Things have quietened down a little in the past few days – or are some issues just simmering under the surface? Time will tell. Anyway, the stress of drought is over and the weather has been close to perfect. Gardens are flourishing and the sunlight is softer. Long may it last.
CCJ debate: The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is up for discussion again in the Senate, after the passage of three enabling bills in the Lower House. The Minister of Justice made a speech about it on Friday – here is the link to it: http://jis.gov.jm/media/Statement-to-Senate-CCJ-Bills-16-10-2015.pdf Personally, I am ridiculously torn on this issue; I do believe that a referendum would have been the correct way to address the issue of our final court of appeal – but only after a pretty thorough public education program. Most Jamaicans know little about the CCJ, the Privy Council and legal issues in general, which is perhaps why so many have this reverence for lawyers. I don’t think the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has made a good case against the CCJ, however. They have lost this one, and probably rightly so.
An unhealthy situation: The Ministry of Health seems to lurch from one crisis (or potential crisis) to another. What is worse, it seems unwilling or unable to enlighten the public on what exactly is happening, with the result that the public don’t trust the Ministry any more. Our health officials have tripped up (and just about caught themselves) over the mosquito issue – the plague that descended on us after the rains. With a wave of the hand, the Ministry told us not to worry about them, because they aren’t the kind that spread disease. What! We should always worry about mosquitoes, I would say, and it is unwise to tell a largely not well-informed public not to do so. My friend and fellow blogger Kate Chappell’s comments sum it up : https://jamaicajournal.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/mosquitos-no-threat-this-year/ Well, the MoH back-tracked a little to say it was doing its utmost to reduce mozzie population levels, actually working with two other ministries to increase “fogging.” The air is now filled with toxic smells. I would rather just shut out the mosquitoes, myself. All doors/windows should be closed at dawn and dusk!
A mystery “infection:” Now the MoH is flapping around over the reported deaths of four new-born babies at the University Hospital of the West Indies’ Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The Ministry has not confirmed the deaths and has denied there is a “mystery bug.” Now it’s a “mystery infection.” Mystery? Because the MoH has so far not disclosed the real reason for the not-bug and one suspects major damage control. Now, what commonly causes infections in hospital? Is it not lack of hygiene?
Would we have known anything about this “infection” if Nationwide News Network had not reported it?
Chik v-related deaths continue: A former Gleaner correspondent died of a heart attack recently, aged 64. A relative said he contracted chikungunya (Chik V) last year and never fully recovered, suffering all kinds of health issues. How many times have we heard this? If Mr. Elgin Taylor had not had Chik V, would he be alive today?
Polls upon polls: Some media houses are running public opinion polls on the state of our two political parties. They are not telling us much, except that the People’s National Party (PNP) and its leader Portia Simpson Miller are not as popular as they would like to think. But then, the Opposition JLP is not making as much progress as it would like to believe it is, either. If you want to follow the twists and turns of the sometimes contradictory opinion polls, you are welcome to. More importantly, a potential election date is still up in the air. I had anticipated the final quarter of this year – perhaps as soon as next month – but am not the only one to have second thoughts. There’s a faint possibility (in my view) it could be early next year.
A lot of guns got… Kudos to our poor beleaguered police force, which has managed to seize 68 guns and 800 rounds of ammunition since Commissioner Williams launched his “Get the Guns” campaign a little over three weeks ago. These have been obtained largely without violence and with some arrests made. The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) also seems to be making concerted efforts to break the Haiti-Jamaica link, which seems to be an issue with gun smuggling. Jamaica has a very porous coastline of course, with many small bays and beaches. It’s not an easy task, but the boats recently donated by the U.S. Embassy should help.
…and more focus on the lotto scam: Since the horrifying murders of six family members in Hanover recently, the lotto scam is once more in focus. I was astonished to see extremely light, non-custodial sentences imposed on several convicted scammers in our local courts recently; maybe they were able to give information to the police on others. Perhaps, maybe. Now, it has become quite clear (as if we did not already suspect this) that some police officers, local politicians and even pastors are – or have been – involved. Surprise! One high-profile PNP politician in St. James (who was killed last year) was said to be one of the “founding fathers” of the lotto scam.
