There is a clear need for the establishment of a clear definition of the duties of parliamentarians. We must go beyond generalities and platitudes such as exist in the Handbook for Parliamentarians of 2012 and the Green Paper of Job Description...
I appreciate Prime Minister Holness’ exhortation at the Wisynco function last week for the nation to craft a surge or productivity higher than the rate of inflation. For, if we don’t, the fate of the majority will be to tread water at best or, more...
An important development which escaped significant attention last week was the disclosure by Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon that the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NRRA) is now in operation and would soon begin...
Few phrases travel more easily through our society than “mind your own business”. It is offered as wisdom, as protection, and often as virtue. Closely tied to it are other familiar sayings: “keep out of people’s business” and the harsher, street-...
One of the stupidest expressions used regularly is “Life is not a bed of roses” When our relatives and friends migrate north, they often say it in reference to ‘Farrin’. Now, every Jamaican knows that whatever the country one emigrates to, only the...
A comforting story of multilateralism and liberal democracy that has guided Caribbean thinking for the last 70-80 years is fast disappearing. The region has to face a new era without an open world economy that is generally rules-based and broadly...
The recent exchange of harsh words and threats of violence between President Donald Trump and Iran government officials represents a mere smidgen of the hate that exists between the Trump administration and the Iran government. Netanyahu’s visit...
Recently, I saw a short documentary on the Sargassum seaweed ‘invasion’ of the Caribbean Sea. Then I recalled that my wife and several of her relatives encountered mounds of the seaweed on the beach and a very large quantity floating near the shore...
For generations, the Church has been one of Jamaica’s most trusted institutions. In communities where schools struggled, families fractured, and governments changed, the Church remained – steady, visible, and influential. Yet today, as Jamaica...
Especially after the ruin left by Hurricane Melissa last October, it is understandable that, in the context of disaster preparedness, the attention of most Jamaicans is on hurricanes. The authorities, however, can’t afford not to be as deeply...
My son, Zubin, came for Christmas but then took us to Barbados for nine days, including the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. He and his sister were born in Barbados and so are ‘Bajans’ and very proud of it. We were in the sea morning and...
When powerful states act, small states are tempted to personalise the action. When small states fragment, powerful states do not need to explain themselves. That is the lesson CARICOM should draw from the recent US decision to impose partial visa...
The average person checks their phone over 140 times a day, clocking an average of 4.5 hours of daily use, with 57 per cent of people admitting they're "addicted" to their phone. Tech companies, influencers and other content creators compete for...
Jamaica is likkle, but we are talwah. The saying reflects generations of endurance, rebuilding, and resilience. But toughness alone does not stop a hurricane. What reduces damage is preparation, sound judgment, and the careful use of limited...
How many Jamaicans still can’t wake up from the American dream they have been chasing? Despite every effort of the United States (US) government to make it clear that certain classes of immigrants are not particularly welcome, many Jamaicans...
In 1975 – more than 50 years ago – UWI political scientist Louis Lindsay published an article titled “The Myth of Independence: Middle Class Politics and Non-Mobilization in Jamaica”. It caused a stir! Jamaica had been politically independent...
Sadly, this newspaper can’t claim to be surprised by the auditor general’s findings of seeming flagrant disregard for the government’s procurement rules, and possible corruption, involving hundreds of millions of dollars, at The University Hospital...
In recent weeks, Jamaicans across the island have felt the unmistakable reminder that we live on restless ground. The tremors were brief, and in most cases harmless, but they were enough to send people rushing outdoors, scanning walls for cracks,...
The problem is never hard to find. It announces itself every morning. In the road that has been patched and repatched until it resembles an apology rather than a solution. In the office where nothing works unless someone knows someone. In the...
The Jamaica bobsled teams have been riding high on another wave of favourable publicity, thanks to the men’s gold-medal performances achieved in the North American Cup competitions in Canada and the US in November, and outstanding performances by...
One of the requirements for good democratic governance is an affordable healthcare system for the people. Has this been something that we have ever managed to achieve in our history? Many years ago, as a child, I remember it was not unusual for the...
The disclosure by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) that it has received the 1,000 body-worm cameras (BWCs) it had on order is a welcome development. But the police’s statement on the matter is in need of better particulars to give it the...
When Apple and Google move in the same direction, the technology world pays attention. When they quietly align on artificial intelligence, it signals something much bigger than a product update. Apple has confirmed a multi-year agreement to...
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is experiencing a difficult foreign policy-related moment, which variously impacts its 14 sovereign member states. America's use of military force in the Caribbean since September 2025 drew two disparate strands of...
Last week, the question was posed in this column: are countries in the Western Hemisphere to become more subjugated US satellites? Are all 34 countries to further cower in fear? Attention has turned in the Jamaican media to the actions of the US...
