Some people might say, “For almost all my many years of living, I’ve danced with the sun, twirling in its golden embrace.” Not me. I take things as they come or, as one of my female friends looking directly at me pointed out, “Even if they don’t...
In international diplomatic circles, Haiti is on everyone’s lips, but not in actions that could urgently remedy the suffering of the Haitian people. Similarly, within Haiti and its diaspora, Haiti’s tragic situation is constantly discussed, but no...
I promised to share my analysis of the published results of last week’s local government election. Today I compare them to the last local government election (2016) to identify winners and losers. First, let me state my dissatisfaction with the...
The crassness and general impropriety that takes place within political spaces is partly our fault. We, the citizens, give our political leaders free rein to behave in the reprehensible manner they often do, by hardly ever truly holding them...
We hope that it is accepted in the spirit in which it is offered, including our wish that the public’s admiration for its ability to avoid being dragged into the partisan fray isn’t blemished. So, our advice to the Electoral Commission of...
The Jamaican Government owes its citizens and the international community a clear explanation of the basis on which it plans to expel 37 would-be Haitian refugees, ostensibly because they did not satisfy the criteria for being granted asylum. At...
OVER THE last few election cycles there has been a lot of debate and grave concern even, over the supposedly low voter turnout in national elections in Jamaica. “A plague on both your houses,” “Our democracy is in trouble,” are phrases that have...
LET ME be clear. My obsession the past few weeks on the matter of Jamaica’s average birth rate and the implications for the country’s socio-economic development is not driven by any hidden or less-than-subtle agenda for us to start having more of...
It seems that the Police Service Commission (PSC) is about to begin interviewing candidates for the police chief’s job without the public knowing the criteria for the post. This lack of transparency is unfortunate, carrying the risk of the...
The regional commitment to fight hunger and malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean has made significant progress, thanks to the update of the Food Security, Nutrition and Hunger Eradication Plan of the Community of Latin American and...
Last week, as I wrote in my two previous articles, three important regional/international conferences were held – the 46th CARICOM Heads of Government Conference in Guyana; the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in the United Arab Emirates; and the...
Its implementation deficit apart, a major drawback of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is that its most critical constituencies, the ordinary citizens of the region, know too little of what is supposedly being done on their behalf. It is not...
It’s time to take another vacation in Apocrypha, our favourite Fantasyland beyond the clouds. This time we find both political leaders squirming on the horns of a dilemma. Results of recent elections for Apocrypha’s Local Government Authorities...
Observing the lead-up to the local government election, I realised this one would be different. There was vibrant campaigning as the bases of both major political parties got fired up, and based on their utterances, it was apparent that some...
The change of status for the people from Africa in Jamaica was spectacular compared to what it was when they first arrived in captivity under colonial rule. By 1962 they were the overwhelming majority of the people continuously living on the island...
The longest voting line I observed last Monday was in front of the United States Embassy on Old Hope Road. Most of those people appeared to be well-educated and in the 18-35 age demographic most conspicuously absent in all Jamaican local...
Clive Lloyd’s elevation to membership of the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC) is an obviously right decision by the region’s leaders. Lloyd was not only a talented and successful cricketer, but an outstanding captain of the West Indies...
My immediate reaction after watching Bob Marley: One Love was, “I need to see this again.” Like a great novel that can be read over and over, inspiring new insights, the Marley biopic is destined to become a classic. Though it focuses on only a...
Although I am on the current voters’ list, have a recent Electoral Registration Identification Card, and confirmed that my name was registered at a nearby polling station, I was not able to vote. My problem had nothing to do with the Electoral...
Mark Golding’s ejection of Dennis Meadows as a candidate, and his pledge to hold all others of his party to “higher standards of accountability”, is welcomed. It is sad, nonetheless, that this action by the president of the People’s National Party...
The long-awaited local government elections (LGE) are over and the jury is still out. Both parties are claiming victory. Have we ever seen this in any election before? I can’t recall. No LGE in my memory has generated so much national interest,...
No spin doctors needed! There is an orange tide; not a tsunami. Reality ‘cheque’; before you start spending. Remember, the popular vote went to the 71 per cent of Jamaicans who kept the index finger dry, and stuck the middle finger in the direction...
A timely reminder of how Jamaica ought to be using renewable energy to promote a more sustainable future comes from an unlikely place – the island’s monopoly power distributor, the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS). Our attention was drawn to a...
In 2024, a series of general elections in Latin American countries, including the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela, are pivotal events that will shape the internal dynamics of these countries. Because these elections will determine...
Even though I no longer go to the horse races, some people still call me a “bookie”. Others call me a “book worm”. They’re so completely off the track that I rail at them. What I am is a book dragon, and not just an ordinary one like the Komodo,...