Do you want a candid insider’s look at our education system? Then I suggest you follow Wayne Campbell’s blog. He writes about all the issues. Just recently, Wayne was shot and injured by a toy gun fired by a student in his class while his back was turned. The school did not even ask the student to apologize to him. Here is his account: http://www.wayaine.blogspot.com/2015/10/violence-in-classroom-personal-account_12.html This comment particularly struck me: “The classroom has become a battle ground where a toxic and crude version of masculinity exists which robs our male students of their full potential.” We ignore these issues at our peril.
Invasive species database: The Institute of Jamaica’s Natural History Museum through its Jamaica Clearing-House Mechanism has created an online database of invasive species at http://apps.licj.org.jm/jamaica-invasives/ developed by the Invasive Species Information Network of the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network. The IoJ’s partner on this very important project is the National Spatial Data Management Division.
Speaking of biodiversity: LoopJamaica posted a long “news” story a few days ago regarding a lizard, which caused panic in a Stony Hill household and was killed. The killing was described in gory detail and a horrible photograph of the lizard cut into pieces posted with the article. The lizard was apparently a galliwasp. This is awful reporting! It is encouraging cruelty to wild creatures and sheer ignorance. Shame on you, Loop Jamaica!
Our gently sliding dollar: Here is a graph, which a Twitter friend posted today. It speaks volumes. I wish I could explain why this is happening, but monetary stuff is not exactly my forte. I also have no clue how this steady slide in our currency can be arrested, or even just slowed down a little.
Kudos:
- All those entities and individuals involved in the ongoing #KickOutGBV campaign, through a series of events, tweet chats etc. This is far more than a mere hashtag, however. Gender-based violence (among heterosexuals and in the LGBT community) is an issue not to be overlooked – but action must be taken. Jamaica AIDS Support for Life will host a tweet chat on the topic on October 21 at 6:00 p.m. (If you are not on Twitter, all I can say is – why not?) Well done to University of the West Indies (UWI) Model UN, which teamed with Respect Jamaica last week to address this complex topic. The event was very well organized and well attended by young men and women, with a high level of participation.
- The very impressive youth activist Ms. Kemesha Kelly, who will be traveling to London next weekend for the “Week of Women UK 2015.” On Twitter, Kemesha says she “will be networking and participating in high level discussions with influential women on issues such as youth advancement, gender equality,” with human rights also on the agenda. I know Kemesha will represent Jamaica extremely well!
- Knutsford Express, a company that is providing a much needed (and much appreciated) coach service around the island. It doubled its profits in the last quarter compared to a year ago. The service relieves one of the stress of driving, especially for the longer routes. For details go to: http://www.knutsfordexpress.com – and I would recommend booking in advance!
-
A guava seedling at the Forestry Department. (Photo: Twitter) Pleased to see more government agencies making use of Twitter in a positive way. Special “big ups” to the Forestry Department (@ForestryDeptJa), which has been sharing photos of different species of tree seedlings (which they sell incredibly cheaply at their office); and the Ministry of Finance (@MOFPJA) engaged us on the sudden, soaring Customs duties now being forcefully applied (@jacustoms).
My sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the following Jamaicans, who have lost their lives in the past few days. Perhaps one day there will be no list.
Unidentified man, Sandy Gully/Seaview Gardens, Kingston
Marlon Clarke, 33, Waltham Park, Kingston
“Jackopoint,” St. Benedict Heights/Harbour View, Kingston
Delvin Martin, 25, Nugent Street/Spanish Town, St. Catherine
Zico Williams, 30, Bay Bottom/Old Harbour Bay, St. Catherine
Brian Wallace, 48, Woods/Bucknor, Clarendon
Unidentified man, May Pen, Clarendon
Leon Grant, 26, Tangle River District, St. James
Oral Campbell, 38, Beeston Spring, Westmoreland
Taneisha McCool, 32, PetCom Gas Station, Morant Bay, St. Thomas
Nicholas Reid, 50, Port Kaiser, Manchester
Jason Stewart, 31, Goshen, St. Elizabeth
Petchary's Blog 
Hi Emma, I was just wondering where you get your information on people killed, particularly people killed by police. Is there a source that you consult? I’m researching recent police killings in Jamaica. Thanks for your help.
