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Stories by Arthur Hall

'Nothing to hide' - Hayles says court action not designed to keep OCG report from the public

Published:Friday | March 17, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Member of Parliament (MP) for Western Hanover Ian Hayles is defending his decision to go to court to block the publication of a report by the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) despite criticisms that he is opening a constitutional conundrum."...

Government department spends $76m on rent without moving in

Published:Sunday | March 12, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

The Accountant General's Department (AGD) has so far racked up a bill of almost $76 million to lease the ground floor of the old Oceana Hotel building in downtown Kingston, which it is yet to occupy.To compound the seeming waste of taxpayers' money...

Bullets bonanza - Police on the hunt as criminals continue to get easy access to 9mm rounds

Published:Saturday | March 11, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Illegal gun and ammunition dealers have reportedly flooded the island with nine millimetre (9mm) bullets, with criminals having a field day.Sunday Gleaner sources have pointed to several communities in the Corporate Area, Clarendon and St James,...

Wrong move, Audley! - Red Stripe warns that increased SCT could kill planned US$20m investment

Published:Thursday | March 9, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

The Government's decision to increase the special consumption tax (SCT) on alcohol could cause Red Stripe to scrap plans to spend US$20 million to put in a...

Fully focused on growth - Holness defends delay in proposed legislative agenda

Published:Wednesday | March 1, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Criticisms over the Government's failure to introduce far-reaching legislative changes, including those to fix the date for general election and introduce impeachment options for parliamentarians, have been rejected by Prime Minister Andrew Holness....

When the time is right - Buggery referendum and fixed election date still on the cards says PM

Published:Wednesday | March 1, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has vowed that the major legislative changes he proposed during the lead-up to the 2016 general election will beimplemented, but he is just not prepared to give a commitment as to when.Going in to the February 25, 2016,...

6-month deadline! - Holness gives Cabinet ministers time to prove their worth

Published:Friday | February 24, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Members of the Andrew Holness-led Cabinet have six more months to prove to him that they deserve to keep their jobs.According to Holness, while the ministers were not given the job descriptions he had promised in the lead-up to the general election...

Fresh hope for J’cans – Holness admits difficult first year, but confident country now positioned for economic growth

Published:Thursday | February 23, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Prime Minister Andrew Holness is confident that his administration has brought fresh hope to Jamaicans in the almost one year that it has formed the Government.Tomorrow marks one year since he led the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to a one-seat win...

'Abusive policing not in my character' - Holness declares tough, knee-jerk approach to crime not on cards

Published:Thursday | February 23, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Crime and corruption are to get special attention from the Andrew Holness-led administration as it moves into its second year as government, however, the prime minister is advising Jamaicans not to expect any tough, knee-jerk actions.During an...

Plea for the unfit - Proposal to transfer the mentally ill from prisons

Published:Friday | February 17, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Persons held in Jamaica's prisons who have been deemed 'unfit to plead' could be moved into a more fitting environment if the Government accepts the recommendations of the Mental Health and Homelessness Task Force, established by Minister of Health...

Gangbusters - Cops reject claims they are not-using anti-gang law properly, point to more than 300 gangsters nabbed in just over two years

Published:Friday | February 3, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

The police force has rejected claims that poor investigation by its detectives is one of the major reasons for the low conviction rate under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisation) Act, better known as the 'anti-gang legislation...

'No, no, no' ... Bobby rejects draconian crime fighting measures

Published:Monday | January 30, 2017 | 9:52 AMArthur Hall

Despite the knowledge that the high level of crime could cost him his job and even cost his party the next general election, National Security Minister Robert 'Bobby' Montague is not supporting calls to curtail some civil liberties to tackle the...

Symbiote dodges first bullet - DPP refuses to press charges over spectrum use

Published:Wednesday | February 1, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Under pressure, telecoms firm Symbiote, which is facing a possible revocation of its spectrum licence, has dodged the first bullet fired at it by the State.The Gleaner has learnt that Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn has ruled...

