KINGSTON, Jamaica — Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth North East, Zuleika Jess says the government needs to address issues affecting non-functional courts in the parish, stressing that the situation is affecting access to justice for residents.

“We don’t have a court in Savanna-la-Mar, the parish court mash up, we don’t have a court in Black River and yet they go around and boast that they are doing all things great but nobody on the ground can feel it,” she said.

Jess was speaking at the Norman Gardens Divisional Conference on Saturday at Rennock Lodge Primary and Junior High School, where she called for urgent action to restore proper court operations in the parish.

The Opposition MP also addressed the recent announcements that the government has signed an agreement to receive third-country nationals(TCN) from the United States.

“Look at the state of Jamaica with prisons already overflowing, overcrowded, filled to the brim to capacity, we are battling crime and violence, and yet we sat in Parliament just a few days ago, and we hear the minister say that Jamaica has agreed to accept the rejects from the United States of America,” she said.

Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang has said that those with criminal antecedents will not be considered for the programme, which he said will see no more than 25 people sent to Jamaica at any one time.

“Jamaica is not a dumping ground,” Jess warned, maintaining that the safety of the country could be compromised. “Jamaica is not a dumping ground, it’s not Riverton, Jamaica deserves better and you deserve better.”