The summer is disappearing, fast. And we are getting bucketfuls of rain. Oodles of it, filling the streets with galloping waters.
The death of Minister Clarke: Our Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke died suddenly last Thursday. He was at Fort Lauderdale Airport on his way back to Jamaica after undergoing back surgery in Florida, and died of a heart attack. Tributes and remembrances have been flooding in; there is no doubt that many people inside and outside politics were very fond of the Minister and genuinely liked him as a human being. He was what Americans would call a “mensch.” He seemed unusually free of the “tribalistic” leanings of the vast majority of our politicians.
A party stalwart, too: Minister Clarke was a staunch “comrade,” and as such the People’s National Party (PNP) will miss him (he was a Vice President Emeritus). He joined the political fray at the local level in the 80s and served as Mayor of Black River, then served as a Member of Parliament since 1991. He was unbeaten at the polls, whether in local or national government – a highly successful politician.
BUT agriculture needs to “step up”: As a cane farmer himself (he was apparently the largest sugar cane producer in Jamaica), Minister Clarke was undoubtedly close to many farmers at the grassroots level. We got used to him in the agriculture portfolio, which he held for about twelve years altogether. But is the “people’s touch” enough? I really think a sharp mind is needed to give Jamaican agriculture the high profile required in the world of international trade. And let’s face it, agriculture has been on steady decline in Jamaica for the past decade at least. Sugar, coffee, citrus, for example. Praedial larceny still ravages the sector and has not been dealt with. The much-touted agro-parks have not been a roaring success. We can’t blame the MInistry for the terrible drought, which brought J$1 billion in losses, of course. Minister Clarke was a lovely man, but…For what concrete achievements will he be remembered?
No new Cabinet member: Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller says Minister Clarke’s former portfolio will be transferred to someone who is already in the Cabinet, perhaps with the assistance of a state minister. Social Security and Labor Minister Derrick Kellier had been acting in the Minister’s absence. And clearly a by-election is due, in what has always been a “safe” PNP seat (the Jamaica Labour Party only won it once, in 1980).
Talking of the drought, we have had enough rain in the past week to keep us happy for a while. But water levels in our main reservoirs have only increased by five per cent, we are told. So water restrictions remain. And I hope Minister Pickersgill is still looking at a thorough overhaul of our water management system, so that we will be at least able to better cope with future “water crises.” It’s not impossible, Minister – put your mind to it, please.
Back to school issues and non-issues: While we all keep fingers crossed that the academic year will start comfortably this week, the Jamaica Observer managed to find a “sexy” story with which to grace its front page: A tale of conspiracy and corruption among teachers and bookstores to “pad” school book lists. The article offers no evidence whatsoever of this (which schools? which bookstores? how does it work?)
A much more serious issue involves Jamaica’s tertiary institutions. The external quality assurance body for tertiary education in Jamaica, the University Council of Jamaica has registered 44 tertiary institutions, and accredited one university (the University of the West Indies/UWI) and 255 academic programs of study. In other words, all UWI’s programs are accredited; many others are not. A UWI professor and Gleaner columnist, Carolyn Cooper, put the cat among the pigeons on this. There is alarm among students and recent graduates who fear their expensive degree or diploma may not be worth the paper it’s printed on. I understand, though, that it is very costly and may take years to get a program accredited. Ridiculous! As Professor Cooper notes, there is a huge need not just for accreditation but for regulation in this sector – the task of the Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission headed by a former education minister, Maxine Henry-Wilson. Ah, but the Commission is not yet legal! (A year ago it promised “more information” on its Facebook page. None forthcoming).
Tivoli Gardens enquiry: The Commissioners who took the Oath of Office before former Chief Justice of Jamaica, Hon. Mr. Justice Lensley Wolfe this week are: Chairman, Retired Chief Justice and former Attorney General of Barbados Sir David Simmons; Retired Judge of the Court of Appeal of Jamaica, Mrs. Justice Hazel Harris, CD; and Director of the Institute of Criminal Justice and Security, University of the West Indies, Professor Anthony Harriott. These people are charged with determining whether anyone’s rights were violated during the May 2010 incursion by security forces into Tivoli Gardens, the conduct of operations by the security forces during the State of Emergency at that time, and much more. No date has been set for the Commission to start its deliberations; I hope we hear soon.
Chikungunya on the rise: The number of people with the Chikungunya virus (“chik v”) is 21 and counting; and with the recent rains, a whole lot more mosquitoes will be breeding. We really must be careful and seek out possible breeding spots around the yard. Mosquitoes can breed even in a leaf or flower…
Special “big ups” to the Rotary Club of Trafalgar, New Heights (“the first new generation club of its kind in Jamaica and the Caribbean”) which is very busy under its new President Coleen Lewis. The Club staged a Health Fair for children going back to school in Maverley, Kingston yesterday.
And the Jamaica/Ireland connection! At the Irish arts festival Electric Picnic, Irieland TV (clever, eh?) has launched a 40-minute creative documentary film that “tells the story of Belfast poet Gearóid Mac Lochlainn’s musical pilgrimage to Jamaica, to see if the message of ‘One Love’ that crossed sectarian divisions during his youth in Belfast, is still alive in Jamaica today. In a musical voyage that brings him from Trenchtown to the Trelawny maroons, from Inna De Yard to a Nyabinghi groundation ceremony, Gearóid looks beyond the famous recording studios to the very roots of roots Reggae.” Very cool! It’s called ‘Ceolchuairt Jamaica‘ and perhaps someone can tell me what the first Gaelic word means!
To finish off, I am going to quote from Gleaner columnist Gordon Robinson’s column today: “According to the Planning Institute of Jamaica, 9.9% of Jamaicans lived below the poverty line in 2007. By 2009, the figure was 16.9%; and, by 2011, over 20%. Today, more than 1.1 million Jamaicans live below the poverty line. Jamaica has dropped, on the Human Development Index, from 79th in the world (2011) to 86th since 2013. Barbados is ranked 36th; Haiti 100th.” Let’s just allow that to sink in.
I am very sad to say that the number of Jamaicans murdered each week seems to be increasing. Since Wednesday the following names have come up, and I send deepest sympathies to all the families:
Angela Bennett, 39, Coronation Market/Chapel Lane, Kingston (allegedly by police)
Nelvin Hunter, 30, Half Way Tree, Kingston
Jenice Reid, St. John’s Road/Spanish Town, St. Catherine
Bradley Watkiss, St. John’s Road/Spanish Town, St. Catherine
Omar Peart, 36, Cumberland, St. Catherine
Lynette Graham, 42, Faith’s Pen, St. Ann
Lamar Williams, 18, Coxheath/Runaway Bay, St. Ann
Filo Wint, Florence Hall, Trelawny (German national)
Clinton Butler, 63, Maggotty, St. Elizabeth
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