Gov't facing possible $1b bill - Court set to begin hearing claim by Y.P. Seaton and companies for compensation for failed housing deal

Published:Saturday | January 28, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

The Government might have to tack on an additional $1 billion to its budget for the next fiscal year to pay a claim filed by businessman Y.P. Seaton and two of his related companies.The matter is set to be heard in the Supreme Court in March as...

Bobby banking on... PEOPLE POWER! - Security minister wants network of law-abiding Jamaicans to fight crime

Published:Saturday | January 28, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Minister of National Security Robert 'Bobby' Montague has vowed that a major crackdown on criminals will be launched this year as efforts are increased to make Jamaica a safer place. But he is warning that the effort to reduce crime will fail unless...

Murders up 1,100% - Hanover homicides skyrocket in first 21 days of 2017; Western Jamaica records almost 50% of killings overall

Published:Tuesday | January 24, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Having ended 2016 with the worst per-capita murder rate in Jamaica, the parishes of Hanover, St James and Westmoreland have started 2017 in the same vein, accounting for 43 per cent of the 82 murders committed across the island in the first 21 days...

Ring the alarm! - Close to 100 persons killed since start of 2017 - Montague is wrong choice for security ministry - Bunting

Published:Monday | January 23, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Opposition spokesman on National Security Peter Bunting has accused the Andrew Holness administration of a lack of focus on crime, evidenced, he said, by the country's murder rate heading in a scary direction in just under a month into the new year...

Mission: Clarendon Rescue | Blood for blood! - Reprisals fuel Clarendon's murder carnage

Published:Friday | January 13, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

"Me must kill Paul*," declared the tall dark-skinned man in a tone with no more emotion than the one he used to order a 'special' (one drink of white rum mixed with the energy drink Boom) a few minutes earlier."Do George*! No get youself in a no...

40 years of neglect - Chuck admits that political administrations have failed the justice system

Published:Saturday | January 14, 2017 | 9:17 AMArthur Hall

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck has accepted that successive administrations have starved the local justice system of well-needed funds, leading to the ramshackle operation that now exists."Perhaps in the first decade or so (post-independence) things...

Portland poised for take-off - Vaz

Published:Thursday | January 5, 2017 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

Member of Parliament for West Portland Daryl Vaz is expressing excitement at the prospects for the parish as several projects to improve the infrastructure get under way.Since late last year, there has been much talk that Portland is poised to take...

US gets tough over Caricel - At least three attorneys among six Jamaicans whose US visas have been revoked

Published:Saturday | December 31, 2016 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

The United States (US) has revoked the visitors' visas of six prominent Jamaicans, including three senior attorneys, in what sources say is a shot across the bow of the Andrew Holness-led administration over its failure to cancel the spectrum...

Fake licences targeted - RPD trying to put the brakes on persons using fraudulent motor vehicle documents

Published:Thursday | December 15, 2016 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

The Revenue Protection Division (RPD) is planning strong measures to clamp down on Jamaicans who are using fraudulent driver's licences.There are growing concerns that scores of Jamaican motorists are driving around with licences not issued by the...

Phoney business - Caricel cries foul as it prepares to battle to keep mobile licence

Published:Friday | December 9, 2016 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

With the Government facing increasing pressure over its decision to grant a domestic mobile spectrum licence to Symbiote Investments (which trades as Caricel), the company has gone on the offensive, arguing that it is facing unfair and unjust...

EU not linking aid to gay rights, death penalty

Published:Friday | December 9, 2016 | 12:00 AMArthur Hall

While making it clear that Europe would prefer if Jamaica expands gay rights and abolish the death penalty, the European Union's (EU) new representative in Kingston insists that these would not be conditions for the island to continue to receive EU...

Audley Gordon: The new clean up boss - Political activist determined to win over his detractors

Published:Friday | December 9, 2016 | 1:54 PMArthur Hall

Despite the board of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) coming under pressure over his appointment, Audley Gordon was still in his office working at 7 p.m. last Thursday.The new executive director of the NSWMA is ensuring that he...

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