Columns

Unmasking Jamaica's aggressive personality

It is appropriate to examine Jamaica's inherent common personality trait of aggressiveness. It was Professor Trevor Munroe who described this national personality as a combination of “certain passivity, a capacity for long-suffering, with an extraordinary aggressiveness, individual...

Another look at logistics

A hard look at the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on the global economy has highlighted the vulnerabilities of various industries.

Fly the gate, it's time to migrate

There's a long-running dilemma being faced by medical doctors trying to find employment within the health care sector here in Jamaica. Just recently several hospitals across the island went into emergency mode as a great number of doctors called in sick. This was due to...

Calls to protect and prepare

OUR society is wounded, and the first place to start the healing must be the home. Justices of the peace (JP) islandwide were called on by Justice Minister Delroy Chuck to engage communities in the prevention of child abuse at last Thursday's online discussion. Children's Advocate...

Pauses or full stops?

It is not a matter of if, but when the Delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 lands in Jamaica. At the time of writing, 96 countries had confirmed the highly infectious variant on their shores.

A case for medical tourism in Jamaica — Part 1

A few years ago, a friend of mine who needed knee replacement surgery, on both his knees, told me he was heading to India to have the procedure done. When I asked him why he chose to travel all that way, his answer was simple: “Because it's much cheaper to do it there.” My...

Is Jamaica's entry into the electric vehicle market a good idea?

The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has a statutory responsibility to regulate the provision of specified utility services (electricity, telecommunications, water, and sewerage). This is done under the provisions of the OUR Act and, where applicable, sector...

Saluting Norman Manley on his 128th birthday

To mark the 128th anniversary of the birth of national hero and former President of the People's National Party Norman Manley, we invite you to read a lightly edited version of a lecture given a few years ago in Manley's honour by prominent attorney-at-law K Churchill Neita, QC, at the...

To be a specialist in every area is impossible

BACK in the seventies when the security industry began, there were few practitioners. I recall my father, Ronald McKay, Exoll Mignott and a few other faces that I cannot put names to. They mainly rented dogs and eventually watchmen.

Potholes will be the death of us!

In the same way it has been said that Jamaica has the most churches (and rum bars) per square mile, it can be said, without any chance of refutation, that this country has the most potholes per square mile. Especially when there have been persistent showers of rain, numerous potholes...

Coming to terms with itself

United States Vice-President Kamala Harris said in a recent television interview: “I eat 'no' for breakfast.” She was stating as clearly as she could why being told “no” at various times in her life was never a deterrent in her pursuit of an objective that she...

Guns, crime and technology: Quo vadis?

The Guyanese newspaper Stabroek News quoted a Jamaica Observer editorial about our propensity for making announcements without follow-up actions: “We have a dastardly reputation of announcing investigations which never seem to come to an end, and if they do, the results are hardly...

Resisting global tax: Joint endeavour or collective surrender?

The proposal by the US Government to establish a global minimum corporate tax is not a remote matter from the lives of people in the Caribbean. It is a real issue with deep implications for Caribbean economies and, indeed, for the capacity of Caribbean countries to continue to...

To end AIDS in the Caribbean we must end inequalities

After seeing an HIV-positive colleague harassed in the workplace, a man secretly decides not to get tested.A transgender woman refuses to return to the hospital for her antiretroviral treatment because other patients gawk and call her names.

What is a prime minister to do?

It is not difficult to find empathy with Prime Minister Andrew Holness: He means well and is known to relent in the face of public opinion. As the youngest prime minister in the history of Jamaica he has largely weathered the various storms that bedevil governance in this country. I...