On February 23, I sat on a panel dealing with Constitutional Reform, sponsored by the Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal (JAMP). The panel included my friend Jeanette Calder, my colleague NIA Director Danielle Archer, and, very importantly, the...
The Government’s latest tough-on-crime posture, exemplified in the bills Delroy Chuck took to Parliament last week to ensure longer mandatory prison sentences for murder convicts and the amount of time they must serve before parole, is probably...
Carter Woodson, a distinguished African-American historian, author, journalist and cultural activist, launched Negro History Week in February 1926. He chose the second week of February because it coincided with the birthday of both Frederick...
History, as we are taught, throws facts at us in a vacuum. There is seldom any room for context. What was the world of historical characters like when they embarked on their path to greatness? How difficult was that decision, when heroes rose up...
A little wriggling worm being antithetical to one’s livelihood may sound like a clumsy sequence of words, but there is nothing about that which is funny. To the east, St Thomas farmers are facing a predicament that, honestly, I believed we were on...
The state-run Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) is projecting operational loss of $14 billion for the upcoming financial year. For a company that has been struggling with financial challenges over many years, this comes as no surprise. The...
The people of Ukraine are the principal victims of the unjustified and unprovoked war launched against them by Russia on February 24, 2022. But, in the year since then, it has become clear that other victims – on a different scale – have been all...
Dedicated to Zeno Obi Constance, lecturer, historian, archivist, playwright and the most knowledgeable and helpful expert on calypso in Trinidad and Tobago. Mum’s the word, I thought, but not for keeping quiet. I had planned this week’s article...
If scammers were members of parliament (MPs), “chopping” would never be a crime. If fraudsters were lawmakers, fraud would never be illegal. Is it surprising that – even in 2023 – corrupt acts popular among politicians are not crimes under the...
Maybe the Government has good reasons for its further postponement of municipal elections. They are not the ones it publicly stated. Indeed, few people believe the argument that the exercise is too expensive at a time when the Government needs...
One year ago today, February 24, 2022, will forever be recalled as the day when Russia started its brutal, unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine. This was and remains a case of pure aggression and a clear-cut breach of the UN Charter. This war...
It is not publicly known if Prime Minister Andrew Holness makes New Year resolutions, and if so, what were his promises for 2023. As head of the Government of a middle-income country with myriad problems, and not infrequent crises, Mr Holness might...
Many moons ago the greatest injustice occurred when the ‘banker’ ran off with the ‘pawdna’ money, creating much concern and threats among the members that had just been swindled out of their hard-earned money. Ponzi schemes and scammers arrived on...
We live in a world today where the online technologies and digital advancements that we enjoy have come with a heavy price. This same technology that has simplified and improved our everyday life has also created greater opportunities for...
Published:Wednesday | February 22, 2023 | 12:49 AM
A key outcome of last week’s summit of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders was their acknowledgement of their obligation to be in the forefront of efforts to help Haiti return to political stability and constitutional order. “Heads affirmed that...
Published:Wednesday | February 22, 2023 | 12:18 AM
“Everybody talking about peace But no one talking about justice … I want equal rights and justice!” – Peter Tosh For Black people of Africa, Latin America, North America, and the Caribbean, the issue of proper management of government...
Published:Wednesday | February 22, 2023 | 12:14 AM
Another CARICOM Heads of Government Conference has concluded and the communiqué has been published. As I indicated in my article of February 8 on the pending conference, the special guests did include the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau;...
Jamaica dodged a bullet two years ago. In February 2020, an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the modified Richter Scale occurred in the sea 125 kilometres, or approximately 78 miles, northeast of the coastal town of Lucea, Hanover. Shocks were felt in...
“He is a sperm donor.” “I don’t know him.” “I have never met him.” I don’t know where he is.” “He is dead to me.” I am tired of hearing these statements from women regarding their fathers. Being a gynaecologist with many years of experience in...
After 60 years we don’t understood what a written Constitution means. So we continue to submit to Backra Massa’s Judges and treat their pronouncements, including on Jamaica’s Constitution, as Gospel. Just as we did when working on Massa’s...
Zavia Mayne, the junior national security minister, has promised to consult with the residents of Hartlands, St Catherine, before a new prison is built in their community. “Consultations will be part of the process,” Mr Mayne told The Gleaner last...
When the alleged case of a 19-year-old, first-year female University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus student was made public, everyone was appalled. Allegations are that a 20-year-old male accused her of being unfaithful to him, locked her...
We can’t leave it like this. The prosecutor at the Integrity Commission is reported as confirming that there is evidence of wrongdoing in the granting of contracts several years ago by a minister of Government, but that given the elapse of time,...
The complaint of lawyers – some strident, others murmuring – is entirely meritorious should it be true that, in the recent Privy Council ruling concerning their obligation to report suspicious financial transactions, the issue of the inescapable...
CHAKA-CHAKA SPELLING Friday gone, Gleaner editor put out one column wid dis ya headline: “What the PM must do.” Dat did sound like seh di editor did a go talk plain an simple. Wen mi start read di first sentence, mi see seh a bait an switch: “...
