Transport minister Daryl Vaz’s sprinkling of what appeared to be white rum during Wednesday’s blessing ceremony for 60 rural school buses has attracted rebuke from social media users, who viewed the practise as being part of obeah and witchcraft.

The ceremony was held at Jamaica House.

Following video postings of the occasion, social media users went into overdrive with their comments.

“I thought we blessed things with prayers and the bible,” commented one user.

“They take us for a damn joke!!” another user exclaimed.

While many of the users found the actions of the minister humorous, others thought it was outright wrong.

One user commented that, “You cannot use ancestral witchcraft to bless. The prayer warriors need to come out and rebuke the demonic spirit set over all these buses”.

Another user said, “Mark my words! Parents do not send your children in those buses. The man just did a ritual before your eyes,”.

The 60 buses represent the first batch of 110 buses that have been commissioned to transport students to and from school in rural Jamaica, beginning September 8, under the government’s Rural School Bus Programme.

Another 50 buses are expected to be rolled out between September and November, according to Vaz.

“This phase will benefit thousands of students from 258 schools islandwide, with 55 of the 122 routes across all parishes being served by 60 of the first 110 buses. The remaining 40 buses will be introduced gradually between September and November with an additional 10 buses held in reserve to guarantee continuity of service.

From left: Bishop Christine Benguche, Transport minister Daryl Vaz and Bishop Michael Smith