Commentary

From left: Pembroke Hall High School Principal Reverend Claude Ellis; Vice-Principal of Human Resources and Operation Yvette Shields-Green and Stacy-Ann McIntosh-Richard engage in a conversation.
Published 14 minutes ago

Editorial | Celebrating small victories

Nine months ago, Pembroke Hall High School in St Andrew was in the spotlight for a crisis that affects too many of Jamaica’s secondary schools. More than seven in 10 of its grade-seven intake either couldn’t read, or did so by as many as four levels below their current age and grades. The reading problem persisted during the students’ high school careers.

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Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.
Published 14 minutes ago

Tony Deyal | The Barbados fire horse

The Lunar New Year galloped in last Tuesday. This Year of the Fire Horse, according to Chinese beliefs, symbolises energy, independence, endurance, and loyalty, reflecting the qualities of the noble…
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Published 14 minutes ago

Ronald Sanders | If Marco Rubio attends CARICOM summit, let it be a reset not a reckoning

If US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accepts the invitation to attend the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in St Kitts and Nevis, his presence should be treated as being consequential. It would…
Jamaica Labour Party Member of Parliament Everald Warmington (left), receives his instrument of appointment from Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), Earl Jarrett.
February 20, 2026

Editorial | Warmington on the ECJ

Not surprisingly, Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ recent appointment of Everald Warmington as one of the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) two members of the Electoral Commission of the Jamaica (ECJ) has…
A lay minister places ash on the forehead of a devotee during Ash Wednesday outside a church in downtown Manila, Philippines.
February 20, 2026

Peter Espeut | From holy days to holidays

Wednesday, February 18 – Ash Wednesday – was a public holiday in Protestant Jamaica, but not in Catholic Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). Ash Wednesday is the opening act in the penitential season of…
From left: Trudyann Bell Williams, niece; Carol Johnson’s twin sister; Yasheima Bell, niece and Toni-Ann Johnson, niece wait as police conduct investigations at Marlin Way, Braeton, Portmore where their relatives were attacked by a man believed to be of
February 20, 2026

Kristen Gyles | Unsound minds cannot be left to roam the streets

Jamaica is experiencing far too many fatal incidents involving persons of unsound mind. Even one case would be too many, but it is alarming how often lives are lost due to the actions of unsupervised…
Finance Minister Fayval Williams.
February 19, 2026

Editorial | Get CARICOM in on digital GCT

While Jamaica has unimpeachable economic and moral logic for applying its general consumption tax (GCT) to digital services provided by firms that have no presence in the island, the island’s…
How do we protect workers whose jobs will be quietly automated without any retraining plan?
February 19, 2026

Basil Jarrett | Pandora, AI and Jamaica’s wake-up call

I’ve always loved Greek and Roman drama. From binge-watching Clash of the Titans on JBC every Easter as a child, to Gladiator, 300 and Troy, Hollywood has never struggled to separate me from my money…
February 19, 2026

Suzanne Soares-Wynter | Sweetened drinks tax: big gains and smaller sips

The recent decision of a Special Consumption Tax (SCT) on non-alcoholic sweetened beverages (SSBs) is a pivotal moment in Jamaica’s public health history. SSB consumption is an established risk factor…
February 19, 2026

Fake IDs, stolen titles and the case for a digital reset of Jamaica’s property system

The recent reporting on an alleged property-fraud scheme involving fake identification and stolen land titles has unsettled property owners across Jamaica – and rightly so. While investigations remain…