In my old age I have taken an interest in history. I studied West Indian history in high school, and at UWI we Natural Science students were required to do a “survey course” (today it would be called a ‘foundation course’) in the History of the...
Recently, I came across an interesting post on social media by an old acquaintance. He emigrated to Canada eight years ago, after completing his tertiary studies. He said he left Jamaica with only $50, his suitcase, a work permit and a dream. At...
For many people, it was likely to have been an embarrassing feature of this week’s Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit in Montego Bay that Winston Anderson, a Jamaican, was administered his oath of office as president of the Caribbean Court of...
THE INK had barely dried on last week’s column when more news of tragedy, erupting from the shooting death of 21-year-old school teacher, D’Johnnay Graham, came crashing into the headlines, confirming once again, that it is our love affair with...
DEMOCRACY HAS, in my mind, been a very fragile and loose concept, practised by governments over the years. It has been cut, carved and massaged to suit sets of circumstances, to the extent that in some countries its use has become extremely foggy,...
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) has become more aggressive, or at least specific, in its timetable for completing the long-delayed national census. According to the government’s Jamaica Information Service (JIS), the data on the...
WELL, US unilateral Trump tariffs continued to be in the news as the CARICOM Heads of Government Conference was in progress in Montego Bay, as well as the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, July 6-8. The 90-day suspension for implementation of his...
“I see the mark of the beast on their ugly faces I see them congregating in evil places I said mi know them a wicked...” —Peter Tosh, Mark of the Beast AS THE Jamaican diaspora faces rising financial scrutiny, proposed remittance taxes,...
Fate could hardly have chosen a more symbolic moment with respect to the passing of the journalist Rickey Singh. It happened as Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders began to gather in Montego Bay for the 49th summit. Apart from his legendary...
It’s time for another visit to favourite Fantasyland, Apocrypha, where all politicians are friends and Oma D’unn solves political problems by parable. His latest customer was Energy Minister Darelaw Vase. After retirement from politics, Oma who,...
Recently, I came across a viral video of People’s National Party (PNP) supporters participating in a demonstration. The protest concerned the appointment of an accountant, Dennis Chung, to head the Financial Investigations Division (FID). The bone...
The Government’s timing, and public posture, in announcing that it won’t continue Jamaica Public Service’s (JPS) existing electricity generating and distribution licence when it expires in two years poses significant questions not only about the...
A pristine green lawn might look neat, but beneath its green façade lies an ecological void. But lawns consume vast amounts of water, demand regular mowing, are often maintained with pesticides and a range of other chemicals and offer almost...
The 1990s delivered unmatched housing production of 48,250 units, up from 32,000 in the 1980s, driven by low-income housing. IMF’s Structural Adjustment Programme ushered in trade and exchange rate liberalisation. Jamaica aligned with early-decade...
Is the one per cent tax on remittances from the US an act of friendship or hostility? When your ‘best friend’ does this to you, what does it say about the texture of the relationship – especially when our people contribute so much to their economy...
The 49th conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM is taking place in Montego Bay between July 6 to 9. The conference comes at a time, when Jamaica’s Prime Minister, incidentally, one of my former students, Dr Andrew Holness, assumes the six-...
Not unexpectedly, the announcement by Daryl Vaz, that the Government won’t renew the Jamaica Public Service’s (JPS) existing electricity generating and distribution licence when it expires in two years has been broadly popular. Jamaicans believe...
The 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government begins today, July 6. When I first heard those dates, I called Dr Carla Barnett, the secretary general of CARICOM, to inquire whether that information was...
We called him ‘Ridiff’. To this day, his name is unknown. Maybe he never told us. Sitting on the veranda that was as small as a hypocrite’s mind, I would watch as he rode into the yard, at month end, skilfully navigating the standpipe, the sole...
The results for the PEP (Primary Exit Profile) came out recently. It replaced the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) several years ago. It is supposed to evaluate a student’s readiness for high school (secondary education) by using a series of...
The government has made a right mess of its attempts to explain the process by which Dennis Chung was chosen to be chief technical director of the Financial Investigation Division (FID), its head. Its most recent effort at explaining, a statement...
Haiti continues to wallow in deep crisis as criminal gangs entrench their violent control over nearly 90 per cent of Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country. These armed groups have become a de facto regime of terror. Especially chilling is...
“I don’t need you to remind me of my age. I have a bladder to do that for me.” This was by Sir Stephen John Fry, an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer who is 67 years old. Me, as I head into 80 on August 10, this...
As a researcher myself I am a keen poll-watcher, particularly political polls. Most people focus on poll questions that try to measure party standings, and those are interesting; but survey research is also useful in helping parties and candidates...
Isn’t it interesting? One can be a diehard member of one political party today, and by tomorrow can be a sworn member of the other. Yet somehow, adherents to either party are always adamant that their party is not only more effective than the other...
