Commentary
Jamaica in the midst of a month-long celebration of reggae, a music developed in the island, which has become, as Olivia Grange, the entertainment and culture minister, put it, “an important force in global culture”. This year’s celebration, Ms...
Comments
The public’s appetite for reliable information is often not satisfied through traditional media. If all a newspaper or radio/TV station does is carry press releases, then they become the mouthpieces of public relations (PR) agencies paid to...
The auditor general (AG) released a report on its real-time audit of the Hurricane Melissa Relief Initiative, specifically in relation to governance, procurement, and the receipt and distribution of Starlink devices. The report outlines several...
Seven years ago, in November 2018, this newspaper recommended to the Government the value of leading by example. It had to do with a full rollout in the public sector of flexible work arrangements. We are happy that the administration has finally...
Two years ago, I wrote two columns pleading for us to stop treating the 9-5 workday like one of the Ten Commandments. I argued for work-from-home, four-day work weeks, and staggered hours, recognising that what really matters is output, not how...
Sitting on the proverbial fence, trying to ride out the ‘storms’ of the region cannot be an acceptable option for any democratic country. The recent unilateral actions taken by the current US administration in Venezuela are, in my opinion,...
With Mark Carney keen to expand Canada’s global economic relationships to lessen its reliance on the United States, the time may be propitious for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to seek to rekindle negotiations with Ottawa on a free trade...
This week, there are several issues which could be substantially addressed in this column relating to national, regional and international trade relations. A curious one is an article in The Sunday Gleaner, February 1, titled “Trade must be the...
There are few tragedies more enduring than an education system that systematically undermines the very people it claims to uplift. In Jamaica, where more than 11 per cent of the adult population remains functionally illiterate, the consequence is...
Cancer does not only affect the body. It turns lives upside down. On this World Cancer Day, before we speak of systems, strategies, or statistics, we should first recognise the people who step forward when life is disrupted – quietly, persistently...
In Panama last week, Kamina Johnson Smith, the foreign affairs and foreign trade minister, told international investors that the island’s post-hurricane reconstruction made Jamaica the right place for them at this time. “We have massive...
People in Jamaica are facing several concurrent challenges, including: a high cost of living, a pending global recession, rising tensions within our region, crime and violence, as well as successive devastating natural disasters. This context...
Artificial intelligence tools are becoming increasingly common in real estate offices worldwide, and Jamaica is no exception. From drafting property descriptions to enhancing images and managing client communication, AI is now being used by some...
Current activities by USA Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) are raising hackles everywhere. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, killings of American citizens Renee Good, just after she dropped her 6-years-old son at school, and ICU Nurse,...
Last week’s call by Prime Minister Andrew Holness for policy coherence and partnerships between the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, in the face of an increasingly discordant and uncertain global environment, is a welcome, and...
Leroy, a 14-year-old yout’ from the hills of Westmoreland was talked about in Parliament last week. He has been getting $2,000 a week during term time from the church his mother attends to help with transport and lunch money. He is/was in Grade...
