Despite the numerous positives that can and have been heaped on Jamaica and Jamaicans, particularly in recent years, we continue to struggle with a host of never-ending issues. Yes, Jamaica has been ranked as a premium tourist destination, and...
The only conclusion to be drawn about the council of the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) is that it was acquiescent and supine, which no amount of ex post facto show of heroic tale-telling can eradicate, and oughtn’t to evoke sympathy. This...
Did the Economic Growth Council (EGC) grow the economy? The answer is a resounding NO. We must commend the EGC for their appetence to serve their country. They deserve a lot of approbation. I was one of those who put them on a pedestal. Regardless...
The recent visit of United States (US) Secretary of State Michael Pompeo put the spotlight on US-CARICOM relations and CARICOM countries’ continuing foreign-policy dilemma of balancing their relationship with global and regional powers to gain...
As we embark on a new decade, we come knowing that education is the key to our success. We should all be encouraged by that consensus but deeply concerned that at this stage, we still have not got it right. Last Friday was recognised by countries...
The subject of libraries has been in the news recently. There is a feeling in some quarters that with the onset of social media and Wi-Fi, libraries have become obsolete and should be closed. Things become obsolete when they are no longer used or...
While no one, of whatever political persuasion, should find anything to celebrate in Jamaica’s slippage in Transparency International’s 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the Holness administration oughtn’t to be surprised at the decline. For...
Violence in Jamaica is a perennial problem. Our murder rate is consistently in the top 10 globally. During the first half of the first month of this year, about five times more people have been murdered in Jamaica than were killed in Singapore,...
The scandal and corruption having to do with the Ministry of Education and the Caribbean Maritime University are of even greater shame and long-term distress than that surrounding Manatt a decade ago. This is true, first because it is happening...
A couple weeks ago, the stalls owned and used by unapproved vendors in downtown Kingston were destroyed in a clean-up exercise by the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation. Images of the exercise were circulated on January 9 which,...
I still vividly recall those high school days, at St George’s College, when I walked to the heart of Parade in downtown Kingston to catch a ‘Jolly Joseph’ (Jamaica Omnibus Service) bus home. Sometimes I was lucky enough to see a number 1 bus parked...
We appreciate America’s policy, reiterated by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his visit to Jamaica last week, that it isn’t US policy to disclose why it revokes travel visas issued to individuals, as has happened to two senior Jamaican...
The University of the West Indies welcomes opportunities to participate in this meaningful discourse on higher education funding within the Caribbean context. It is arguably one of the main development challenges facing our regional community...
We are all emotional beings. The problem is that one half of the world’s population is consistently being told they are not emotional but rational. And this is the badge of honour they wear. When the going gets tough, they must muster up all the...
Two Fridays ago, Sir Roy Augier was awarded the highest honour that is conferred by The University of the West Indies: the Chancellor’s medal for distinguished service to the Caribbean region. Established in 1998 on the occasion of the 50th...
I make no bones about the lack of flesh on this measure called the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), but one purpose it serves is to tell us what the nation feels about the level of corruption in this country. As I’ve consistently indicated,...
Despite the impressive macroeconomic numbers which Jamaica has been enjoying since 2014, high and sustained economic growth still eludes the country, up to this point. The latest attempt to use moral suasion to increase consciousness around the...
Even with someone as objectionable as Donald Trump as America’s president, Jamaica can’t but maintain good relations with the United States, its close and powerful neighbour and major economic partner. The circumstance, though, demands from...
Recent happenings at two of the country’s tertiary institutions have demonstrated how things can fall apart when boards do not give reasonable attention to their legal and ethical responsibility to provide oversight of the institutions they are...
Years ago, I did a small study exploring the experiences of male victims of domestic abuse in Jamaica. As I recall, the literature had no explanations for female abusers not being able to control their emotions, or that it was their fathers’ fault...
It just happened in Jamaica, but with a vengeance and some missiles. According to The Gleaner (January 13, 2020), vector-control personnel carrying out fogging exercises are facing hostility from residents across Jamaica, with the latest reported...
Perchance no one in Jamaica has paid attention, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), concerns over political divisions notwithstanding, may be on the cusp of the long-elusive economic breakthrough. The issue is whether Jamaica is ready to grasp the...
We have heard the constant concerns from the masses on why are we pushing this ‘gay agenda’. And, as has been personally asked of me, why don’t you seek to go to a country that is more accepting and supportive of your ‘lifestyle’? Among other...
Jamaica has been involved in a long and arduous search to find an answer to the indiscipline and the violent crime said to be gang-related, now aggravated by crime against children and women with an alarming increase of spousal murder attributed to...
As someone who has studied both the natural and social sciences, I have been fascinated by the concept of entropy. Entropy is defined as “the degree of disorder” in a system, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the entropy of the...
