In Focus
Driving into West Green, Montego Bay, the damage from Hurricane Melissa even a month later was still unmistakable. Dried mud crusted the roadway and, in front of almost every house were piles of damaged furniture, appliances, and mattresses -...
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So, last week ( A very Private Public Service) I complained about the reaction to my critique of the JPS “loan”. I wrote: “….I’m told to shut up because I’m safe in Kingston and don’t feel what western-based Jamaicans feel.... Based on this puerile...
Jamaica’s public procurement system was built to protect taxpayers and ensure value for money. But, alongside these strengths sits a stubborn problem: delay. Too often, our own rules slow us down, dulling the impact of the very projects designed to...
In recent times, I have had conversations with persons with disabilities and others within the society about the Disabilities Act that has been enacted in Jamaica. Some of these individuals have concluded that the legislation is not impactful on...
In 2019, as Hurricane Dorian literally sat on Abaco in The Bahamas (between 27 and 36 hours) and achieved a consistent 185mph, none could know that it was sending a message to Jamaica about the monster to come: Melissa in 2025. Old-time Jamaicans...
If you travel far enough into St Catherine, past the bustle and the quick talk of the capital, you’ll find Wood Hall. It’s a quiet place, the kind of community where yards feel like open hands and children learn early that neighbours are family....
With winds stronger than those required for Category 5 designation, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in New Hope, Westmoreland, on October 28. Forecasts pointed to eastern Westmoreland and western St Elizabeth, but the storm shifted at the last...
The quote by John Muir ‘When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.’ or by Chief Seattle, that “All things are bound together. All things connect”, is in every way the reality of the environment....
So, after the fact, Jamaica learned that Government decided to take US$150 MILLION of our money out of the Consolidated Fund to “lend” to JPS. Let’s try to contextualize. First and foremost this “loan” sum represents about 0.8% of Jamaica’s GDP. So...
Climate change is a pressing global issue, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Jamaica are among the most vulnerable to its devastating impacts. At the start of the 19th century, the human population exceeded one billion for the first...
Neither Government nor private developers should continue taking over Jamaica’s good farmlands with either simple or sophisticated housing schemes. The use of highly productive agricultural lands for housing should be severely restricted and...
When the president of the United States (US) announced that he was closing the airspace of Venezuela, I got the proverbial whiplash. With intense war threats a daily occurrence, this kind of escalation was expected. However, the bold declaration...
I have never been to a psychiatrist in my life but, once, way back when my wife ditched me, I wanted to head east, knock on that big gate, and volunteer my mental insides to the skilled professionals occupying the premises. The thing which did it...
Hurricane Melissa, a Category Five storm, made landfall at New Hope in Westmoreland, cut across the southwestern parishes, and exited Jamaica via St Ann. At least one-third of the island has been devastated, with the poorest hit the hardest. The...
On Monday, the world lost another musical legend as Jimmy Cliff passed away at the age of 81. Although, as James Chambers, he was born in Adelphi, a hillside community in Somerton, near Montego Bay, by the time he died Jimmy Cliff belonged to the...
Hurricane Melissa ravaged the birthplace of so many of us, and, in the aftermath, a harder question has emerged: do we simply protect what remains of Black River, or commit to transforming it into something very different? It is not an easy choice...
