Dayton Campbell slipping up too often

DR Dayton Campbell is supposed to be a bright man. But he sometimes does not act like one.

Here again is the general secretary of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) giving a fine example of his contracting a double dose of foot-in-mouth disease, which afflicts only humans. During the party’s news conference last Tuesday, Dr Campbell, a medical practitioner and lawyer — one of a handful of Jamaicans to be so blessed academically — brought up that subject of race again, which has troubled this country for centuries.

His description of Cabinet minister Robert Montague as leader of the black section of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in Parliament went too far. The point is that Dr Campbell seems to have a problem determining when to say what.

And it has been going on for too long. If Montague is leader of the black divide among the JLP, wouldn’t his critics argue, based upon Dr Campbell’s stupidity, that he could regard his party president, Mark Golding, as leader of the ‘white’ forces within the PNP, which Dr Campbell, perhaps to his regret, cannot find membership in?

Dr Campbell would have seen where so much has been said and done, needlessly so, about the pigmentation of his president. Why in God’s name would he have wanted to put that subject on the public agenda again? Methinks that Dr Campbell, at age 38, has not made the cut yet when it comes to being mature, though he has some of the most sparkling university qualifications behind his name.

It was necessary for him to be defended last year when those sex allegations arose without the kind of evidence that the matter demanded. In this case though, Dr Campbell has missed the mark, and you are now left to wonder what kind of verbal trash he will come with next to litter the atmosphere.

There seems to be a special eye out on Montague by the PNP, what with Golding’s idle talk some weeks ago, in using derogatory remarks to try and deflate the St Mary Western Member of Parliament.

All this time, the PNP just cannot get things right. Golding has still not mellowed in his role as president; he insisted on having Dr Campbell for the key role of general secretary, which is just not working out; he also did all he could to, without benefit to him, have Angela Brown Burke inserted as chairman, or chairperson if you prefer; having Ian Hayles as campaign co-ordinator, which is a no-no; two of his four vice-presidents, including Hayles, are out of place; and the party still does not seem to be gaining any traction in the eyes of the public, at the height of the misfiring of the Government’s cylinders. Dr Campbell does not know when to recognise the difference of when he is on stage addressing a party conference, or a news conference.

Golding, like Dr Campbell, is a bright man overall. But political brightness is lacking, and he is moving too slowly to fill that glaring gap. He will realise, in time, that not everyone who is loyal, or appears to be loyal to him, is right for the positions that must be filled to take him where he really wants to go.

Audit of FLA a must

IF what I heard on CVM Television last week – that the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) denied an application for a gun licence by the son of Chinese supermarket operators, who were killed during a robbery attempt late last month, then the agency might have placed itself in the zone of public condemnation.

I am not privy to all the details, but it would seem that if the young man applied for a firearm licence, he being foreigner or not, then surely, he must be placed in the priority pool to receive such an item, even moreso when you consider that the business was robbed at least three times before.

And so, the stories about the FLA continue… people who are more than qualified seem unable to be granted licences, while some who are of questionable character, including deportees, getting no hassle whatsoever.

There needs to be a comprehensive audit of the FLA, and right now, I am sure that there is merit in some of the stories you hear about how things go on at the FLA. Who knows, if that Chinese national had been cleared to own a gun, he might have been able to defend the lives of his parents. The FLA seems to have some explaining to do.

JOA needs to be cleansed

WHAT the devil is wrong with the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA)? Suddenly, the whole world is hearing of a policy that bars ‘foreign’ specialists from working with Jamaica teams going to the major global events, like the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

Now, the JOA has decided against accrediting Australian Dr Joann Brown, who has been serving as physiotherapist for Jamaica’s bobsled team, which has again, after 24 years, qualified for the Winter Olympics in China, which begins within days.

Nobody, except the JOA, seems to know about such a policy. And even if there is something liked a policy, trumped up or otherwise, why should foreigners be excluded, if they are capable of making a difference in the fortunes of Jamaican sports personalities? The JOA’s leaders have hit their heads harder against the wall.

President Christopher Samuda and Secretary General/CEO Ryan Foster have a lot to answer to, on top of questions posed to them from long ago, about the sudden jump in the remuneration package of Foster in particular.

By way of history, one of the men who paved the way for West Indies to dominate world cricket was an Australian named Dennis Waight, a physiotherapist and fitness trainer, comedian too, but a world-class human being who did his best to keep the greats fit, so they could, at most times, be match ready.

Waight’s departure in 2000 coincided with the slow demise of West Indies cricket. If the bobsleigh team officials believe that an Australian is whom they want to deliver the goods at the Games, then they should be allowed that request. These men who run the JOA add little value, if any at all to the organisation. That point will be proven sooner than some of us think.

Greedy banks continue to hurt Jamaica

IT pains me to see people queued up outside banks, perspiring profusely, some old and weak, others young and frail because of today’s economic whipping.

And yes, the novel coronavirus pandemic has forced all of us to make some meaningful adjustments, but can the banks do better? I am sure they can.

Going back a bit, the wealthier banks – National Commercial Bank, and the Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Ltd – have been at the forefront of making life miserable for the people of this country for a while.

When you travel across Jamaica, those two have closed more branches than any other, and it is not because those branches have been losing money in their everyday operations; it is more like them not realising the high level of profits that the bank’s principals want to see. In such a situation, there is no consideration for the people of a particular area, in terms of how they are able to function.

Remember now, the senior citizens of this country are set in their ways. Do not suggest online banking to them. In any case, they usually have matters to tend to that would require them having to go into a branch. I have an uncle, who, with God’s permission, will celebrate his 89th birthday in May.

He is hearing impaired, does not use a cellular phone, and he insists on using the services of NCB to straighten out his affairs.

I am sure that there are others out there like him. When Scotiabank ran away and left Highgate in St Mary, and transferring the operations to Port Maria, it dislocated hundreds of people, some of whom have not fully recovered from that move, which occurred over a decade ago.

The same could be said for the people of Annotto Bay, when NCB closed that branch recently. Those who do business in the banking sector in Jamaica make the most profit. When the banks release their annual reports, you get a headache instantly, and wonder how they still treat their loyal customers so badly – those who allow them to make those huge sums of money.

It was only recently I found out that simply lodging a cheque into your account, from another bank, costs you. My friend got a cheque for $30,000 drawn on his cousin’s NCB account, which he decided to deposit into his Sagicor account last December. When the cheque cleared over three days later, there was a fee of $345.49 charged to lodge it.

I thought you paid only when you are enchasing a cheque? The banks in Jamaica operate without a conscience. It is they, primarily, who are responsible for the current value of the Jamaican dollar, which has resulted in major suffering, the dollar reaching over $1.70 to one US dollar one day last week, for the first time in Jamaica’s history, and there’s more to come.

Apart from a mouse-like squeal by Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke last Wednesday, parliamentarian Fitz Jackson is the only man bold enough to put the banks in their places, verbally, but the other elected and appointed legislators continue to carry on their muted response, some in fear of being victimised by banks which they owe. It’s sad though, for at this rate, the banks will be the only sector left standing at the end of their vicious assault on the people.