KINGSTON, Jamaica – All ports of entry are to be equipped with scanners as the government ramps up measures to protect the country’s borders and prevent the flow of illegal weapons into the island.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) has been given a directive to ensure the full rollout of the cargo imaging technology at all formal ports, through public-private partnerships.

“Now, we are going to make a significant investment in ensuring that we have all the scanners in our ports, so that a higher percentage of containers and goods coming into Jamaica can be appropriately scanned,” he said.

He informed that the government will also be investing in another maritime patrol aircraft as well as more offshore patrol vessels.

Holness was addressing the National Security Council Seminar on Thursday at the AC Marriott Hotel in St Andrew.

He highlighted the need for the country to strengthen its security apparatus to ensure that illegal guns do not make it into the island. He noted that Jamaica cannot depend on another country to secure its borders.

“For too long, we have been ineffective in putting in place the measures at our airports and our seaports to properly scan our containers, to put in place a well-developed and robust integrity mechanism for those persons who operate security at our ports and for the radars necessary to have domain awareness and control of vessels coming into our waters,” he pointed out.

“We will take responsibility for stopping the illegal guns coming into Jamaica. Casting blame is neither productive nor a solution; it offers the illusion of action while displacing accountability, allowing those with power to escape responsibility. My intent is to ensure that Jamaica takes its own security in its own hands,” Holness said.

– JIS