ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) — Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Glendon Harris, has announced that construction of a new female ward at the St James Infirmary will commence shortly.

Speaking in Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay, on October 17, during a Heroes Day civic ceremony, Mayor Harris said the new ward will replace the old one that was taken out of operation some time ago.

The mayor noted that the project forms part of a programme to improve the living conditions and security for inmates at the infirmary.

“Two years ago, we started to secure the Infirmary compound. Today we have completed that periphery wall. On Thursday (October 20) of this week, as a gesture to ensure that we continue in that light, we will be having a groundbreaking ceremony for a ward at the Infirmary,” he said.

Mayor Harris said the St James Parish Council is pushing ahead with a number of programmes aimed at making the lives of the less fortunate in the parish more comfortable, and that once the necessary funding is realised, work on the ward should last for six months.

“We don’t have all the money; we don’t have all the material. So, it is for every well-thinking Montegonian to join us in ensuring that we complete that ward within the next five to six months,” he urged.