Dear Editor,

Prime Minister Andrew Holness was recently heard closing one of his many COVID-19 news briefings with the remark, “To God be the glory.” However, like many of his other chess moves, this was uttered outside of divine counsel, and any action taken, word spoken, or thought generated, if not inspired by divine counsel is inherently faulty and disaster-bound.

This criticism of the prime minister and his Administration might come across as ungrateful, but those who have repeatedly played chess against a computer program can often sense that lack of genuineness about the “other player”.

Take, for example, three recent occurrences that the prime minister had a hand in — in contriving. The first was his suggestion that, “We have to learn to live with COVID-19.” Although it is too much of a generic suggestion and context for it to be referred to as plagiarism, the prime minister could have given some credit to the World Health Organization (WHO) which first declared it, and who had the authority to do so.

Secondly, the Opposition, the People’s National Party, who are as much the representatives of the people of Jamaica as the ruling party, has been sidelined in critical deliberations and happenings, which manifested itself in that heated vocal confrontation between Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke and Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillip at the last sitting of Parliament for the month of May 2020. After all, if our Cabinet and state ministers err in their decision-making at this crucial juncture, multiple generations of their successors, and of our people, shall pay dearly, regardless of their political affiliation, preference, or indifference.

Lastly, glory is the Lord’s and His kingdom’s; it has always been, it still is, and it forever shall be. One must never use any tweaking of this as one’s strategy for achieving any goal conceived by man. In the full context of things, the prime minister was giving something to God, which was already God’s, as if by his efforts, he had made that glory worthy of the Lord. The prime minister, months before COVID-19, prophetically called it playing chess, but this COVID-19 ride with him has been Anancyism, at best, and wickedly opportunistic and Donald Trump-like, at worst.

Andre O Sheppy

Norwood, St James

astrangely@outlook.com