Residents Hail Government Services Fair
By: November 1, 2023 ,The Full Story
Residents have hailed the Government Services Fair, held in Moneague, St. Ann on October 27, as a significant step forward in enhancing community engagement and access to crucial government services.
The event, organised by the Public Sector Modernisation Division (PSMD), Office of the Cabinet, brought together some 30 government agencies and services under one roof, providing locals with easy access to vital information and resources.
Computer Technician, Andrew Lloyd, expressed his satisfaction with the fair, emphasising its importance in bringing essential services directly to the community.
“It has been good. The booths that I visited were good with the information they had to offer, especially the Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs. I would give this event five stars,” he said.
Lloyd Hill, another Moneague resident, said the fair was significant, especially for a community whose members often had to journey to St. Ann’s Bay or Kingston to access similar services.
“We really appreciate what you all have done for this community, because this community needs more of these things and it helps us from going to St. Ann’s Bay and Kingston,” he told JIS News.
Sherilee Thorney, who attended the fair primarily for services from the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), expressed her delight in the variety of offerings available.
“I came here for PICA and when I came there were a lot of people, so I was like let me make a day of it and I went to a lot of places. I went to HEART/NSTA Trust. I went to the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA). It was fun and informative, and I learnt a lot,” she said.
From healthcare and education to agriculture and social welfare, representatives from several ministries were on hand to address queries, offer guidance, and educate attendees on the diverse array of services and support systems.
The fair also earned praises from various stakeholders, who took the opportunity to discuss their involvement in the event.
Education and Information Officer at the Island Traffic Authority, Donte Matthews, explained that the event provided the opportunity to inform the public about the recent changes to the Road Traffic Act (2018) and its regulations.
Mr. Matthews also used the event to highlight the need for road and vehicular safety, especially given the alarming number of fatalities recorded since the beginning of the year.
“We’re happy to just get the message out to everybody and just to ensure that they’re safe. We’ve lost over 300 persons on the nation’s roadways, including 10 children… so we’re talking to parents as well, just to ensure that everybody is safe,” he said.
He pointed out that another focus of their participation was on educating attendees about the changes in the learner’s permit process.
“The learner’s permit process, that’s a popular one, because here at Moneague we have a lot of young people and also adults who need to get their learner’s permit. So, we’re talking to them about the different changes under the Act regarding the application and the use of a learner’s permit,” Mr. Matthews said.
PICA representatives also expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to connect with the Moneague community.
Business Development and Communication Director at PICA, Kauna McKenzie, acknowledged the benefits derived from the fair, particularly in reaching out to individuals applying for passports for the first time.
“We have benefited from this mobile fair because we were able to advertise our products and services to the community of Moneague. It has been steady and very informative to the persons coming in and for those who don’t have a passport and are applying for the very first time,” she said.
For her part, Child Diversion Officer for St. Ann, Christina Plunkett, expressed her satisfaction with the event, noting that it was used as a platform to raise awareness about the Child Diversion programme, considering its relative newness as it was implemented in 2020.
“Because of the COVID-19 pandemic a lot of people don’t know a lot about child diversion, so we are here doing the footwork and trying to get our name out there and to get persons in schools to know that there is a Child Diversion programme,” she said.
Chief Technical Director in the Office of the Cabinet with responsibility for the Public Sector Modernisation Programme, Marjorie Johnson, said she was pleased with the overwhelming turnout and the positive response from the community.
“The people are so happy. I came in here and people are saying it was very good, some said I got my record expunged… so they’re getting their services that they have just not had time to go look about,” she said.
She said the event, which was part of the ongoing celebrations for Service Excellence Month in October, aimed to bring government services directly to the people, eliminating the need for residents to travel to Kingston and other major towns.
Ms. Johnson expressed her delight at the event’s success, highlighting the significant number of attendees who took advantage of services such as record expungement.
“We have had over 20 people who came in expunging their records, people accessing the National Housing Trust, so the people were able to access service that they just didn’t have time to come into Kingston to do,” she said.