In the recently concluded general election, the People's National Party (PNP), with its 'People Power' campaign, won by a landslide with 42 out of 63 seats declared in their favour.
A number of recent articles - in both the international and the Jamaican press - illustrate how the ongoing revolution in science and technology is restructuring entire industries and, in the process, bringing about a geographical reconfiguration of the world's productive forces.
There's been lots of clueless claptrap bruited about regarding former Prime Minister Andrew Holness' decision to alter the terms of his predecessor's approval of the Digicel-Claro merger.
The CARICOM Single Market Economy (CSME), established by virtue of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), is designed to represent a single economic space where people, goods, services and capital can move freely..
I was the one child who used to peek out of one eye to make certain that my siblings didn't steal my food at mealtime or that my fellow pupils in school didn't place chewing gum on my bench.
The writing was on the wall for the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) loss in the recent general election from the very first utterance of then newly appointed prime minister, Andrew Holness, and in my article of December 4, 2011 titled 'Downtown Kingston again', I alluded to his ill-advised first address to the Jamaican people.
If I were prime minister, I would have a Cabinet of 21, which is one minister to every seat I have in the house. So the Jamaica Labour Party’s Cabinet of the Bruce Golding and Andrew Holness governments should have been 16, to reflect this formula.
Investing in human resources is pivotal to national development. Not only does it provide that quintessential gateway to social, political, cultural and economic advancement, it goes a far way in unlocking human potential – potential that would have otherwise gone untapped.
Once again, tax reform is front and centre on the national agenda. With a new Government in place, there’s the faint hope that a new look will be taken at this most crucial foundation of economic progress and the overly technical Green Paper No 1-2011 will be revisited. Hopefully, this time, a strong dose of reality will be applied.
In an article titled ‘The 2011 People’s Revolt’, columnist Daniel Thwaites commented on the expensive G2K ad campaign against Portia Simpson Miller as she sought to give leadership to Jamaica in the recent general election. Thwaites pointed out that this ad campaign was contemptuous and scornful of a woman whom the majority of ordinary and not-so-ordinary found as a role model for their children and grandchildren.
Let me first congratulate Portia Simpson Miller on her election victory and wish her well as she leads the Government in serving the people of Jamaica. It is now quite clear that the People’s National Party (PNP) was superior to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in formulating and executing its strategic plan for victory at the polls.
In her shining second inaugural address, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, among several other commitments given to us, said, “On my watch, I pledge that the rule of law will be paramount.” What does that mean? The prime minister did not elaborate. And most people think the rule of law just means law enforcement and fighting crime.
The end user who consumes government services but who does not have to interact directly with the day-to-day operations of the government in order to access these services will not immediately appreciate the importance of the efforts by the International Finance Corporation, an arm of the World Bank Group, to measure the ease of doing business in countries.
The weeks since the election have seen a variety of theories hurriedly thrown together in an attempt to explain what for many was an unexpected outcome. Many of these are interesting, and provide partial insights as to why the People’s National Party (PNP) might have tipped the balance, but fallen short of explaining why a two-to-one landslide came out of nowhere to the bafflement of pollsters, parties, the media and everyone else.
The reason why the 20-member Cabinet is such a bad decision and the worst way for Portia Simpson Miller to start her second tenure is not just that it will cost taxpayers money we desperately need to save. And it’s not just an awful decision because it robs the Government of the opportunity to lead by example in these times of austerity and belt-tightening for the masses.
Within the borders of each state, the power of government is awesome. In recent times, however, the people have demonstrated, as in the Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and North Africa, that it is possible to overthrow the state successfully with or without military support. In such cases, the power of the people proves to be even more awesome.
The following commentary is prompted by my own experiences in the public sector through boards and various projects/committees, and underpinned by my private-sector background of some 25 years.
The dust is yet to settle after the bruising defeat of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) on December 29, 2011. That date will be long remembered as a date when a lot changed in Jamaica.
"It is shining time again," Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller announced at her inauguration last Thursday, and she certainly shone in that well-constructed, highly strategic, conciliatory and inclusive inaugural address.
Can Portia be Jamaica's Lula?FileJamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller with Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after the opening ceremony of the second conference of African intellectuals and the diaspora in Brazil in July...
