Holness appeals for protection of children in Labour Day address

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has appealed for good judgement to be exercised on the nation’s roads as he condemned the indiscipline and offensive behaviours of some drivers.

“We decry the unnecessary and offensive behaviour of some of our drivers on our local thoroughfares, and we are horrified that very often, the safety of road users takes a back seat,” he noted.

The prime minister made the appeal at the launch of Labour Day 2019 at the Office of the Prime Minister last week Tuesday. Labour Day is being observed under the theme ‘Child Safety … it’s you, it’s me, it’s all ah we!’.

He made the appeal against the background that 120 children lost their lives on the nation’s road within the past five years and the significant number suffering from life-changing injuries as a result of more than 70,000 crashes within 100 metres of school zones during the past decade.

“This is unacceptable for a country, which consistently says we love our children.

“Further, this is happening at a time when the nation and the world celebrates the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,” he said, pointing out that children should be protected.

He stated that this signalled the need for programmes and activities geared at protecting children and commended the Labour Day Committee on focusing on road safety.

Joint effort

This year, the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, which is the lead ministry on Labour Day, has joined forces with the JN Foundation and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in its Labour Day activities.

Onyka Barrett Scott, general manager of the JN Foundation, said that the foundation welcomed the partnership, noting that the focus on children was timely as May is being observed as Child Month, which is followed by Road Safety Month in June.

“Undoubtedly, the elevation of road safety on to this national platform will deepen the impact of the existing public-private road safety campaigns, especially as regards the safety of our children,” she said.

She also said that “at the JN Foundation, one of our objectives is to enhance the health and safety of all Jamaicans.

“We do so through our various road-safety programmes, such as the most recent initiative, X-Marks the Spot School Crosswalks Campaign, which aims to encourage advocacy and discussions about road safety overall, and specifically, the safe passage of our children to and from school. ”

In addition, Barrett Scott stated that the JN Foundation, along with its partners UNICEF and the Abertis Foundations, through X Marks the Spot, would upgrade the crossing zones for 18 schools in areas with the highest incidence of road crashes, fatalities, or near misses over the past three years.