New FLA board mandated to ‘clean ship’
MINISTER OF National Security Robert Montague has charged the newly appointed board of the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) to “clean ship” as they seek to restore public trust in the embattled entity.
Retired Major General Antony Anderson is tasked with guiding the new five-member board in achieving the objectives laid out by Montague, having been appointed chairman of the authority.
Anderson is joined on the board by retired civil servant Ena Rose; retired Senior Superintendent of Police Albert Edwards; banker Aneacia Neita; and retired Senior Puisne Judge, Justice Marva McIntosh, who is serving on the board for the third time.
The previous board stepped down in August after irregularities were found relating to the issuance of firearm licences to people deemed unfit.
“The mandate to the new authority is to go in, enhance the systems that are there, clean out the corruption that they would have hit upon, and make the FLA that agency that is beyond reproach,” Montague said during a press briefing at his ministry’s conference room at its Oxford Road offices yesterday.
“So far, one of my mandates to the FLA is that we should audit all the uncollected guns at police stations and that are in storage at the FLA. So far, we have collected over 2,500 [weapons], 500 of which are now ready to be turned over to the JDF (Jamaica Defence Force) to be destroyed, and that will be happening shortly.”