In April 2021, a former senior manager of the National Commercial Bank pleaded guilty to defrauding $34 million. When originally confronted, she confessed to stealing the money and explained that she had misappropriated the funds to help one of...
If its aim was to calm investors’ anxieties over reported thefts from clients’ accounts at Stocks and Securities Ltd (SSL), and patch up its reputation as a worthy guardian of the securities sector, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), at its...
Data shows that youth, especially males between the ages of 16 and 24, are disproportionately impacted by violent crimes, while women and girls are the main victims of sexual violence. There are a plethora of interconnected determinants of crime...
It has been eight months since I wrote about my experiences in the local hospitality industry. I did get away over Christmas and what transpired is worth relating through this medium. We stayed at one of the older properties. First, let me say that...
Prime Minister Andrew Holness should publicly explain the difficulties that prevent the Integrity Commission (IC) from certifying his assets declaration for 2021, as well as use the situation as an opportunity to assert his personal leadership...
The marginally employed, virtually enslaved majority of the labour force of Jamaica takes insult for injury from local banks better than from their lovers. The love of money is the main root of the evil in both instances and cheating is also how it...
This is a follow-up to my article of January 4, on the 2023 foreign trade outlook and agenda. Although there has been talk and action aimed at promoting trade with Africa and questions about improving trade with countries in Latin America and the...
Prime Minister Andrew Holness stands on firm ground in his wish to expand, and make compulsory, participation in the Jamaica National Service Corps. He says, however, his goal is not affordable at this time. Mr Holness may be right about the...
The Old Ball and Chain insists I follow her house rules. This came to mind when, on one of my infrequent outings (last Thursday), a reader reminded me I’ve been “leaving her alone” recently. I took this as a request for more of her and less of me....
Mark 9:42, NIV: “If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.” To say that Carl Robanske’s...
Samuel McCook, its chair, and the other organisers of the National Leadership Prayer Breakfast are fully aware of what this newspaper reminded them of last week: the deep cynicism many people have of the annual event, at which the great and the...
Throughout the Bible, there is constant reference to a struggle between the worship of the true God and the worship of false gods. The worshippers of the true God have always been snared by a pull toward the worship of false gods. Yet in modern...
Her family had broken up when she was just a few years old. The babyfather went his way, leaving her mother with a little washing job and five young mouths to feed. Two were sent to the country to an old aunt, the preteen boy took to the streets,...
Many years ago, my wife and I used to spend occasional weekends at various local hotels. Sometimes we were treated like freeloading mendicants. Once, our booked Montego Bay room was given away to American kids on spring break (despite timely and...
There was another round of handwringing last week over the shortage of jurors to hear cases, which Paula Llewellyn, the director of public prosecutions (DPP), said was the worse the problem has been in a decade. One of her main solutions is to...
The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, climate change, and the general economic slowdown have brought the fight against food insecurity to the forefront of global public debate. Latin America and the Caribbean is not on...
The floods in Pakistan last year caused devastation and carnage, leaving enduring impacts on the lives of millions. Thousands of lives, tens of thousands of homes, and hundreds of thousands of livelihoods have been consumed by water on an...
In a development foreshadowed for many months, the Biden administration finally threw Juan Guaidó under the bus. For Mr Guaidó’s removal as Venezuela’s so-called interim president, as well as dismantling of the opposition’s shadow government,...
In December, I went to the Mona Ageing and Wellness Centre to get my second booster vaccine. I took quite seriously the warning of Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacquiline Bisasor McKenzie that the increase of visitors to Jamaica over the holiday...
Ninety-three pages of detailed commentary from the investigation by the Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) and a page of recommendations after three pages of findings. My suggestion is that we all read the report put together by an excellent...
The trigger for this column is the scandal at the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA). However, we are not going to delve too much into the sordid details of that affair. Instead, I wish to explore the underlying issues why those...
With Jamaica set to host a Global Tourism Resilience Conference next month, all eyes are trained on the industry which is driving the recovery of the Jamaican economy, post COVID-19. Figures released by the Planning Institute of Jamaica confirmed...
It has been interesting to read the responses in editorials and opinions in some regional media concerning the decision by the two main political parties in Antigua and Barbuda to abolish work permits for nationals of Caribbean Community (CARICOM)...
If anyone asks me about the difference between the United States (US) and Trinidad and Tobago (T and T), while I can talk about US dollars being worth less than seven T and T in the bank, but much more on the black market, or that while Trump is no...
“There can be no Mother India for those whose ancestors came from India … There can be no Mother Africa for those of African origin, and Trinidad and Tobago society is living a lie and heading for trouble if it seeks to create the impression or to...