LikeLike
Well, I do get almost all my information through local media (various media houses). However, if you are researching police killings (and by the way these have gone down drastically) I would suggest the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) as by far your best source. You can find their website at http://www.indecom.gov.jm and they do publish regular reports. Or contact them by phone or email and I am sure they will be happy to help.
LikeLike
People love to cry that the sky is falling when they think about currency devaluation, but it’s not a one way (bad) deal. Jamaica’s rarely responded in traditional ways to exchange rate changes, in part because many major exports were not sensitive to such changes (eg negotiate bauxite contracts). As the economy has developed and the interaction of exporting and importing developed, we’ve an odd pincer, with many exporters heavily reliant on imported inputs, so devaluation both helps
and hinders them. We’ve also an economy replete with recipients of significant FX inflows/remittances, for whom devaluation is at least covered, as they receive say US$. An astute letter writer also pointed recently to the seemingly perverse effect of this, see http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/letters/20151014/think-again-devaluation-drives-imports.
On the other hand, while Shaw crows about how the currency has devalued under PNP, he’s able to do so with an economically illiterate population who don’t understand the perverse effects of not letting the exchange rate slide earlier.
LikeLike
Oh dear. It all sounds contradictory to me. I will read the letter (I really should read the Gleaner’s letters more often – many of them are eminently sensible, I find). At one time it seemed that a falling exchange rate automatically meant that the cost of everything went up – but nowadays, not so much? I think though I am part of the economically illiterate population. You’d never think I worked happily in merchant banking for several years in London – but it was all so abstract, somehow. I am thinking of how the “man/woman on the street” is impacted by the exchange rate, if at all…
LikeLike
Nothing is automatic. As for the people ‘in the street’, it depends. Higglers, holding US$ to trade in, say Panama, may be well protected on the import side, especially if their source of FX is from abroad (eg remittances). They’ll sell their cheap goods at best price to keep customers. Depending on their local costs, the exchange rate may not have much effect. Many local foods, haven’t been much affected, say bananas, which are still 250/300 a hand since I got here in 2013, even less some places. (Bizarrely, some imported foods are cheaper than local varieties of same.)
As I touched on, those remittances are key. More ways now exist, also, for direct bill payments from overseas, eg for phones, cable.
Things that have risen fast in the past, now have had an ease. For other reasons, oil prices are down and that’s kept JPS rates lower. Gasoline, also, has been kept relatively low, despite devaluation.
What’s interesting, too, is that people don’t clamour for US dollars.
Read those letters! I’ve not written many, recently, but those are very good 😊
Merchant banking? *Whistles, while he sleeps* 😏
LikeLike
Great Round Up Emma. Particularly appreciated the not so well know tidbits. Lawks di graph on the sliding dollar is not the last thing to see before I go beddy bye….nightmares anyone?
Ems on the CCJ matter, I like you was uncertain but I am now waaay past the need for a referendum which is where I began. If I was hearing arguments that would lead me to believe there are genuine cons that almost balance the pros but the arguments for are heads and shoulders above those against AND I know that the referendum is not going to be handled maturely by our politicians and TRUE public education is NOT the objective. I ain’t nobody’s fool and I have seen and heard enough to now that the reason I would support a referendum is not the reason it is being demanded by some. I suspect there is at least one JLP Senator who is prepared to do the right thing.
LikeLike
Yes, Jeanette – I get your point, entirely. It has become so politicized over the course of several years that public education and why Jamaicans may or may not vote for it is neither here nor there. Oh well. I hope it won’t just go totally along party lines in the Senate – then at least I will believe that one or two have actually given it some proper thought! (Sorry about the graph!)
LikeLike