Justice Minister disappointed no progress made on PPPs to construct new courts

 

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck has expressed disappointment that the plan by the government to enter public-private partnerships (PPPs) for the construction of at least a five new parish courts has not picked up pace since it was raised over four years ago. 

 

The partnerships were expected to remedy delays in the public procurement system, which has stalled the construction of a new courthouse in Manchester. 

 

The more than 200-year-old Mandeville courthouse was damaged by fire on November 7, 2019. 

 

Speaking Wednesday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106, Minister Chuck explained that there is not enough expenditure in the capital budget at this time to construct courthouse facilities that could cost up to $20 billion. 

 

But he said, with PPPs not materialising as expected, the government may have to fund the construction of new courthouses from the budget.

 

"Both the Chief Justice and myself and the ministries are now really upset that nothing has happened to push that PPP programme expeditiously. So even the court that is in St. Thomas now, it is the FCJ, the Factories Corporation of Jamaica, that has built it. But what we see is that in the last year or two that more funds are available for capital expenditure because over the previous eight years we have reduced the national debt. So we might be able to get the capital expenditure in the budget to build the courts, you know, and hopefully that will happen," he said.