Opposition Leader calls on Government to take decisive steps to ensure return of stranded Jamaicans – Firstlook

Opposition leaders call on the government
Played a decisive role in securing the return of stranded Jamaicans

The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Dr. Peter Phillips, said the indecisiveness of the Andrew Holness-led government was the cause of extreme insecurity, stress and anxiety for the 1,044 Jamaican crew members and their families on the Journey of the Seas cruise ship. The cruise ship is currently in the Caribbean Sea, close to the coast of Haiti, and is heading to Jamaica to pick up the Jamaican crew members who have been adrift at sea for more than two months.
“Under the Constitution of Jamaica, every Jamaican citizen has the right to free movement, including the right to enter his own country. Section 13(3)(f) of the Constitution, which is part of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, provides that among the fundamental rights and freedoms enjoyed by every Jamaican citizen are: “the right of free movement, namely: (i) the right of every Jamaican citizen to enter Jamaica; and (ii) the right of every person lawfully in Jamaica to move freely throughout Jamaica, to reside anywhere in Jamaica and to leave Jamaica”, the Leader of the Opposition stressed.
The 1,044 Jamaican cruise ship workers have a right to enter Jamaica and Government needs to act quickly to facilitate their re-entry while protecting the health of all Jamaicans at risk from COVID-19,” said Dr. Phillips.
He said the government was informed of this impending situation in Parliament as early as March 2 and was subsequently reminded several times before the crisis broke out, but to date they are still unsure how to deal with this self-inflicted crisis.
“Jamaicans need to know why proper entry testing arrangements and necessary quarantine procedures were not put in place to ensure the safe return of hard-working, tax-paying Jamaicans working in the cruise industry. The Government is the servant of the people and must act in the best interests of all,” the Opposition Leader said.
He said the lack of quarantine space could not be used as an excuse and the Government had long known how many Jamaicans were overseas.
The Opposition Leader said quarantine beds could be arranged in the final stages if the Prime Minister was willing to issue necessary instructions to the relevant ministries, departments and agencies and ramp up testing as promised a few weeks ago.
Dr Phillips called on the Prime Minister to resolve the issues hindering permission to enter Jamaican waters so that the ship can dock in Falmouth as planned and honour the rights of these hard-working Jamaican workers.