FLA Board to Be Named Next Week

Minister of National Security, Hon. Robert Montague, says the new Board for the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) is to be announced next week.

This was noted by the Minister during the sitting of the House of Representatives on October 3.

Cabinet met and discussed the appointment of the new Board on Monday, September 18, but a decision was not finalised.

The FLA Board resigned in August due to the unearthing of irregularities regarding the issuance of firearm licences to persons deemed unfit.

Mr. Montague said once the new Board is in place, the Ministry will implement measures to drive the agency’s ongoing reform process as part of efforts to strengthen the operations of the Authority.

“We have introduced the fingerprinting machine at the FLA, reintroduced the firearm examination and declared an amnesty where 1,200 unlicensed guns were licensed and their ballistics signature captured. We are preparing to crush and cut some 2,500 guns that were in storage at the FLA for years,” he said.

Mr. Montague noted that an accountability standard has been introduced for the tracking of the more than 13 million rounds that are sold into the Jamaican market per year.

The new Board will be in effect for three years.