Faulty air conditioning closes Mobay tax office
Published:Saturday | June 17, 2023 | 1:15 AMJanet Silvera/Senior Gleaner Writer -
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ) has approved an emergency procurement for the repair of the faulty air conditioning system that caused the Montego Bay Revenue Services Centre to close its doors yesterday, inconveniencing close to 200 customers.
The centre falls under the Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) Limited. Some 200 people are employed to the facility.
Staff at the facility reportedly refused to work Friday morning after weeks of suffering under extreme humid conditions while serving customers.
“Our plan is to replace the defective units in order to ensure resumption of service in the shortest possible time by fast tracking the job,” Dara Smith, FCJ’s marketing and communications manager, told The Gleaner.
According to Smith, the emergency crew will be working at the building that has been under their remit for over 20 years, throughout the weekend.
The decision was taken during a meeting between FCJ Chairman Lyttleton Shirley, Managing Director Donald Farquharson, and senior members of the management team and the TAJ Friday afternoon.
Staff at the facility say that the toilets in the building are also in an undesirable condition, however, Smith said that did not fall under their remit.
The revenue services offices have been operating at the Montego Freeport location just shy of a year, after they were forced to vacate their original place of residence on the Howard Cooke Boulevard, downtown Montego Bay, owing to mold and unhealthy air filters.
“Many people were having breathing issues, problems of the lungs, so we had to move, only to come to this new location where we don’t even have place to park our cars,” a staff told The Gleaner.
Owing to the condition of the new home, the audit and compliance units have had to operate from home, while cashiers and customer service staff remain at the facility. An elevator in the building has been out of service as well says the staff.
TURNED BACK BY SECURITY
On Friday when The Gleaner visited the centre, several unsuspecting customers were turned back by the security on arrival at the gate.
“I came four times this week and each time I come I am told the customers were down,” The Gleaner overheard a woman speaking at the gate.
Another customer stated that he came to purchase examination fee and it was disheartening to learn that the office was closed without as much as a notice given to customers.
“I wanted to just finish off the plans I had for this week, but I will have to park my vehicle for the weekend because the fitness is up,” he stated, opting not to reveal his name.
A man who had outstanding traffic tickets was also unable to access the service, while the security assigned to the gate was heard directing customers to use the revenue services offices in either Falmouth, Trelawny or Lucea, Hanover.
It is believed that the TAJ lost thousands of dollars in revenue, owing to the absence of the service on Friday.
Efforts to get a comment from both Meris Haughton, chief corporate communications officer at the TAJ and communications officer Leighton Beckles, proved unsuccessful.
Haughton said she was off and unable to give details on the situation, while Beckles said he would get back in touch with The Gleaner as soon as he possibly could.