The high-powered managing director of the world's most influential multilateral institution, Christine Lagarde, has visited Jamaica amid a swirling controversy over its exchange rate and fresh concerns over Jamaica's growth prospects.
In every country, you find one topic that inevitably crops up in conversation. In Britain, it is the weather, as it is so changeable and seldom conforms with the daily meteorological predictions. In fact, foreigners get tired of hearing about the British weather.
There is growing concern about the movement of the Jamaican dollar. It has moved from J$99.33 to US$1 at the start of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement in May of last year to J$112.14 at the end of trading Friday, June 27. Audley Shaw, opposition spokesman on finance, says the IMF wants it to go to J$120:US$1.
Let's start at the beginning and not the end. The recent discovery of the unauthorised controversial insertion of sex education into the curriculum of six privately run child-care institutions is about the welfare of children and not the axis of a war on 'buggs'.
When Richard Byles told journalists at a press conference that the seven-year failure to get the fuel diversification and price-reduction energy project going was "like we are obeahed", the room was tickled into giggles.
Looking at facts can help dispel myths that hold back a nation. Evidence-based conversations and analyses lead to more accurate decision-making - whether in our homes, schools, government, businesses, churches. This final article looks at one myth - the marginalisation of men - and the reality as evidenced by data.
In recent times, members of the gay community have been showing increasing hostility and aggression towards the rest of us who carry on a normal, traditional sex life. They are now receiving support from so-called human-rights advocates who have failed to disclose that they are actually receiving financial and other support from the gay community...
Senator Imani Duncan-Price recently argued in Jamaica's Parliament for a more equal gender mix in representational politics. She felt that this could be achieved with the introduction of a quota-based system to ensure that not more than 60 per cent nor less than 40 per cent of any one gender is allowed to sit in Gordon House at any given time.
Irony had a good month in June with the forced firing and rehiring of Brendan Bain followed by the mental picture of Carolyn Gomes, hoisted on her own petard, flouncing out of a Jamaicans for Justice for Some (JFJFS) boardroom having not got her own way for the first time at last.
It's the story of the week. The Gleaner exposed what looks like a sinister educational campaign that appears to be sliding in a gay 'agender' through the back door.
Once again, price movements are disrupting the country. Jamaicans have come to recognise that whenever the exchange rate is 'devalued'/depreciated, they can look out for price increases and howls of protest, particularly about the most essential items, food and drink.
Carolyn Gomes was once the most feared and formidable social activist in Jamaica, with her Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) lobby sending chills up the spine of many a politician and public official.
Jamaica needs to redefine the limiting roles, responsibilities and expectations of women and men in relation to each other. As we concentrate on fathers today, redefining these roles can free up men to be nurturing active dads involved in everyday parenting - everyone can hug, everyone can change a diaper, everyone can reason with their child and really listen to them. Let us redefine these roles for Jamaica's collective benefit.
Tourism is one of the largest industries in Jamaica. It gives people from all corners of the earth the opportunity to experience our vibrant culture and this beautiful country called Jamaica.
As I walked along the hallway at the University of Technology behind a bobbin backpack on a young man striding forward into destiny, we encountered a man standing with shoulders drooped and head bowed perusing a pile of papers. It was during the week of final grading in preparation for their validation.
Jamaica needs to end its economic travails and boost growth. Let’s admit it: Jamaica does not have a debt problem but a growth problem. If only Jamaica had been growing at its true potential of 5% per annum, debt would not be a major issue.
We are in the month of June - a month known for wedding bliss, blushing brides and gallant grooms. It is a month known for backyard barbecues, family fiestas, and exhilarating escapades. But, this June of 2014 is not the ordinary June, and I'm afraid I must inform/remind you otherwise.
We dream big. We talk a lot. And we follow through poorly. The big buzz in higher education in Jamaica now is for the University of Technology (UTech) to become the MIT of Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Jamaica needs to redefine the limiting roles, responsibilities and expectations of women and men in relation to each other. As we concentrate on fathers today, redefining these roles can free up men to be nurturing active dads involved in everyday parenting - everyone can hug, everyone can change a diaper, everyone can reason with their child and really listen to them.
