Trouble spot outside KPH to be scrapped

The informal area used by persons who are visiting the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) to park their cars is set to be eliminated under a sweeping government plan.

"The plans for KPH are well advanced and soon, that [park] will no longer exist. The prime minister did say that we are not going to surrender anywhere in Jamaica, especially I'm speaking now about West Kingston, to criminals," said Local Government Minister and the constituency's Member of Parliament (MP) Desmond McKenzie.

"We have come too far for a few to turn us back. And I am confident and know as a fact that the communities are 100 per cent behind the security forces in the quest to eradicate, substantially, crime and violence." McKenzie pointed to long-standing efforts to dismantle the informal vending and activities surrounding the hospital.

"What is happening over there is criminal elements. What is unfortunate is that we wanted to dismantle the vending over there many years ago and it's the same people over in the hospital who objected, saying that they are offering services they use over there. You can't have the best of both worlds," he said.

The 'car park' has, for years, been associated with gang-linked extortion, illegal parking operations, and intermittent shootings, with several murders recorded in and around the space. Patients, staff, and visitors to the hospital have frequently found themselves navigating a zone of fear. In the latest attack, Luke Lane resident Damion Henry was gunned down on Wednesday. McKenzie disclosed that redevelopment is to start soon and that steps to reclaim the area are imminent, as "lands have already been identified, [and] clearance of the areas is going to commence shortly".

"That area that is occupied by the criminals is an area that will no longer exist," McKenzie said.

For decades, communities in West Kingston and surrounding areas have been plagued by gang violence. But in more recent years, there has been a measurable decline in major crimes. Despite these gains, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness warned that entrenched gang culture remains a threat to progress. Speaking at the funeral of slain three-year-old Jayce Pinnock, who was killed in Denham Tonw, Holness called gangs "pestilence on our communities".

"I am communicating to you in as harsh as possible way to tell you that this government is determined to break the back oaf every gang in Jamaica. I don't care where you are, how bad you think you are, we are going to break you." Holness argued that community tolerance of criminal elements continues to undermine law enforcement efforts.

"Until the society speaks with one determined voice and stop making excuses and hugging them up and turning a blind eye, I'm afraid that we will have repeat circumstances of this."