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Dated: 1 November 2002
Several contracts worth an estimated $0.5 billion have been awarded by the National Contracts Committee. Amongst them, is a $15.5 million contract to Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administrators Limited to procure and replace a worn-out incinerator for Health Corporation Limited, a government owned company with responsibility for the procurement, warehousing and distribution of medical supplies for the public sector.
Another contract for US$6 million was awarded to Trumbley and Hampton Inc. to design and build an indoor court facility at Stadium West in Independence Park, for the June 2003 World Netball Championship. The facility is to accommodate some 4,000 persons in an amphitheater-type seating arrangement around two multi-purpose playing courts of international standard.
The National Contracts Committee has requested that the contractor be instructed to use local sub-contractors where possible, but they must be registered with the Commission.
Tank Weld Limited, has also been awarded a $29 million contract to construct a 90-foot diameter tank foundation at Petrojam’s Montego Bay terminal, as well as a $21.6 million contract to construct an administration building at the Riverton Landfill, in order to accommodate staff and improve the overall efficiency at the landfill.
The building is consistent with the Government’s collaborative effort with the Inter-American Development Bank to improve the management of solid wastes throughout Jamaica.
A contract for US$1.24 million has also been awarded to Fujitsu ICL Jamaica limited, to install a “Land Registration and Parcel Data Management Systems” in the titling and surveying areas of the National Land Agency (NLA).
As a result of this new computerized project, new titles will be delivered within eight days, instead of the current average of 30 days, and the number of days it takes to check survey plans for titling, will be reduced from fifteen to five days.
The use of this system will allow customers to conduct lodgments of various documents at the NLA regional offices, he said, thus expanding the one-stop-shop concept. The NLA would also be capable of providing access to some of its services via the Internet, he said.
It is expected that the computerization will allow new titles (excluding application for first registration) to be delivered within eight days, down from an average of 30 days.
The checking of survey plans for titling, will be reduced from the current 15 days to five days, thus supporting a more rapid production of titles.
The new computerized operation wil also allow for a more foolproof system of checks and balances, thus assisting in reducing the incidence of fraud.
The new computerisation project is to be funded by the World Bank, including equipment, training, and services, and will facilitate the Land Registration and Parcel Data Management System over a seven-month period. The World Bank has approved the award of the contract to Fujitsu ICL.
Road accidents is an issue of great concern, costing approximately three per cent of Jamaica’s annual gross national product (GNP), which undoubtedly inhibits the economic and social development of the country.
This comes as some 61 Shell drivers are participating in a Shell Drivers Incentive Scheme Award, which is presented every six months. The danger posed by the Shell tanker drivers is immense in terms of lives and property.
Up to late November, the latest figures showed that a total of 340 persons had died on Jamaica’s roads as a result of traffic accidents. This was down from the 361 deaths recorded in 2001, but slightly above the 2000 figure of 334 deaths.
“This is a very tragic situation, particularly when our accident rate appears not to be declining”, Ambassador King told Businessuite, noting that the accident rate had increased from 11,145 in 2000, to 14,257 last year.
He argued that all safety improvements involve some cost to society, whether it is stricter speed limits, leading to higher policing costs, or safer cars. He noted that whilst enforcing ever lower levels of bold alcohol content and compulsory helmets for cyclists, might justifiably be interpreted as restraining freedom, others believe that such measures deliver freedom through security, as well as generate large savings.
He noted that new technologies to detect impaired driver performance fatigue, advance cruise control and braking systems and even avoidance systems were promising innovations.
On a global scale, Ambassador King said death by road crashes, could become the third leading causes of death and disability worldwide, pointing to a “Global Burden of Disease” study, which was undertaken by the World Health Organization (WHO), Harvard University in the United States, and the World Bank, and which showed that whereas in 1990, traffic crashes placed ninth among the leading causes of death and disability, by 2020, it is projected to move up to third place.
Each year, more than 1.7 million persons die in road crashes worldwide. Of that amount, 70 per cent occur in developing countries like Jamaica. Some 65 per cent of the deaths involve pedestrians, with 35 per cent of these pedestrians being children. Over 10 million are crippled or injured each year.
With road user error contributing to the vast majority of road crashes, the development of safe drivers, skilled in defensive driving techniques should be a primary objective of any road safety programme, Ambassador King stressed.
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