noted the challenges people with disabilities face in accessing buildings such as the St James Parish Court.

“[At] the courthouse, they’ve put in a ramp that takes you to the ground floor. But all the courtrooms are upstairs, with the exception of the Western Regional Gun Court and one that is used by the justices of the peace sometimes. Those are the only rooms which are accessible to persons who have physical disabilities,” the senator pointed out.

He said it has been “painful” to watch individuals with physical challenges attempt to access some areas.

“I’ve seen persons come to court and they are in a wheelchair and they have to sit down and wait until some friend or family or others come to take them up the staircase,” Sinclair lamented.

Now the problem has become personal for him.

“I’m going there on the 8th [of January]. My cast is off presently but I’m advised to use the crutch for another couple weeks and I’m wearing an ankle brace to give support to the area that was injured,” he revealed.

His experience next Monday may likely shape what he will say to his peers three days later at the municipal corporation’s first monthly meeting for 2024.

Sinclair said while he hopes that both the public and private sectors will ensure that buildings are compliant, he also recognises that the municipal corporation has to step up its enforcement. It was an issue he raised at the last meeting held in 2023, when his leg injury was fresh.

“I am asking the council [to act], because the council can send around their building officers to these public buildings and to identify improvements that they expect to make; and that’s why I brought it up there,” he said.

He is hoping to see major changes, especially at facilities where individuals need to access justice.

“What I anticipate should come from it, going into this year, is that… the council is going to communicate with court management services and the Ministry of Justice in respect to making some adjustments so that better access is facilitated for people with disabilities,” Sinclair explained.

The attorney said he has also begun rallying his legal counterparts on the issue.

“I have raised the issue with the administrator at the court house and I’ve raised it with the president of the Cornwall Bar Association and other members of the executive of the Cornwall Bar to ask them to raise their voices in respect to improving that aspect of access to the courtrooms which are upstairs for persons who suffer physical disabilities and can’t really go up the stairs,” he stated.

He also wants other changes that will make access easier for the visually challenged. These include having cages built around fire hydrants located on sidewalks. He pointed out that these could potentially trip up the visually impaired.

Sinclair also wants the issue of defective manhole covers addressed.

“The manhole covers, the areas that have broken sidewalks, those will soon get some attention. You heard the mayor saying that they are doing sidewalk improvement in respect to a couple of areas in the downtown area,” he promised.

The Disabilities Act came into full effect on February 14, 2022. It was passed in Parliament in October 2014 and the regulations were later affirmed in both Houses of Parliament in October 2021.

The Act was developed to “promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment by persons with disabilities of privileges, interests, benefits and treatment on equal basis with others; and to establish the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities; and for connected matters”.

Its main objectives include recognising and accepting the principle that persons with disabilities have the same fundamental rights as any other person; promoting individual dignity, freedom of choice and independence of persons with disabilities; and preventing or prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities.