We appreciate the call for unity made by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness at last Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony, marking his third term as prime minister of Jamaica. Acknowledging the presence of Opposition Leader Mark Golding he declared, “I extend my hand to the Opposition to create a space for the national interest; let us partner together to complete the work we started on making Jamaica a republic. I look forward to continuing the work with all stakeholders, the National Partnership Council, the church, unions, youth, the business community, and civil society generally.”

We congratulate the recently appointed members of Jamaica’s new Cabinet and members of the Senate representing the Government and Opposition. Beyond the fashionable arrivals at Gordon House last Thursday, there are the urgent calls for poverty alleviation, productivity, sound infrastructure, and attention to the needs of people with disabilities and the elderly. We call on the conscience of these chosen ones to live up to their campaign promises and engage productively for noteworthy results that will bring relief to the destitute among us.

We must make special mention of business leader and philanthropist Keith Duncan who was appointed as a Government senator. We reject the negative comments regarding his family’s history with the People’s National Party, as Duncan’s nationalist projects have risen above party politics.

Duncan co-chaired and from 2019 was sole chairman of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC). He also hosted quarterly press briefings to share details of Jamaica’s performance in the various sectors of the economy. EPOC was made up of government, private sector, trade union, and civil society representatives. Under the leadership of their chairman they ensured that their findings were data-driven and free from any political colour.

We were inspired by Duncan’s enthusiastic resolve to inform and educate Jamaicans on our economy. He used every mode of communication. His team, led by Althea Walters, pulled on the skills of our agency, PROComm, and Adtelligent. The media responded positively to his frank, down-to-earth updates. Duncan went ‘Pon di Corner’ to engage ordinary Jamaicans and help them understand our economic progress. While having refreshments, citizens of our inner-city communities listened, asked questions, and received simply worded flyers.

At the winding up of EPOC last December, the formation of an independent Fiscal Commission was announced as well as the Fiscal Advisory Committee. Chaired by Duncan, the committee comprised members from a wide cross section of the society. Clearly, it is in Jamaica’s interest that Duncan now has a place in Jamaica’s Upper House.

Glorious Tokyo Champs

We must applaud the 31 athletes who qualified for finals in both track and field at the World Athletics Championships. At the time of writing we are holding our breaths for the Women’s 4×100 and 4×400 and the Men’s 4×400 Relays which are the finale events for these exciting championships.

The moments that will stay with us are our track legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s qualifications for the 100m final at the age of 37, giving her the ‘winningest’ presence on the women’s sprint stage; Tina Clayton’s silver medal in the 100m and that tight hug with her mother after her the event; the rapturous gold and silver from Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson in the 100m event; and the silver and bronze for the Men’s 110m hurdles by Orlando Bennett and Tyler Mason. We must also applaud Shericka Jackson and Bryan Levell for their bronze medals.

Congratulations to our fine athletes and coaches, families, Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), reporters, commentators, and other supporters who delivered a glorious championship for Jamaica.

CCRP AGM – Advocacy wins

We had a full house at our 2024 CCRP Annual General Meeting last Thursday as well as a strong presence online. Governance in our watchword, delivering timely audited results as noted by our Finance Committee Chairman Warren McDonald.

We remarked on our seven-year push for legislation to protect Jamaica’s seniors and there was applause for Senator Floyd Morris who moved the motion last October and Senator Sherene Golding Campbell who not only seconded the motion but also offered to chair the committee. She accomplished her goal of an instructive foundation for the legislation earlier this year. We believe this is a record-setting pace, which we hope will be maintained by the relevant ministries to make this legislation a reality.

We also reflected on our resolution for the reopening of the Rockfort Mineral Bath, signed by over 2,500 members, the result of which came to fruition in August when Jamaica Cement Company/Cemex completed the first phase of the renovation, a most generous gesture.

We also noted the positive response of the compassionate National Health Fund CEO Everton Anderson to our request for coverage of five new conditions.

As chair, I salute the wise guidance of our board directors Vilma McDonald, Patricia Reid-Waugh, Ambassador Aloun Assamba, Marlene Street Forrest, Dr Owen James, Dennis Jones, Sethuraman Kumaraswamy, Peter Mais, Warren McDonald, and Donovan Wignal. We are grateful for the support of our over 12,000 CCRP members, chapter convenors and caring committee members.

Battle of Britain Commemoration

Several events were organised recently to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, ending with a wreath-laying ceremony at the cenotaph at National Heroes’ Park last Monday, September 15, the actual anniversary of “the great victory won by the Royal Air Force (RAF) that saved Britain from invasion in 1940”. Dignitaries included Custos of Kingston Steadman Fuller, representing the Governor General; government representative State Minister Juliet Cuthbert; Opposition representative Anthony Hylton; Chief of Defence Staff Vice Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman; Assistant Commissioner of Police Dwight Powell; Major General (Ret’d) Robert Neish; Royal Air Force Association (RAFA) chair and president respectively, Lieutenant Commander (Ret’d) George Overton and Major (Ret’d) Johanna Lewin.

Memorable moments were marked by buglers and a well-timed fly past of Jamaica Defence Force aircraft. Uniformed groups and family members of Jamaicans who served in the RAF participated in the wreath-laying. My brother Tony and I were honoured to participate as we remembered our dear father, Joscelyn Lowrie, who survived the war and became a highly respected chartered accountant.

Of the brave RAF soldiers, some of whom died in the battle, former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill said, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed to so many by so few.”

Jean Lowrie-Chin is an author and executive chair of PROComm, PRODEV, and CCRP. Send comments to lowriechin@aim.com.

Keith Duncan (Naphtali Junior)

CCRP members at its annual general meeting held recently.

The guarded cenotaph at National Heroes’ Circle in Kingston stands in memory of the fallen soldiers in both world wars. (JNHT)

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Naphtali Junior)