... Golding to address Armadale in Parliament

Prime Minister Bruce Golding will address the nation at the next sitting of Parliament about the findings of a report from the commission of enquiry into the tragedy at the Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre that led to the deaths of seven female wards.

Golding was speaking to a group of journalists after the installation of Steadman Fuller, the custos of Kingston, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston yesterday. He was, however, coy when asked to speak extensively about what action has or will be taken.

"Action is already being taken, Cabinet will consider the matter on Monday, I will advise Cabinet as to the discussions that we have had and the action we have taken so far," he said.

To bring closure

The prime minister added: "What Cabinet is going to be asked to focus on is not so much the retribution, which seems to be driving a lot of people; they want some heads to roll. What Cabinet is going to focus its attention on is not just what is to be done to bring closure to Armadale, (but) what is to be done to ensure that we don't have any recurrence of that kind of thing."

He said that, more important, it would be ensured that children put in state care are "cared for in better circumstances".

The prime minister told the journalists that he had a meeting yesterday which included key persons and gave instructions about tasks which were to be completed and information to be gathered. Golding, who expects to receive this information today, said it would be used to drive the discussions in Cabinet on Monday when the report is formally tabled.